September 5: Candid Camera

Allen Funt, the creator of television’s original “reality show,” Candid Camera, died on this date in 1999. The show began as a radio program on June 28, 1947, then came to television on August 10, 1948, where it ran in various forms for more than half a century, with Funt serving as cost or co-host until he suffered a crippling stroke in 1993. Candid Camera used hidden cameras that filmed people’s reactions to freaky, contrived situations. In one episode, for example, former President Harry Truman was filmed walking down the street startling people by asking them the time of day. The joke would ultimately be revealed with the show’s catchphrase, “Smile! You’re on Candid Camera.” In 1968, Funt produced a feature-length film, What Do You Say to a Naked Lady? which captured candid reactions to sexual situations. Allen Funt’s son Peter, who became the producer of Candid Camera, observed that “We’ve always come at it from the idea that we believe people are wonderful and we’re out to confirm it. Our imitators and other shows . . . often seem to come at it from the opposite perspective, which is that people are stupid, and we’re going to find ways to underscore that.”
“The average scenario lasted approximately five minutes and was based on one of [several] strategies . . . 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. . . . Approximately fifty recorded sequences were filmed for every four to five aired on the program.”—Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television
Watch a 1963 guest appearance on Candid Camera by Woody Allen: