Charles Van Doren, once a celebrated television personality, found his public life irrevocably altered by the 1950s quiz show scandal. After confessing his involvement in the rigging of "Twenty-One," he faced immediate professional repercussions, including termination from NBC and resignation from Columbia University. However, his story did not end there. Van Doren embarked on a new chapter, dedicating decades to a distinguished career in publishing
and writing, largely away from the public eye, before his death in 2019.
A New Path at Encyclopædia Britannica
Following his dismissal from NBC and Columbia University in 1959, Charles Van Doren joined Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. This move marked a significant shift in his career, transitioning from television celebrity to a dedicated editor and writer. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a vice-president. Interestingly, Van Doren revealed in a 2008 article for "The New Yorker" that he had contemplated a position at Britannica even at the height of his quiz show fame. His father had suggested the possibility, mentioning that Mortimer J. Adler, a philosopher and member of Britannica's board of editors, had spoken of making Van Doren its editor-in-chief. Van Doren eventually accepted the job through the intercession of a former college roommate.
During his tenure at Britannica, Van Doren was prolific, writing and editing numerous books. Among his notable works is the 1991 popular-market book, "A History of Knowledge," which may be his best-known publication. He also collaborated with Mortimer J. Adler on a well-received revision of "How to Read a Book." Their partnership extended to co-editing a substantial 1,771-page anthology titled "Great Treasury of Western Thought" in 1977. Earlier, they had worked together on "The Annals of America" (1968), an 18-volume collection of documents on American history, accompanied by a two-volume, 1,300-page "topical index" called "Great Issues in American Life: A Conspectus," organized around 25 themes.
Retreat from Public Scrutiny and Later Years
For decades after the scandal, Charles Van Doren largely avoided public comment and interviews regarding the quiz shows. He refused requests to participate in "The Quiz Show Scandal," a 1992 PBS documentary, and turned down a six-figure offer to consult on Robert Redford's 1994 film "Quiz Show," despite initial consideration and discussions with his wife, who objected to his involvement. His silence was finally broken in his 2008 "New Yorker" article, where he provided his perspective on the events.
Van Doren retired from Britannica in 1982. He made only two return visits to Columbia University in the forty years following his resignation: in 1984 for his son John's graduation and in 1999 for a reunion of Columbia's Class of 1959. During the latter event, he made an indirect allusion to the scandal, speaking about Aristotle's idea of happiness as the quality of a whole life, emphasizing the importance of the end of life. In 2005, he joined the faculty of the University of Connecticut, Torrington, a campus that closed in 2016. Charles Van Doren spent his final years with his wife, Gerry, in a "small, old house" on land his parents had purchased in Cornwall, Connecticut, in the 1920s. He passed away from natural causes in a retirement community in Canaan, Connecticut, on April 9, 2019, at the age of 93. Notably, Herb Stempel, the opponent he defeated in his first game of "Twenty-One," died almost exactly one year later at the same age.
