The '' American Experience '' ( PBS ) episode probing the scandal noted , " All the big winners became instant celebrities and household names . For the first time , America 's heroes were intellectuals or experts – jockey Billy Pearson on art , Marine Captain McCutchen on cooking – every subject from the Bible to baseball . Not only had the contestants become rich overnight , but they were also treated to a whirlwind of publicity tours , awards , endorsements and meetings with dignitaries . Traveler Gino Prato , whose category was opera , was brought to Italy for a special performance at la Scala and honored by an audience with the Pope . After winning $ 64,000 , spelling whiz Gloria Lockerman , an African American , became a guest speaker at the 1956 Democratic National Convention . She also appeared as a guest on NBC 's '' The Martha Raye Show '' where she was warmly greeted by Martha Raye and fellow guest Tallulah Bankhead . Baseball expert Myrtle Power was made a sports commentator on CBS . Eleven-year-old stock market expert Lenny Ross was asked to open up the New York Stock Exchange . And with only an eighth-grade education , supply clerk Teddy Nadler , an expert on everything , won more money than any other contestant . It was a new kind of hero in America , a common person with the uncommon gift of knowledge . " One category on the Revlon Category Board was " Jazz " , and within months of the premiere Columbia Records issued a 1955 album of various jazz artists under the tie-in title '' $ 64,000 Jazz '' ( CL 777 , also EP B-777 ) , with the following tracks : " The Shrike " ( Pete Rugolo ) , " Perdido " ( J.J. Johnson , Kai Winding ) , " Laura " ( Erroll Garner ) , " Honeysuckle Rose " ( Benny Goodman ) , " Tawny " ( Woody Herman ) , " One O'Clock Jump " ( Harry James ) , " How Hi the Fi " ( Buck Clayton ) , " I 'm Comin ' , Virginia " ( Eddie Condon ) , " A Fine Romance " ( Dave Brubeck , Paul Desmond ) , " I Let A Song Go Out of My Heart " ( Duke Ellington ) and " Ai n't Misbehavin ' " ( Louis Armstrong )
1956 Democratic National Convention
1956 Democratic National Convention
The $64,000 Question