Joel Kupperman, a star on the radio program, “The Quiz Kids,” from age 6 to 16, died April 8 at an assisted living facility in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, of Covido-19 symptoms. He was 83.

He was one of the youngest contestants of precocious boys and girls, who answered questions about math, literature, sports and history, all sent in by listeners.

But his early fame became a taboo subject for his family in his adulthood, most of which was spent teaching philosophy at the University of Connecticut. “It was something we knew we were not ever to mention” said Karen Kupperman, his wife of 56 years and a history professor at New York University. In a rare interview with The New York Times, Professor Kupperman said his memories of being a national sensation were painful “Being a bright child among your peers was not the best way to grow up in America,” he said.