Figure 1.--Here we see an early broadcast of 'The Quiz Kids'. The photograph is not dated, but we think was taken in 1941. Notice Gerald here. We think he is Gerald Darrow. He was the nature expert.

'The Quiz Kids' was a popular radio series that made the transition to television. It was created by Chicago public relations and advertising man Louis G. Cowan. It was originally sponsored by Alka-Seltzer. The program was first broadcast on NBC from Chicago (June 28, 1940). It began as a summer replacement show for 'Alec Templeton Time'. It was a hit anbd continued on radio for the 13 years. It made the transition to television and appeard on both NBC and CBS (1949-53) with Joe Kelly as quizmaster. It was briefly reprised with Clifton Fadiman as host (1956). Kelly asked questions both sent in by listeners and researched by Eliza Hickok and Rachel Stevenson. Kelly frely admitted that he was no intellectual, and that he could not have answered any of the questions without knowing the answer from his flash cards. He proved successful in his role, however, because he was kind and affable with the children. He had an appealing knack for putting the children at ease. The questions were answered by a panel composed of five children, all under 16-years old. The children were chosen for their high IQs, strong academic interests, and appealing personalities, as well as oher attributes including poise, quickness, and sense of humor. One of the first Quiz Kids was 7-year-old nature expert Gerard Darrow, he proved populr because he was one of the younger children. We can see him here, we think in 1941 (figure 1). For the initial premiere panel he was joined by Mary Ann Anderson, Joan Bishop, George Van Dyke Tiers and Charles Schwartz. Other notable participans were war refugee Gunther Hollander and math experts Joel Kupperman and Richard Williams. The kid panelists rotated each week. The three top scorers each week appeared with two others the next.

Created: 3:59 AM 9/26/2018
Last updated: 3:59 AM 9/26/2018