Candid Camera

Candid Camera
GenreComedy
Created byAllen Funt
Developed byAllen Funt
Presented by
Narrated byDurward Kirby (1960–66)
Bess Myerson (1966–67)
Theme music composerFrank Grant
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons38
No. of episodes1,000+
Production
Executive producers
Production locationVarious on-location
Camera setupSingle camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Candid Camera is an American hidden camera reality television series, with versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes, and initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947.

After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948, and continued into the 1970s. Aside from occasional specials in the 1980s, the show was off air until 1991, when Funt reluctantly authorized a syndicated revival with Dom DeLuise as host and Vin Di Bona producing; it ran for one year. The show made a comeback on CBS in 1996 before moving to PAX TV in 2001. This incarnation of the weekly series ended on May 5, 2004, concurrent with the selling of the PAX network itself. Beginning on August 11, 2014, the show returned[1] in a new series with hour-long episodes on TV Land, but this incarnation only lasted a single season.

The format has been revived numerous times, appearing on U.S. TV networks and in syndication (first-run) in each succeeding decade, as either a regular show or a series of specials. Funt, who died in 1999, hosted or co-hosted all versions of the show until he became too ill to continue. His son Peter Funt, who had co-hosted the specials with his father since 1987, became the producer and host. A United Kingdom version of the format aired from 1960 to 1976.

  1. ^ "The Return of Candid Camera". Haphazard Stuff. September 25, 2014.