The website will return to it’s normal revelry in a little while, but first off today I wanted to note the passing of one of my favorite players. Ken Schober is doing one of two things in the above photo, I’m quite sure. He is either laughing his loud, wonderful laugh or he is preparing to chastise me for not asking any opera questions. Of course, once he was done chastising me, he would make a flippant remark to let me know he wasn’t serious and then, of course, begin laughing again. I don’t remember any encounters with Ken that didn’t include that deep, loud laugh. I am going to miss it. A couple of his teammates on Duane’s World supply their memories of Ken (who, depite his jovial demeanor, took quizzo very seriously) below.
Johnny,
You’ve known ken from other quizzo bars so you know his attention to detail. You know that he spoke loud, laughed alot, researched his almanac every week and tried to guess what topics you might ask about from week to week. The last funny story I have on him is that on your multiple choice questions, he was convinced there was a pattern. For several weeks, the right answers were either A or B. Actually, the last night he played there was a question that none of us were really sure of but we guessed it was A. Then he launched into his theory and insisted that it had to be C or D because it had been A or B for several weeks. He kept going on and on about this theory and we said “Ken, hand the sheet in! We don’t care! Change it to C if you think it’s right!” But he kept going
on and on about his theory and finally I grabbed the sheet and handed it to you as you walked by, just to end it! Well, his theory was right that night. We had put A. he had said it was C. And he was right. Afterwards, he told you never to take the sheet from anyone else but him. Unfortunately, that was to be his last night playing quizzo. -Duane
Ken organized and was the leader of the “Duane’s World” team. He once told me that JGT Quizzo was the most important social event he regularly did. Ken had once run his own quizzo in a bar where I tended and he worked the door. He hoped it would make slow Tuesday nights pass more quickly. After our shift, I remember going over potential questions with him; Always at hand, a world almanac. Now, most of the “Duane’s World” team owns one.
I remember the night a young man forgot the quiz host’s other job. He would repeatedly shout out, sometimes correctly, the answers to the questions. Finally, Ken the quizmaster had enough, set down his papers and using his six-four frame of 235lbs dragged the lad through the bar and out the door.
Ken loved to anticipate JGT’s questions, researching events that occurred in the past near the day of each week”s Quizzo. One night, almanac in hand, he quizzed the team about the state of Utah, certain he had nailed JGT’s wild card round for the week. The look on his face when JGT announced that the wild card round would be about the state of Alaska was one I will always remember. Weeks later, when JGT asked which state was nicknamed the “Bee-hive State” the whole team laughed and knew the answer. Yes, Ken will be greatly missed. -John