Allen Albert Funt (September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999) was an American

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

, best known as the creator and host of ''

Candid Camera ''Candid Camera'' is an American hidden camera and practical joke reality television series. The show was created, developed, and presented by Allen Funt. Various versions of the show have appeared on television from 1948 to 2014. The program ...

'' from the 1940s to 1980s, as either a regular

television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

or a

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

of specials. Its most notable run was from 1960 to 1967 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Early life and education

Funt was born into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York. His father, Isidore Funt, was a diamond wholesaler, and his mother was Paula Saferstein Funt. Allen graduated from high school at age 15. Too young to attend college on his own, he studied at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

. He later earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, studied business administration at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and returned to Pratt for additional art instruction.

Career

Radio and television

Trained in

commercial art Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...

, Funt worked for an advertising agency in its art department, but he eventually moved to its radio department. Among his first jobs for radio, he wrote for ''

Truth or Consequences ''Truth or Consequences'' is an American game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–57) and later on television by Edwards (1950–54), Jack Bailey (1954–56), Bob Barker (1956–75), Steve Dunne (1957–58), Bob Hi ...

'' and assisted US First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

with her radio commentaries. Drafted into the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and stationed in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, Funt served in the Army Signal Corps, eventually making radio shows.

''Candid Microphone''

He began his signature program on ABC Radio as ''

The Candid Microphone ''The Candid Microphone'' is an American radio program that was broadcast on ABC from June 28, 1947, until September 23, 1948, and on CBS from June 6, 1950, until August 29, 1950. It was adapted for television as '' Candid Camera''. It used "secr ...

'' on June 28, 1947, and it ran until September 23, 1948. The program was revived on

from June 6 to August 29, 1950. Funt soon experimented with a visual version by making a series of one-reel (10-minute) theatrical short films for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. The series began in July 1948, as part of Columbia's "Film Novelties". Each film was called ''The Candid Microphone'' with the individual entries numbered. Unlike the TV version of the 1960s, where members of the production staff interacted with the unsuspecting victims, the ''Candid Microphone'' reels had Funt himself perpetrate all the stunts. The trade press enjoyed these shorts, which used a then-fresh format. ''The Exhibitor'' encapsulated a November 1949 release: "His first session is with a woman in an airline office who wants to buy a ticket to Denver. After he gets through, she almost decides to take the train. Next, he plays a clerk in a plumber's supply house, and tries to talk a character out of wanting to build a shower in a closet. The final sequence has him as adviser in the office of a honeymoon service, where he tries to sell a prospective bride a bill of the wrong goods." The reviewer gave this short one of the publication's rare "excellent" ratings. These theatrical shorts served as a springboard for ''Candid Camera'', which premiered on television on August 10, 1948. The ''Candid Microphone'' shorts continued to play in theaters through 1956 and were reissued in the 1960s when Funt became a major television personality.

''Candid Camera''

''Candid Camera'' was broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, and

from 1948 to 1953, but only became a household word when CBS programmed a new version in 1960, on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. Eastern time, as a lead-in for the popular ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...

'' at 10:30. There the program found its all-time biggest audience. But CBS executives felt that Funt could not carry the program alone. They installed various masters of ceremonies to formally host the program and introduce the films. Funt was acknowledged as the program's creator and offered

color commentary A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

on the action. The first emcee was the familiar and folksy

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days ...

during the 1960–1961 season. He was succeeded by TV host and announcer Durward Kirby (1961–1966), with former ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...

'' vocalist

Dorothy Collins Dorothy Collins (born Marjorie Chandler;
''

Bess Myerson Bess Myerson (July 16, 1924 – December 14, 2014) was an American politician, model, and television actress who in 1945 became the first Jewish Miss America. Her achievement, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, was seen as an affirmation of th ...

(1966–1967). The show occasionally enlisted guest stars to participate in the stunts. Comedian

Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and played the title character of the popular early American television series '' Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 195 ...

, in character as a mild-mannered fussbudget, was shown earnestly trying to convince longshoremen to give up their hearty meat-and-potatoes dinners, and had them taste wheat germ and other health foods instead. Silent-era comedian

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

, always fond of practical jokes, made multiple appearances in the ''Candid Camera'' films of the early 1960s. He even supplied the show's famous tagline at the end of the broadcast: he stared at the camera and said with a deadpan expression, "Smile. You're on ''Candid Camera''." Funt became so synonymous with ''Candid Camera'' that whenever he appeared on other TV shows, his own show was always referenced. In 1964, he appeared as himself in an episode of the

situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The New Phil Silvers Show ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' is an American sitcom television series starring Phil Silvers which centers around a factory foreman who is always involved in get-rich-quick schemes. Original episodes aired from September 28, 1963, until April 25, 1 ...

''. CBS canceled both ''Candid Camera'' and ''What's My Line?'' in September 1967, although it did show ''Candid Camera'' reruns as a daytime show from 1966 to 1968.

Daring experiment

Free from the restrictions of broadcast television, with

Standards and Practices In the United States, Standards and Practices (also referred to as Broadcast Standards and Practices or BS&P for short) is the name traditionally given to the department at a television network which is responsible for the moral, ethical, and le ...

executives telling him what he could not show on television, Funt decided to pursue an idea that could not possibly be shown on television. He produced a full-length motion picture, ''

What Do You Say to a Naked Lady? ''What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?'' is a 1970 American hidden-camera style reality film directed by ''Candid Camera'' creator Allen Funt. In the film, Funt secretly records people's reactions to unexpected encounters with nudity or sexuality ...

'' (1970), that showed the reactions of ordinary people startled by a nude woman in unlikely places (when an elevator opened, hitchhiking nude, etc.). The film received the adults-only X rating. This proved to be a setback to Funt's career. He had always personified playfully mischievous stunts and good, clean fun, and now he was making X-rated movies. The public stayed away from the film, which landed "way down the list of grossers". Critic Gary Topp wrote, "Funt, who turns out to be more of an exhibitionist than many of his nude characters, has a definite problem with his decisions as to what is funny, and what is pure sensationalism."''Canadian Film Weekly'', April 3, 1970, p. 8. Funt found network-television doors closed to him, and they remained so until 1974. Undaunted, he made a second movie, '' Money Talks'', which received only a limited release. Funt returned to network television in 1974, when ABC broadcast a ''Candid Camera'' retrospective but did not sponsor a series. Instead, Funt sold a new ''Candid Camera'' series for syndication to local stations. It was broadcast from 1974 to 1979. Funt was now the full-fledged host, and his co-hosts included John Bartholomew Tucker,

Phyllis George Phyllis Ann George (June 25, 1949 – May 14, 2020) was an American businesswoman, actress, and sportscaster. In 1975, George was hired as a reporter and co-host of the CBS Sports pre-show ''The NFL Today'', becoming one of the first women t ...

, Jo Ann Pflug, Betsy Palmer, and

Fannie Flagg Fannie Flagg (born Patricia Neal; September 21, 1944) is an American actress, comedian, and author. She is best known as a semi-regular panelist on the 1973–1982 versions of the game show ''Match Game'' and for the 1987 novel '' Fried Green To ...

. In 1982 Funt returned to the racier, nude-models version of the format, offering an adult-oriented series called ''Candid Candid Camera''. These programs were shown on cable TV and sold to home-video markets.

Other pursuits

Funt donated his recordings and films to his alma mater Cornell University and established a fellowship at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

for postgraduate studies in radio and television "aimed at providing the broadcast industry with qualified black personnel." He established a foundation that used laughter therapy for seriously ill patients by providing videocassettes of ''Candid Camera'' episodes. He also taught psychology at Monterey Peninsula College.

Personal life

In 1946, Funt married Evelyn Michal, with whom he had three children, including Peter Funt. In 1964, the couple divorced, and the same year Funt married Marilyn Laron, whom he was divorced in 1978. The couple had two children. Funt had seven grandchildren. On February 3, 1969, Funt, his wife, and his two youngest children boarded

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

Flight 7 in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, with a destination of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. En route, two men hijacked the plane and demanded passage to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Some of the passengers, having spotted Funt, believed the whole thing was a ''Candid Camera'' stunt. Funt repeatedly attempted to persuade them the hijacking was real, to no avail. The plane landed in Cuba, finally convincing the passengers. Funt and the other passengers were released after 11 hours of captivity. Funt resided in

Croton-on-Hudson, New York Croton-on-Hudson ( ) is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at ...

. His estate, White Gates, was sold to opera singer

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

in the early 1990s. In the early 1970s, Funt purchased a ranch south of

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

, "where he raised

Hereford cattle The Hereford is a British List of cattle breeds, breed of beef cattle originally from Herefordshire in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It was the result of selective breeding from the mid-eighteenth century by a few famil ...

and

quarter horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to . ...

s" He later purchased the nearby Bixby Ranch where he resided. Both ranches were eventually bought by

The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

, which expected to turn the land over to the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

. After a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1993, Funt became incapacitated. He died in 1999 in

Pebble Beach, California Pebble Beach is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, California, United States. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also ...

, 11 days before his 85th birthday. ''Candid Camera'' continued with his son Peter Funt as host.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Funt, Allen 1914 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American Jews American television directors Television personalities from California Television writers from California Columbia Business School alumni Cornell University alumni American male television writers Television producers from New York City Hijacking survivors People from Croton-on-Hudson, New York People from Monterey County, California Screenwriters from New York (state) Television producers from California 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers Practical jokes