Q 01/05

By his own account, which household item did quiz champion Charles Van Doren not even own in 1956?

A) A telephone

B) A record player

C) A TV set

D) A wristwatch

Answer · why

C) A TV set

A TV set was missing from his home when the idea of a quiz came up, he wrote in 2008. He knew producer Albert Freedman only through a mutual friend.

Q 02/05

Which British actor played Charles Van Doren in the 1994 film Quiz Show after no American fitted the part?

A) Ralph Fiennes

B) Hugh Grant

C) Daniel Day-Lewis

D) Kenneth Branagh

Answer · why

A) Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes drove to Van Doren's home before filming and posed as a lost motorist, a short chat he later called crucial for catching the man's accen...

Q 03/05

Which Best Picture winner was Herb Stempel ordered to get wrong during his match with Charles Van Doren?

A) Casablanca

B) Rebecca

C) Hamlet

D) Marty

Answer · why

D) Marty

Marty was one of Stempel's favourite films, which made the scripted miss sting. He was told to name On the Waterfront, the previous year's winner, ins...

Q 04/05

Which lower-stakes quiz, launched in 1964, is credited with easing the stigma left by the rigging scandals?

A) Wheel of Fortune

B) Jeopardy

C) Password

D) Match Game

Answer · why

B) Jeopardy

Jeopardy won viewers back with clues a typical person at home could answer. The biggest winner of its original NBC run took home only about $11,000.

Q 05/05

The scoring on the quiz that made Charles Van Doren famous was loosely based on which card game?

A) Poker

B) Gin rummy

C) Blackjack

D) Bridge

Answer · why

C) Blackjack

Blackjack gave Twenty-One its target of 21 points. Contestants chose questions worth 1 to 11, and a wrong answer cost them the same number.