ALLEN FUNT
Name: Allen Funt
Born: 16 September 1914
Died: 5 September 1999
Allen Funt (September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999) was an American producer-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.
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. He 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).
During the 1970s, he made two reality 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 JoAnn 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, NY in
Croton-on-Hudson. His White Gates estate was sold to opera singer Jessye Norman
in the early 1990s. Following a stroke, he died in Pebble Beach, California in
1999. Candid Camera continued with his son, Peter Funt, as host.
Name: Allen Funt
Born: 16 September 1914
Died: 5 September 1999
Allen Funt (September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999) was an American producer-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.
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. He 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).
During the 1970s, he made two reality 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 JoAnn 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, NY in
Croton-on-Hudson. His White Gates estate was sold to opera singer Jessye Norman
in the early 1990s. Following a stroke, he died in Pebble Beach, California in
1999. Candid Camera continued with his son, Peter Funt, as host.