Leonard Ross
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Leonard "Lenny" M. Ross, (July 7, 1945 – May 1, 1985) was an American teacher, lawyer, and government official who was famous for his celebrity as a
child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...
and
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...
contestant. Ross's game show winnings, totaling $164,000 (), were for two months in the spring of 1957 the highest ever earned on a United States television game show.


Early years

Ross was born to Pauline Ross on July 7, 1945. Ross was known as a prodigy and a genius. At age 7 years, he gained national attention by passing a federal examination for a ham radio operator's license. At 10 years, he became known as the ''whiz kid'' who won $100,000 on ''
The Big Surprise ''The Big Surprise'' is a television quiz show broadcast in the United States by NBC from October 8, 1955, to June 9, 1956, and from September 18, 1956, to April 2, 1957. It was hastily created by NBC in response to the ratings success of ''Th ...
'', a television quiz show. Many of the questions he correctly answered concerned the stock market. As a prize, he became the first guest to ring the opening bell at the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
. At 11 years, on February 10, 1957, Ross won $64,000 on ''
The $64,000 Challenge ''The $64,000 Question'' is an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the q ...
.'' This total made Ross the highest winner of game show prize money for two months, until passed by another child contestant, Robert Strom, on April 16. At 14 years, Ross was graduated from high school and immediately
matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...
at
Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...
. In his senior year, he transferred to the
University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...
to be closer to his family. In 1963, at the age of 18 years, Ross entered
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
. While there, he was editor-in-chief of the
Yale Law Journal ''The Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ) is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School. The journal is one ...
. He began seeing a psychoanalyst to manage his neurotic tendencies. He graduated at 20 years, and went on to study at Yale's graduate school of economics for three years. Reports conflict on whether he graduated or if he failed to write his doctoral dissertation.


Career

Ross was awarded a teaching fellowship at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
in the early 1970s. He then went on to teach at
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
. He also became involved in politics and held positions of public service. After resigning from Columbia University, Ross joined the California gubernatorial campaign of Edmund Gerald Brown, Jr., (
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
), becoming a part of the "issues and ideas staff". Later, he would aid in creating Mr. Brown's first budget. In 1975, Ross accepted an appointment to the
California Public Utilities Commission The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or PUC) is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. In addition ...
under Brown, making him one of the youngest members of the commission. The appointment was to last six years, but Ross resigned after just two. He then went on to serve President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
in the
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
. There, he worked as an advisor to a former professor at
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
, Richard Cooper, who was the under-secretary for economic affairs. Ross resigned from this position after one year and slipped into a deep depression. While in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
in 1978, Ross was awarded a foundation grant to do a
monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
on
nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries, particularly those not recognized as List of states with nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapon states by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonl ...
. Upset about a failed romance, Ross attempted suicide and was admitted to
McLean Hospital McLean Hospital () (formerly known as Somerville Asylum and Charlestown Asylum) is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. McLean maintains the world's largest neuroscientific and psychiatric research program in a private hospital. It i ...
, a private psychiatric clinic outside Boston. Upon his release, he moved back to California and joined the faculty at
Boalt Hall The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was never the official name. This cam ...
, the University of California law school on the Berkeley campus. He resigned from the faculty in 1984 following a brief stay in the hospital after students found him under his car, rehearsing his lecture, in the parking lot of the school. He then went on to work for a small law firm in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, where he was to be the "idea man" with no strenuous legal work, but the deterioration of his mind made concentrating an impossible task. During his career, Ross tended to co-author books and articles with partners who would see the work through to completion—a task which was near impossible for Ross with his racing mind. He co-wrote a book about students' legal rights during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
draft called ''The Lottery and the Draft: Where Do I Stand?''. With Peter Passell, a fellow professor at Columbia University, Ross co-wrote "Retreat from Riches: Affluence and Its Enemies" about a national policy of rapid growth being the only way to reduce poverty in America. In April 1972, Ross co-authored a strenuous attack on the newly published book ''
The Limits to Growth ''The Limits to Growth'' (''LTG'') is a 1972 report that discussed the possibility of exponential Economic growth, economic and population growth with finite supply of resources, studied by computer simulation. The study used the World3 computer ...
'' in ''The'' ''New York Times''. In total, Ross co-wrote or wrote three books on economics, articles for the ''
New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
'' and ''The New York Times'', and a popular compendium of the best of everything from pizzas to police precincts called ''The Best.''


Death

Ross's life unraveled as his mood swings and impatience with himself and the world became uncontrollable. Ross was aware his mental state was deteriorating and aggressively sought out physical solutions for his mental ailments. Convinced his emotional problems had a physical cause, Ross spent a considerable amount of time in medical libraries researching new and unorthodox treatments to cure himself. Among the treatments he tried were elaborate drug regimes, shock treatments, and brain surgery. The surgery, a
cingulotomy Bilateral cingulotomy is a form of psychosurgery, introduced in 1948 as an alternative to lobotomy. Today, it is mainly used in the treatment of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In the early years of the twenty-first century, it wa ...
, was performed at
Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...
and consisted of snipping a circuit in the limbic system. The surgery failed to alleviate his depression. Those around Ross attempted to intervene and help. His friends lent him money and tried to find him jobs that were better suited for his mental state. In April 1985, Ross moved in with his brother, Daniel, accepting Daniel's and his mother's help. On May 1, 1985, at 39 years, Ross committed
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
in the pool of Capri Motel in
Santa Clara, California Santa Clara ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Clare of Assisi, Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns i ...
. After his death, a psychiatrist who had treated Ross remarked, "the early fame and brilliant success of his youth ruined him. Being a child prodigy is an enormously powerful event that disrupts normal development." Ross never married and left no children. He is remembered as a "true genius, a sweet, likable, and generous man."


References


External links

* Ross, in his own words
Television Interview with Mike Wallace 1957
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Leonard 1945 births 1985 deaths Contestants on American game shows University of California, Los Angeles alumni Yale University alumni Harvard University faculty Columbia University faculty Suicides in California