Elfrida von Nardroff

Elfrida von Nardroff (July 3, 1925 – November 11, 2021) was an American game show contestant. In 1958, she won $220,500 (equivalent to $2,236,536 in 2022) on the game show Twenty-One, more money than any other contestant on the show. Later, it was revealed that there was cheating on the game show and von Nardroff committed perjury in Grand Jury proceedings.

Elfrida von Nardroff
Born(1925-07-03)July 3, 1925
Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 11, 2021(2021-11-11) (aged 96)
Westhampton Beach, New York
Known forGame show contestant

Early life

Elfrida von Nardroff was born on July 3, 1925, in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Robert (1895–1966), a physics professor at Columbia University,[1] and Elizabeth von Nardroff.[2]

She went to the college-preparatory school, Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, New Jersey. She graduated from Duke University, earning an AB degree. From 1959 to 1963 she earned an ABD degree in sociology from Columbia University Graduate School. She also studied literature at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England.[3][2]

Career

After graduation, from 1951 to 1958, she worked in personnel positions including two years for Northwest Airlines.[3] In 1956 she received a call from a talent scout with the company who produced the game show Twenty-One.[2] In 1958, she won $220,500 on the show, more money than any other contestant, and ($2,127,191.73)[4] in 2021 dollars.[2][3] She planned to use the money to attend school for a PhD in psychology.[5]

She appeared on the game show in 1958 and then took a job in the advertising industry from 1963 to 1980. She completed her working career retiring from a New York City real estate broker.[3]

Game show scandal
See also: 1950s quiz show scandals

Shortly after her win, the game show was under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney, Frank S. Hogan, following a revelation that one of the contestants had been coached. Von Nardroff had claimed that she had done research at the New York Public Library filling notebooks, but Hogan's investigation found that claim to be false.[2]

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.[6]

von Nardroff was called to testify before a grand jury on November 12, 1958. She denied receiving any assistance.[7] In 1958 she was also quoted in Life speaking about other contestants on the show, "They were respectable and intelligent people, it is inconceivable they could have been fixed."[8] The investigation prompted ratings for all quiz shows to fall and by October 1958, Twenty-One was off the air.[9]

She appeared before another grand jury in January 1959 to explain her multiple phone calls with the game show's producer Albert Freedman. She testified that she was only telling Freedman about her location.[7]

In 1962, von Nardroff pleaded guilty to second-degree perjury along with 12 other former contestants. She received a suspended sentence.[2]

Death

von Nardroff died of a stroke on November 11, 2021, in a hospice in Westhampton Beach, New York.[2]

References
  1. "DR. VON NARDROFF, PHYSICS PROFESSOR". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  2. Sandomir, Richard (December 15, 2021). "Elfrida von Nardroff, 96, Dies; Won Big Money on a Fixed Quiz Show". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  3. "Elfrida 'Vonnie' von Nardroff". The Suffolk Times. November 15, 2021. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  4. "Value of $220,500 from 1958 to 2022". in2013dollars. Data Foundation. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  5. "Lady with the Answers". Time. 1958-05-12. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  6. Kinsler, Mark (16 August 2021). "Remember When: The quiz show scandal". Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. 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. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  8. Brean, Herbert (15 September 1958). 'Controls' and Plotting Help (Vol. 45, No. 11 ed.). Life Magazine. p. 24. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. "The $64,000 Question | American Experience | PBS". www.pbs.org. Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
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