Peter Funt on 75 Years of Candid Camera: Behind the Scenes of Television's Most Enduring Hidden Camera Show

Peter Funt, son of Candid Camera creator Allen Funt and longtime host of the iconic series, joins the show to discuss the remarkable 75-year history of television's original hidden camera program and his new book "Self Amused: A Tell Some Memoir." What began as a radio show called Candid Microphone in 1947 has evolved into a television institution that holds the record as the only entertainment program to produce new episodes across eight different decades—a distinction shared only with NBC's Meet the Press in the news category.The origins of Candid Camera trace back to a serendipitous discovery during World War II when Allen Funt was stationed at an army base in Oklahoma. His job involved recording messages from soldiers to send home to their families on expensive acetate discs. After noticing that soldiers performed better during rehearsals than when the recording light was on, he secretly disconnected the red light and captured their authentic, unrehearsed moments. This realization about the power of hidden audio led to Candid Microphone on ABC Radio in 1947, and just one year later became the very first program ever televised on what would become the ABC television network. The show retained the name Candid Microphone even on television until moving to NBC in late 1949, when it was renamed Candid Camera—a term that proved far more memorable and alliterative.