Elfrida von Nardroff

Elfrida von Nardroff (July 3, 1925 – November 11, 2021) was an American game show contestant. In 1958, she won $220,500 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.

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

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 achieved ABD status in sociology from Columbia University Graduate School. She also studied literature at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. In 1956 she received a call from a talent scout with the company who produced the game show Twenty-One. in 2021 dollars.

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.

von Nardroff was called to testify before a grand jury on November 12, 1958. She denied receiving any assistance. The investigation prompted ratings for all quiz shows to fall and by October 1958, Twenty-One was off the air.

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.

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

Death

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