Quiz 'N' Art

A couple of interesting obits (which is mostly what I write about these days).

First, Herb Stempel.  Didn't know he was still around. He was involved in the 1950s quiz show scandals.  Stempel was good at trivia and appeared on the popular Twenty-One.

However, the show was rigged.  Stempel went along with it, even being coached on how to look and how to answer. Stempel was on for quite a while, winning $69,500 on the show--but told by the producer he'd have to accept less.  In addition, his ratings were dropping, so he'd have to lose to Columbia professor Charles Van Doren.

The question he'd get wrong was what picture won the Academy Award in 1955.  Marty was actually one of Stempel's favorite films, but he had to answer On The Waterfront.

Van Doren became an even bigger star than Stempel.  Stempel spoke out against the program, and eventually there was the scandal and the Congressional investigation.  All the big game shows were canceled, and ever since they've been very careful to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

I don't think it should be illegal to rig a game show.  They're entertainment, and most entertainment on TV is created and edited to please an audience.  The "reality" shows of today are as plotted and planned as any scripted show.

Sure, you don't want to audience to know your show is fake--it takes away all the excitement.  But as long as the audience enjoys the show, what's the harm?

Second, Christo.  He (working with his wife) was a conceptual artist, generally working on large scale, with the environment.

In one of his installations he wrapped a coast in Australia, in another put up a curtain in a Colorado valley. Maybe his most famous piece putting up thousands of huge, blue or yellow umbrellas in California and Japan.

Perhaps Christo's artistic specialty was securing the funding.  In any case, he believed in spreading beauty, and I believe he succeeded.