A nerdy know-it-all geek from the Bronx with an IQ of 170

Quiz Show

As far as I’m concerned television began in 1951 with I Love Lucy. That’s when my family bought our first TV set. I was 8 years old.

Prior to that, kids sat around and listened to radio shows with their family, went outside and played, and went to a movie every once in a while.

TV caught on fast with programming that featured comedies, talent shows, variety shows, westerns, and detective shows. There were also quiz shows like Twenty Questions, Beat the Clock, What’s My Line, and Name That Tune.

And then in 1955 came an avalanche of quiz shows. The $64,000 Question came first, and it was so popular that it spun off The $64,000 Challenge the next year. Then came The Price Is Right, Tic-Tac-Dough, and To Tell the Truth.

Then in 1956 came Twenty-One. It was a quiz show sponsored by Geritol. They sealed two contestants inside sound-proof isolation booths and asked them questions to see who could get enough right answers to get to 21 first.

The first shop flopped because the contestants missed simple questions and sounded stupid. TV fans didn’t like the show, the ratings were dismal, and Geritol was shelling out big bucks for a show no one was watching.

So the producers got together, got down and dirty, and came up with a scheme to make the show a big hit.

Enter contestant Herb Stempel – a nerdy know-it-all geek from the Bronx with an IQ of 170. He was annoying and, to put it gently, not good looking. But Herbie kept answering one impossible question after another and he kept winning.

At first, viewers were amazed by his intelligence. He won eight weeks in a row and piled up $49,500 in winnings – a hefty sum back then. But he was so annoying that, little by little, he was turning off viewers and the show’s rating was going down the tubes.

Secretly – the sponsors wanted to find a good-looking contestant to beat Herb.

And they not only found one, but they also came up with a scheme to make sure Herb Stempel lost. And that, ladies and gentlemen, became the biggest scandal in the history of television.

Here’s the trailer for the movie – directed by Robert Redford – and starring Ralph Fiennes, John Turturro, and Rob Morrow.

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