Riddle Me This

 What's the longest-running quiz show on TV? Go on—take a guess. No, it's not "Wheel of Fortune" or "Jeopardy." Give up? It's a program that's been running annually since 1961, begun at WRC in Washington, DC. Titled "IT'S ACADEMIC," the show was created by Sophie Altman who continued to produce the show until just three weeks ago, when she was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center. Unfortunately, she succumbed to her illness and died May 24th at the age of 97.

Every year, 81 Washington area secondary schools (public, parochial, private, suburban, and inner-city) participate on the TV academic bowl competition, with schools rooting for their teams complete with banners, bands, cheerleaders (Sandra Bullock rooted for her team), and fans sporting school colors. Contestants have gone on to become famous in their respective fields, from New York Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton (who was an alternate—hmmm, that sounds familiar), to George Stephanopolus to Bruce Cohen (producer of American Beauty and Big Fish) to astronaut Timothy Creamer.

Also appearing:  Laura Lippman (captain of the Wilde Lake High School team) and Michael Chabon.

It's nice to hear there's at least one venue for academics in a world where high school sports get most of the attention. The Washington Post had a nice remembrance about Altman and the program, including this quotation from a Bethesda high school teacher, "Many of our past team members have come back to tell me that their participation in 'It's Academic' fundamentally changed their lives -- the stories range from poor students who became scholars, doctors and lawyers to (dozens of) students who had a hard time finding a fit socially until they found a home on the It's Ac team."

At its peak, the show was licensed to television stations in 24 cities and is still on the air in Washington, Baltimore, Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Phoenix, San Diego and Buffalo. Altman even instituted a series of "It's Academic" programs in federal and state prisons. If there is an afterlife, she's probably there right now, putting together an empyreal competition. Wouldn't it be fun to see a Golden Age gals crime fiction team (say Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingha) vs. a Golden Age guys team (maybe John Dickson Carr, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Rex Stout)?