Candid Camera, the first and longest running reality-based comedy program, premiered on ABC 10 August 1948 under its original radio title Candid Microphone. The format of the program featured footage taken by a hidden camera of everyday people caught in hoaxes devised by the show's host Allen Funt. In the world of Candid Camera mailboxes talked to passers by, cars rolled along effortlessly without engines, little boys used x-ray glasses, and secretaries were chained to their desks--all to provoke a reaction from unsuspecting mechanics, clerks, customers and passers by. In a 1985 Psychology Today article, Funt explained his move to television by saying that he "wanted to go beyond what people merely said, to record what they did--their gestures, facial expressions, confusions and delights.
The program ultimately changed its name to Candid Camera when it moved to NBC in 1949 but did not gain a permanent time slot until it finally moved to CBS in 1960. For the next seven years it was consistently rated as one of television's top ten shows before it was abruptly canceled. Funt 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 1974-78. Aided by his son Peter, Funt continued to create special theme episodes (e.g.: "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.
On the Radio: Candid Microphone
The scenarios designed and recorded by Funt and his crew were unique glimpses into the quirks and foibles of human nature never before deliberately captured on film. The average scenario lasted approximately five minutes and was based on one of five strategies. These "ideas" included reversing normal or anticipated procedures, exposing basic human weaknesses such as ignorance or vanity, fulfilling fantasies, using the element of surprise or placing something in a bizarre or inappropriate setting. As Funt noted: "You have to make lots of adjustments to create viewer believability and really involve the subject. You need the right setting, one in which the whole scenario will fit and make sense to the audience even when it doesn't to the actor." Finding the right setting, and the right people for Candid Camera
stunts was not always an easy task.
Early attempts
to film Candid Camera were hampered by technical, logistical and censorship difficulties. While they appeared simple, the staged scenes took many hours to prepare and success was far from guaranteed. Approximately fifty recorded sequences were filmed for every four to five aired on the program. Funt and his crew had to contend with burdensome equipment that was difficult to conceal. The cameras were often hidden behind a screen, but the lights needed for them had to be left out in the open. Would-be victims were told that the lights were part of "renovations." Microphones were concealed in boxes, under tables and, in a number of episodes, in a cast worn by Funt himself. In his book Eavesdropping at Large (1952), Funt also described his battles with network censors and sponsors who had never before confronted this type of programming and were often fickle in their decisions about what was and was not acceptable material for television at the time. Funt himself destroyed any material that was off color, or reached too deeply into people's private lives. A hotel gag designed to fool guests placed a "men's room" sign on a closet door. The funniest, but ultimately unaired reaction, came from a gentleman who ignored the obvious lack of accommodations and "used" the closet anyway.
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