Candid Camera arrives on television

AUG 10 1948

Allen Funt brought the format to ABC television, still under the Candid Microphone title, before moving to NBC in autumn 1949 where it was renamed Candid Camera. Funt built trick props for the purpose, including desks with spring-loaded drawers and cars with hidden fuel tanks, and interleaved the stunts with straight interviews of ordinary people. It became one of the longest-running formats in American television and the template for hidden-camera comedy worldwide.