Allen Funt
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| Allen Funt | |
| Born | 16 September 1914 New York City, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Died | September 5, 1999 (aged 84) Pebble Beach, California, USA |
Allen Funt (September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999) was an American film/television producer and film/television director, best known as the creator and host of Candid Camera from the 1940s to 1980s, as either a regular show or a series of specials. Its most notable run was from 1960 to 1967 on CBS.
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[edit] Radio and television
Funt achieved a BA in Fine Arts from Cornell University in 1934 and studied business administration at Columbia University. He began the show on ABC Radio in 1946 as Candid Microphone and soon experimented with a visual version by doing a series of theatrical short films also known as Candid Microphone. These film shorts served as a springboard for his entrance into television on August 10, 1948.
In the 1963-1964 season, he appeared as himself on the episode, "Smile, Harry, You're on Candid Camera," of The New Phil Silvers Show, starring comedian Phil Silvers as factory foreman Harry Grafton.
[edit] Books
Funt wrote several books, beginning with Eavesdropper at Large: Adventures in Human Nature with "Candid Mike" (Vanguard Press, 1952). He followed Candid Kids (Bernard Geis, 1964) with Candidly, Allen Funt: A Million Smiles Later (Barricade Books, 1994).
[edit] Films
During the 1970s, Funt made two documentary films based on the hidden camera theme: What Do You Say to a Naked Lady? (1970) and Money Talks (1972). Funt also produced a syndicated version of Candid Camera from 1974 to 1979; his co-hosts included, at various times, John Bartholomew Tucker and Jo Ann Pflug. In the 1980s, Funt produced a series of adult-oriented videos called Candid Candid Camera.
He amassed a collection of works by the Victorian painter Lawrence Alma-Tadema, but was forced to sell them just before the painter's reputation revived and the prices of the paintings shot up.
Born in New York City, Funt lived for a short time in Westchester County, New York in Croton-on-Hudson. His White Gates estate was sold to opera singer Jessye Norman in the early 1990s. Following a stroke in 1993, he became incapacitated and died in Pebble Beach, California. Candid Camera continued with his son, Peter Funt, as host.
[edit] References
- Alma-Tadema (Catalogue of the Funt Collection) compiled by Russell Ash, Sotheby’s Belgravia, 1973
- Vallance, Tom (1999-09-08). "Obituary: Allen Funt". Independent, The (London). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19990908/ai_n14248363.
- "Allen Funt 1914 - 1999". candidcamera.com. http://www.candidcamera.com/cc2/cc2e.html. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
