National Ledger - Jeff Foxworthy Wants His '5th Graders' To Avoid Messed-Up Kids' Path

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By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith Oct 6, 2008

Jeff Foxworthy might be a hoot as he leads contestants through questions on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" -- but he's deadly seriously when he talks about the problems that could await the youngsters who comprise the panel of junior grade experts on the show. "I tell the kids and their parents that it's important for the youngsters to lead normal lives."

Foxworthy Wants His '5th Graders' To Avoid Messed-Up Kids' Path

He adds, "There's always one or two who have grandiose dreams of being television stars, but I encourage them to remain kids while they can. Let's face it, it's not normal being on television, and youngsters don't need the stress of going to auditions and having people following them around with cameras. We all know there's been a long history of kids in Hollywood who have ended up messed up."

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Because of a tight schedule, some children used in the first season of "5th Grader" were professional actors, recruited from talent agencies. This season the panel was selected during a nationwide search.

"We were looking for above-average students with nice personalities, who would just be themselves and respectful of the contestants."

He relates that last season "one of the kids told a contestant, 'I can't believe you don't know that.' I stopped the cameras and said, 'We're not going to do that on this show, not going to be disrespectful.'"

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A full season of "5th Grader" is shot in L.A. in about three weeks, during the summer when the junior-aged panel is on break from school.

Next year, Foxworthy will be doing double duty, when a syndicated, daytime version of the gameshow debuts. An entire season of the latter is scheduled to be done in Los Angeles in just 10 weeks, giving the comedian plenty of time to do the thing he loves most: being with his wife and their two teenage daughters at their Atlanta home.

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