Candid Camera
 Candid Camera was originally created in the USA by Allen
Funt and translated to the UK during the 60s.
The basic premise of the show was simple and oft imitated
(albeit in an inferior way . . . did someone mention Jeremy
Beadle?) - Lead unsuspecting members of the public through
humorous and usually humiliating situations and film them with
hidden cameras.
The puzzled participants were finally let in on
the joke when they were told "Smile . . . you're on Candid
Camera!"
Funt's unique idea, catching people "in the act of being
themselves," began on radio as Candid Microphone in
1947. The following year the program moved to television, where it
continues today as a CBS-TV series produced and hosted by Funt's
oldest son, Peter.
The very first TV version of Candid Camera featured
Allen Funt as a waiter in a restaurant who served only one dish,
Liver. Not as memorable as the talking letterbox or the motor-less
car but cute.
He was frequently joined by guest hosts such as Arthur Godfrey,
Durward Kirby and Bess Meyerson. A syndicated version of the
program containing old and new material aired from 1974 to1978 and
aided by his son Peter, Funt continued to create special theme
episodes (EG: Smile, You're on Vacation, Candid Camera
goes to the Doctor, etc.) for CBS until 1990 when The New
Candid Camera, advised by Funt and hosted by Dom DeLuise went
into syndication.
 Low ratings finally prevented King Productions from renewing
the show for the 1992-93 season.
In 1968, Funt also produced his first feature-length movie, the
hidden-camera study of sexuality, What Do You Say to a Naked
Lady?
His other credits included 40 movie shorts for Columbia, three
books; Eavesdropper at Large, Candid Kids and Candidly,
Allen Funt, seven albums and more than 100 sales training
films for major corporations.
Candid Camera came to Britain in 1960, with pranksters
like Arthur Atkins and the notorious Jonathan Routh, and with Bob
Monkhouse as the first host. The show preyed on gullible Brits for
seven years, setting up over 6, 400 hoaxes. It briefly returned in
1974 with Peter Dulay at the helm.
Viewers sent in a thousand ideas a week, the vast majority of
which were taken by the victims in good spirits. But Jonathan
Routh had a couple of scrapes.
A former heavyweight boxer, Sid
Richardson, gave him a black eye, adding "I think it's a
rotten program", and another aggrieved soul chased Routh with
a crowbar.
On one occasion the show proved expensive for Bob Monkhouse
when he tried selling £5 notes for £4 10s in Blackpool. "I
thought nobody would buy them - they'd think the money was
counterfeit. The only way I could convince Candid Camera to
try the idea was by offering to use my own money. Unfortunately I
did a roaring trade. In half an hour I was sold out - and £50 out
of pocket".
Classic hoaxes on the British version of Candid Camera
included running a car downhill into a garage forecourt and
filming the face of the mechanic when he found there was no engine
in it, and the cake factory woman who tried valiantly, but
unsuccessfully, to cope when the conveyor belt was run at double
and then treble speed.
 The show also became a favourite for criminals, who posed as Candid
Camera workers to cover up suspicious behaviour while carrying
out burglaries.
Jonathan Routh and his team were looking suitably
furtive one day when a police car suddenly roared up ready to
arrest them; unknown to them they had been filming near a bank and
had been reported by an alert citizen.
Thereafter the police
demanded to be told when and where the Candid Camera team
were filming their practical jokes.
One escapade that backfired badly followed Peter Dulay
appearing to eat a goldfish (really a slice of carrot) from a tank
in a dry-cleaners shop in front of horrified customers. A woman
telephoned to say that after watching the program her small son
had gone in the next room and eaten their goldfish.
Allen Funt died at his home in Pebble Beach on 5 September 1999 at
the age of 84. He donated his entire Candid Camera film
library to the psychology department of his alma mater, Cornell
University, in order to share his insights into the human psyche
and his work with the students.
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