I've written that the scandals were our little genre's closest brush with true tragedy. They also came close to silly farce. But whatever they were, the scandals haunted Van Doren for the rest of his life.
After the news of rigging on Twenty-One and other game shows broke, Van Doren testified (truthfully) to Congress. He pled out on a minor perjury charge and got a suspended sentence. He then dropped out of public sight as much as possible. He worked at Encyclopædia Britannica and even co-wrote some books with legendary editor Mortimer Adler.
He finally broke his silence on the rigging scandals with a long New Yorker article in 2008. It's required reading for anybody interested in the scandals and their impact on the lives of contestants and producers.
Charles Van Doren made some mistakes and paid for them. He was hardly a villain but far from a hero. R.I.P.
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