| Albert Freedman | |
|---|---|
| File:Albert Freedman.jpeg | |
| Born |
March 27, 1922 Taunton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died |
April 11, 2017 (aged 95) Greenbrae, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Game show producer |
| Known for | 1950s quiz show scandals |
| Children |
|
Albert Freedman (March 27, 1922 – April 11, 2017) was an American television producer who was involved with the 1950s quiz show scandals. He became a central figure in the scandals and was the first person indicted. He was arrested for perjury after lying about giving contestants questions, and then recanted his grand jury testimony which led to the arrests of 14 former contestants.
Early life[]
He was born and raised in Taunton, Massachusetts, on March 27, 1922. During World War II he enlisted in the U.S. Marines and was sent to the Pacific Theater. After the war Freedman went to study at Boston College, and later at the University of Southern California. He also studied in Paris at a film school.[1] He was married to Esther Katz and had four children with her. He later remarried to Nancy and took on her two children as stepchildren.[2]
Career[]
Twenty-One Barry Van Doren 1957
In the early 1950s Freedman moved to New York and got a job with a Groucho Marx show called You Bet Your Life.[3]
In the 1950s television was just becoming popular and Freedman became a television producer. He produced a show called Tic-Tac-Dough and The Big Surprise. Quiz shows gained popularity: CBS started a show called the The $64,000 Question and it was immediately very popular. Dan Enright started a show called Twenty-One to compete.[3] Enright's production company was called Entertainment Productions Inc.[4] Freedman took over producing Twenty-One in 1956. The show Twenty-One had a contestant named Herb Stempel who seemed unstoppable. The sponsor of the show was Geritol and they wanted a different contestant.[3]
Scandal[]
In 1956 Freedman found a teacher from Columbia University named Charles Van Doren. In a 2008 New Yorker Magazine article Van Doren stated that Freedman told him, "I've thought about it, Charlie, and I've decided you should be the person to beat Stempel. And I'll help you do it." In speaking to the Archive of American Television in 2000, Freedman would only admit that he told Van Doren what to study prior to the shows. Van Doren debuted on the show November 28, 1956.[3]
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November 4, 1959 Representatives Oren Harris (left) and Steven B. Derounian confer during the investigation of quiz shows
in 1958 another contestant on Twenty-One (Elfrida von Nardroff) went on to have a long run on the show and earned $220,500 in winnings. Shortly after her appearance on the show, an investigation was begun by Manhattan , Frank Hogan.[5] A standby contestant who had hoped to be on the television show Dotto complained to the New York District Attorney's office about irregularities.[6]
It was discovered that Twenty-One had been paying some contestants to lose. The trouble began when a losing contestant did not receive compensation that was promised to him. The man went to the media and revealed the game show's scheme.[7] A grand jury was convened in November 1958.[8] On November 7, 1958, Freedman became the first person indicted and arrested in the quiz show scandal.[6][9] He became the central figure in the quiz show scandals.[1] When Freedman was previously before the grand jury he had denied that he supplied contestants with answers, and when he was led out of court after his testimony he stated, "Everything I told the grand jury is the truth."[10] There were also accusations that Freedman tried to extort $5000 from Van Doren, a charge which Freedman denied.[4]
After Freedman admitted he had lied to the grand jury he was indicted for perjury.[11] He was arrested and then recanted his testimony to the grand jury in order to avoid a conviction.[1] He was facing two counts of perjury and 10 years in prison.[10] Faced with the prospect of prison, he finally admitted that he had given contestants answers.[12] Van Doren pleaded guilty to perjury.[1] In 1962, von Nardroff pleaded guilty to second-degree perjury. Twelve other former contestants were also arrested in the scandal.[5]
Later life[]
Freedman never worked in television again.[1] He relocated in London and worked for Penthouse and other pornography publications.[12] In 1981 Freedman went on to earn a Ph.D. from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.[1] Freedman died of heart failure on April 11, 2017.[3] At the time of his death he lived in Greenbrae, California.[2]
Popular culture[]
- Quiz Show Albert Freedman portrayed by Hank Azaria[13]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Barnes, Nick (April 20, 2017). "Albert Freedman, Central Figure in the Quiz Show Scandals of the 1950s, Dies at 95". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/albert-freedman-dead-producer-involved-quiz-show-scandals-was-95-996189/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sandmomir, Richard (April 28, 2017). "Albert Freedman, 95 producer of rigged 1950s Quiz TV Show". https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92458154/albert-freedman-obit/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Sandomir, Richard (March 22, 2017). "Albert Freedman, Producer of Rigged 1950s Quiz Show, Dies at 95". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/business/media/albert-freedman-dead-quiz-show-scandal.html.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Casts Doubt on a Hoax Denial". November 4, 1959. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92459418/5000-albert-freedman/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sandomir, Richard (December 15, 2021). "Elfrida von Nardroff, 96, Dies; Won Big Money on a Fixed Quiz Show". https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/business/media/elfrida-von-nardroff-dead.html.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Producer of Quiz Show 21 is Indicted on Charges of Lying". November 8, 1958. https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-nov-08-1958-2945865/.
- ↑ Kinsler, Mark (August 16, 2021). "Remember When: The quiz show scandal". https://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/story/news/2021/08/16/remember-when-quiz-show-scandal/8124434002/.
- ↑ Matthews, Melvin E. (2019). Loss of innocence : America's scandals in the post-war years. New York: Algora Publishing. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-1628943504. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Loss_of_Innocence/aL2XDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Elfrida%20%20von%20Nardroff%20scandal. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ↑ "Producer of Quiz Show 21 is Arrested". November 7, 1958. https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-nov-07-1958-2945842/.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Producer of Quiz Show is Indicted". November 8, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92456785/freedman-quiz-show/.
- ↑ Federal Communications Commission Reports. Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1964. p. 759. https://books.google.com/books?id=wyPVAAAAMAAJ&dq=albert+freedman+perjury+guilty&pg=PA758. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Obituary: Albert Freedman died on April 11th". Economist. May 6, 2017. https://www.economist.com/obituary/2017/05/04/obituary-albert-freedman-died-on-april-11th.
- ↑ David Ansen (September 18, 1994). "When America Lost Its Innocence--Maybe". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/when-america-lost-its-innocence-maybe-188338.
External links[]
The original article can be found at Albert Freedman and the edit history here.