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CHARLES VAN DOREN ON QUIZ SHOW "TWENTY ONE" - 1959
If it's on TV, it must be true, right? Well, not necessarily. On this date in 1959, Charles Van Doren admitted to a congressional committee that he cheated on the television quiz show Twenty-One; he had been supplied with questions in advance of the show. Since Twenty-One spent time as the No. 1-watched show in America, the scandal that ensued when contestants from Twenty-One, Dotto and The $64,000 Question admitted that the play was rigged made cynics of a nation of TV viewers. In response, Congress passed a law making rigging a quiz show a federal crime. In 1994, Robert Redford directed Quiz Show, which was based on the scandal and starred Ralph Fiennes as Van Doren; the film was nominated for four Academy Awards.
Submitted by Louis V.
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