Yesterday, obituaries ran in newspapers across the country announcing the death of Charles Van Doren, the "quiz show wiz who wasn't."
Back in the late 1950s, at the height of the popularity of television quiz shows, the distinguished and obviously intelligent Van Doren admitted that the programs were a hoax, that he had been coached and given answers, and the program outcome fixed. It was a major scandal, and even involved a Congressional investigation. Read the New York Times obituary of Charles Van Doren HERE. (Van Doren's role in the quiz show scandal was later turned into the Robert Redford directed film, Quiz Show, from 1994.)
I don't know that Louise Brooks ever watched TV quiz shows (she may have, as she did like watching TV), but I mention Van Doren's passing because of it's admittedly oblique connection to the actress, a connection though tenuous worthy of a quiz show question....
Back in 1929, a syndicated newspaper article noted famed literary critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Carl Van Doren declared Louise Brooks the second most beautiful woman in the world. Carl Van Doren, the brother of the future Pulitzer Prize winning critic and poet Mark Van Doren, was the uncle of Charles Van Doren.
Though this instance of the syndicated newspaper article (shown below) incorrectly pictures Brooks, the end of the article clearly identifies the actress. "Mr. Van Doren considers Hope Williams the most beautiful woman in the public eye today, with Louise Brooks, of movie fame, a close second. Mary Queen of Scots, he says, is the most beautiful woman of all time."
If you think Van Doren's choices a bit eccentric, consider his definition of beauty, which begins the article. "'Beauty' says Carl Van Doren, 'is a divine inner fire. And competition whets the flame of beauty'."
Curiously, this piece was reprinted in a Canadian newspaper as late as 1933, and without any images of either Brooks, Williams, or Mary Queen of Scots (a brunette, a blonde, and a redhead, respectively).
Who was Hope Williams? She lived from 1897 to 1990, and was a stage actress active on Broadway from 1927-1939. Seemingly, her only film appearance was in The Scoundrel (1935), a Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur written and directed film which marked Noel Coward's first screen appearance in a talkie. There isn't much information about her on the interweb. Nevertheless, her is her portrait.
Back in the late 1950s, at the height of the popularity of television quiz shows, the distinguished and obviously intelligent Van Doren admitted that the programs were a hoax, that he had been coached and given answers, and the program outcome fixed. It was a major scandal, and even involved a Congressional investigation. Read the New York Times obituary of Charles Van Doren HERE. (Van Doren's role in the quiz show scandal was later turned into the Robert Redford directed film, Quiz Show, from 1994.)
I don't know that Louise Brooks ever watched TV quiz shows (she may have, as she did like watching TV), but I mention Van Doren's passing because of it's admittedly oblique connection to the actress, a connection though tenuous worthy of a quiz show question....
Back in 1929, a syndicated newspaper article noted famed literary critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Carl Van Doren declared Louise Brooks the second most beautiful woman in the world. Carl Van Doren, the brother of the future Pulitzer Prize winning critic and poet Mark Van Doren, was the uncle of Charles Van Doren.
Though this instance of the syndicated newspaper article (shown below) incorrectly pictures Brooks, the end of the article clearly identifies the actress. "Mr. Van Doren considers Hope Williams the most beautiful woman in the public eye today, with Louise Brooks, of movie fame, a close second. Mary Queen of Scots, he says, is the most beautiful woman of all time."
If you think Van Doren's choices a bit eccentric, consider his definition of beauty, which begins the article. "'Beauty' says Carl Van Doren, 'is a divine inner fire. And competition whets the flame of beauty'."
Curiously, this piece was reprinted in a Canadian newspaper as late as 1933, and without any images of either Brooks, Williams, or Mary Queen of Scots (a brunette, a blonde, and a redhead, respectively).
No comments:
Post a Comment