Prime Time and Misdemeanors: Investigating the 1950s TV Quiz Scandal: A D.A.'s Account

From Publishers Weekly
Stone's account of his experiences is being released in time for Robert Redford's fall movie Quiz Show . Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Stone, the Manhattan assistant district attorney who investigated the fixing of The $64,000 Question and other TV quiz shows, takes us step by step through his complex inquiry, finding ``lying so pervasive that it was woven into the fabric of American life.'' Writing with free-lance editor-writer Yohn, Stone, who's now in private practice, begins in August 1958, when a Dotto contestant came to his office complaining that the show had been rigged. Soon after, Herbert Stempel, a CCNY graduate forced to lose to Columbia professor Charles Van Doren on Twenty-One, claimed that the show's producer, Daniel Enright, had scripted and coached his appearances and given him answers. Ironically, the fixing of TV quiz shows was not illegal at the time, though the success of these lucrative programs depended on public perception of their ``integrity.'' The fiasco would have been limited, Stone contends, if producers like Enright had told the truth. Instead, with contracts and reputations to lose, they lied and pressured contestants--mostly ``well- educated'' citizens made famous by quiz victories--to lie, first to Stone himself, and then--despite his warnings--to a grand jury. Conflicting testimony and a billowing coverup led to congressional hearings, a second grand jury, and indictments for perjury. This story of corruption also involves lawyers, whom Stone wanted to investigate for suborning perjury, and a judge who, in Stone's view, ``danced to Enright's tune.'' What was never clarified (in part because Stone never made William Paley, Robert Sarnoff, et al., testify) was ``the nature of decision-making at the highest corporate levels that led to the proliferation of fixed quizzes.'' Although quiz-show rigging became a federal crime, the TV industry, Stone says, diluted proposed legislation for greater regulation. A through and sobering document, laying out a case of deceit and fraud before the public that was the victim. (Nineteen b&w illustrations--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


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From 1955 to 1958, in the midst of television's most dynamic growth as an industry, big-money quiz shows with names like "The $64,000 Question" and "Twenty-One" ruled prime time television. Some 50 million viewers watched as contestants--including celebrities like Charles Van Doren, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Patty Duke, and Xavier Cugat--returned week after week to roll up huge winnings on live broadcasts answering difficult questions that seemed to require unusual knowledge. In the summer of 1958, a young actor came into the office of the Manhattan District Attorney to complain that a minor daytime quiz show called "Dotto" was fixed. Joseph Stone, an assistant district attorney and a specialist in commercial and consumer fraud, had never heard of anything like it and dismissed the complainant as a crank, until bits of the story appeared in a newspaper--and "Dotto" was taken off the air. This encouraged other whistle-blowers to go public with allegations concerning two prime-time quiz shows; within days, television was rocked by the greatest scandal in its history. Prime Time and Misdemeanors is a complete, first-hand account of the TV quiz rigging affair, from Joseph Stone's unique perspective--through two grand jury probes directed by Stone, circus-like congressional hearings (highlighted by the confession of Charles Van Doren, the biggest celebrity created by the quiz shows), and the eventual prosecution of Van Doren and a score of others for perjury. Stone not only exposes the roles and motives of the creators, packagers, advertising agencies, sponsors, producers, and lawyers who participated in the cover-up during the investigation, he also unravels one of the great mysteries of the affair: Why did the individual contestants, who had done nothing illegal and had nothing to gain from such deception, perjure themselves? This fascinating tale is drawn from Stone's memories, notes and records in his possession, and original research on many aspects of quiz show rigg


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