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.

Life and career

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 not, 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 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, 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.

Personality

According to an anecdote in Reader's Digest, he was so finicky about his appearance that he couldn't stand people touching him. One day, a fan of the program stood so close to him that he backed up continually, until the fan removed a fluff from his suit. That made Funt exclaim "Put it back where you found it!"

External links

• Allen Funt at Find A Grave

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). 

• "Allen Funt 1914 - 1999". candidcamera.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.

• ^  Allen Funt at the Internet Movie Database

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