Richard G. Rosner

Rosner’s letter-writing campaign and attempts to get brought back on the show led to his being profiled in the Errol Morris series First Person. Jimmy Kimmel later hired him as a writer, producer and occasional on-air talent. In 2008, he appeared in a Domino’s Pizza ad for a line of oven-baked sandwiches. In April 2009 and August 2013, Rosner appeared on Bill Simmons’ ESPN podcast The B.S. Report. In May 2009 Rosner was featured on an episode of A&E Television’s Obsessed. The episode focused on his obsession with working out due to a fear of aging and dying.

Rosner grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He reportedly spent 10 years in high school, leaving in 1987. Rosner began working on a theory of everything around age 21, and had returned to high school at age 26 in order to have “one of those desk-chair combinations” in a quiet place to think about how the theory might work, drawing a comparison in an interview to Albert Einstein’s Swiss patent office.

Rosner began writing for quiz shows in 1987 on the MTV series Remote Control. He then scripted a number of clip shows, countdowns, and outtake programs in the 1990s. Rosner’s 2000 appearance on the quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire led to a lawsuit over an allegedly flawed question he missed on the elevation of various country capitals. Rosner was asked, “What capital city is located at the highest altitude above sea level?” and given four answer choices: Mexico City, Quito, Bogota, and Kathmandu. Rosner answered Kathmandu, which is at about half the altitude of Quito. Nonetheless, Rosner sued. Rosner’s demand letter to the show insisted that a different city, not on the list of four answer choices, was the world’s highest capital. The show responded that that did not matter.

In 1985, he scored 44 of 48 on Ron Hoeflin’s Mega Test, a test described in a history of IQ testing as “a nonstandardized test put out by an obscure group known as Mega, supposedly the world’s most selective organization of geniuses.” A score of 44 of 48 represents an IQ of about 180. In 1991 he retook the test and achieved 47 of 48 (IQ 190). From 1991 to 1997, Rosner was editor of Noesis, the journal of the Mega Society. Rick completed Hoeflin’s Titan Test and is the first individual to have answered all 48 questions correctly, with a 15-year-old C. Minor later having done the same, thereby becoming the only individual to match Rosner’s Titan and surpass his Mega scores in a single attempt. He achieved an IQ score of 192 in the high-range IQ test Mathema by answering 13 of 16 questions correctly, as well as 190 on the CIT – Form 3E by answering 76 of 78 questions correctly.

Richard G. Rosner (born May 2, 1960) is an American television writer and reality television personality known for his alleged high intelligence test scores and his unusual career. There are alleged reports that he has achieved some of the highest scores ever recorded on IQ tests designed to measure exceptional intelligence. He has become known for taking part in activities not usually associated with geniuses. Rosner claims that he has worked as a stripper, roller-skating waiter, bouncer, and nude model. He has appeared in numerous documentaries and profiles about his activities and views. He has also appeared in both a Domino’s Pizza commercial as well as one for Burger King and sued the quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire over an allegedly flawed question he missed as a contestant in 2000. He wrote and produced for quiz shows and several programs produced by Jimmy Kimmel, including The Man Show, Crank Yankers, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!