It took the man who helped create the show (and knew that it was rigged) to lend the dramatic gravitas that made this NBC prime-time show the most exciting of the big-money quiz era. Guiding guests like Charles Van Doren and Elfreda von Nardroff (the show's all-time champ, with over $250,000 in winnings) in and out of their isolation booth sweat boxes, Barry played his role to perfection. And later had to answer for it.
By Richard Zoglin