owed in no small part to its handsome champion, charles van doren. "general h.w. halleck. you're right and you have eight points." *claps "eva maria saint. right you have ten points." *claps "patterson, joseph patterson. it would be and you have eight points." *claps van doren's streak began with a victory against herb stempel, the long-standing champ, whose fall came on this question. "what motion picture won the academy award for 1955?" "on the waterfront?" "no, i'm sorry the answer is marty." minutes later, van doren would take over as the face of twenty one. "that's your answer? adequalpa?" "that's right." then you scored 21 points!" a fate that wasn't a consequence of chance but instead, one carefully scripted. a changing of the guard for an audience that had grown tired of stempel's reign. something the show's sponsor "geritol" deduced from the dip in ratings. van doren quickly asserted himself in pop culture answering his way to thousands of dollars and turning "twenty one" into must-see tv. meanwhile, a bitter herb stempel, forced to leave the spotlight became bent