30 Facts About Herb Stempel

Herbert Milton Stempel was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals.

Herb Stempel's rigged six-week appearance as a winning contestant on the 1950s show Twenty-One ended in an equally rigged defeat by Columbia University teacher and literary scion Charles Van Doren.

Herb Stempel was skipped ahead several classes in school, so much so that his mother worried he was being pushed too far.

At a very young age Herb Stempel realized he had what he refers to as a "retentive memory", in that he could read a page about a subject and then, months later, summarize that page.

Herb Stempel was part of the "Kid Wizards", a three-man team who represented The Bronx High School of Science in competitions against New York high schools, remaining undefeated throughout the year.

Herb Stempel graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in January 1944.

Herb Stempel briefly attended classes at City College of New York before enlisting in the United States Army.

Herb Stempel served in the 311th Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division and was on the front lines in Europe for a month before the war ended.

Herb Stempel remained in the Army for the next seven years, attending counterintelligence school in Baltimore, Maryland and serving as "an agent" until 1952, when he began work in the United States Post Office as a clerk.

The qualifying trivia test took a grueling three-and-a-half hours; Herb Stempel got 251 out of 363 questions right, which he claimed was the highest score ever achieved.

Herb Stempel was not only provided with coaching on the answers and directions on how to deliver them, but on his physical appearance as well.

Herb Stempel was married to a woman whose family had money and the couple was not suffering financially, but Enright decided that the image of an underdog, a penniless GI working his way through school, would appeal to the American public.

Herb Stempel should watch a contestant, hoping that the contestant will win or he should watch the contestant, hoping the contestant will lose.

Herb Stempel was the type of contestant who could very well antagonize viewers.

Herb Stempel ostensibly won $69,500, which was presented to him as an unnotarized "settlement" agreement.

Herb Stempel was an English instructor at Columbia University, Charles Van Doren.

Herb Stempel's impact was immediate and his name quickly became synonymous with quiz shows.

Herb Stempel asked me whether he could not forgo the losing and whether he could not play against Van Doren clean [suggesting it could be touted as a duel between Columbia University and CCNY] and I said "no" and I reminded him he had given me his word that when I would ask him to lose, he would lose.

Van Doren went on to become the single most popular contestant in the quiz show's early history, while Herb Stempel became the forgotten man.

When Enright subsequently told him the promise could not be kept because he had sold his shows to NBC itself, Herb Stempel called Jack O'Brian, a columnist who covered television for the New York City Journal-American.

Herb Stempel later testified to Congress that in February 1957 he had spoken with a reporter from the New York Post, but that paper had the same reservations as the Journal-American.

At a sensational press conference, he attempted to demonstrate that Herb Stempel was mentally unstable by playing a recording of a conversation with him that Enright had secretly taped.

Herb Stempel continued telling the truth to anyone who would listen, but it was his unsubstantiated word against everyone else's; there was still no hard corroborating evidence.

Herb Stempel told the US House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight what he told Stone.

The kinescope that has survived of that episode shows that the round in which Herb Stempel was ordered to provide the wrong answer actually ended in a tie.

Herb Stempel went to work for the New York City Transportation Department for the next two decades, performing examinations before trial, which meant he represented the Department in depositions by opposing counsel, testifying to various records in the city's possession.

Julian Krainin, who co-produced the film, co-produced the 1994 feature film Quiz Show, in which Herb Stempel was portrayed by John Turturro.

When Quiz Show was released, in spite of being "a little miffed by the portrayal", which he thought was "an over-the-top sort of portrayal of me", Herb Stempel embraced the renewed public interest in him, giving interviews on radio and television, as well as lecturing at some colleges about the quiz scandals.

Herb Stempel died April 7,2020, almost exactly one year after the death of his rival Charles Van Doren, and at the same age.

Herb Stempel's death was not publicly announced until nearly two months later.