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Herb Stempel
Herb Stempel
Herb Stempel was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower.
The U.S. Army veteran and counter-intelligence agent is best known for exposing the fraudulent nature of the 1950s game show industry.
Stempel was a contestant on NBC’s Twenty-One for six weeks in 1956, during which producer Dan Enright provided him with all of the questions and answers in advance.
Herb Stempel was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower.
The U.S. Army veteran and counter-intelligence agent is best known for exposing the fraudulent nature of the 1950s game show industry.
Stempel was a contestant on NBC’s Twenty-One for six weeks in 1956, during which producer Dan Enright provided him with all of the questions and answers in advance.
His planned defeat by Charles Van Doren came with a promise of a job as a question consultant on the show and a gig as a panelist on High Low, but when it became clear that Enright would not honor the deal, Stempel contacted several newspaper reporters explaining the deceit.
He was portrayed by John Turturro in Robert Redford’s 1994 film Quiz Show, upon which he was credited as a consultant.
Stempel died April 7, 2020, in New York City, New York. He was 93.
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