Joel J. Kupperman

Kupperman died from complications of COVID-19 in Brooklyn, New York, on April 8, 2020. He was 83.

In 2018, Simon & Schuster published All the Answers, a graphic memoir by Michael Kupperman on his father Joel's rise to fame and his subsequent retreat from public life.

He received his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Chicago, where he enrolled at age 16. Due to his fame as a Quiz Kids prodigy, he was bullied by other students. He developed an interest in Asian philosophy, through which he found a mentor: a visiting professor who advised him to leave the United States. He migrated to England, where he enrolled in the University of Cambridge, earning a Ph.D. in Philosophy. He started teaching at the University of Connecticut in 1960 and was made a full professor in 1972.

Joel Jay Kupperman (May 18, 1936 – April 8, 2020) was an American professor of philosophy at the University of Connecticut and author of Six Myths about the Good Life, a popular philosophical volume centering on those values most worth engaging in human life. He was best known to the general public as a young math expert on the radio and television show Quiz Kids. He astounded audiences with his ability to do complex mathematics rapidly and seemingly "in his head." He also had strong general knowledge, and was often the winner of the weekly competitions featured on the show. The 1944 film Chip Off the Old Block, starring Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan and Ann Blyth, featured Kupperman as the "Quiz Kid", representative of the group.