Candid Camera
Candid Camera was a Reality TV show that originally premiered in 1948 and has run off and on ever since, usually in Syndication; it was the successor to the 1947-48 Radio program The Candid Microphone. The TV show was created and produced by the late Allen Funt; it used hidden cameras to film ordinary people in unusual situations, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed. When the joke was revealed, the victims would be greeted with the Catch Phrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera." Celebrities were regularly featured as well, either as victims of or as participants in a prank.
It is, needless to say, the Trope Codifier for the Candid Camera Prank. It spawned a host of imitators and successors over the decades, including such shows as Punk'd and TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes and performance art-event-thing group Improv Everywhere . It may well be the Ur Example of the Reality Show.
Funt made his last appearance as host in the 1970s incarnation, with co-host Jo Ann Pflug. Since then there have been several more revivals, the two most recent (as of 2017) starred Allen Funt's son Peter as host, with Dina Eastwood as his co-host for the series which ended in 2004, and Mayim Bialik as co-host for the 2014 series. Other runs had a variety of hosts and co-hosts including Phyllis George, Eva LaRue, Dom DeLuise, and Suzanne Somers.
- Bavarian Fire Drill: The British version once successfully (pretended to have) closed an entire county, only allowing vehicles in as others came out.
- Candid Camera Prank: The whole point of the show.
- Decoy Damsel: Used several times. In one instance, a frail blond Damsel in Distress would be deposited on some street corner with two large suitcases. The suitcases looked identical, but one was empty and the other would be filled with concrete, weighing at least 200 pounds. When some big strong man approached, she would ask him to help with her suitcases ... then she would pick up the empty suitcase and walk away, while the hidden camera recorded the reaction of the poor schmo as he tried to pick up the other suitcase.
- Husky Russkie: Subverted when they tried the trick in Moscow. The blonde pulled the routine on a burly Russian pedestrian ... who picked up the 200-pound suitcase and followed her effortlessly.
- Mistaken for An Imposter: Allen Funt was once on a flight that was hijacked and flown to Cuba. Because everyone on the plane recognized him, he was the only passenger to realize that this wasn't a joke.
- The Movie: Funt made two movies with the same premise: What Do You Say to a Naked Lady? and Money Talks.
- Reaching Between the Lines: There was a stunt where a person talking on the phone suddenly sneezed. The victim, at the other end, was then sprayed with water from a gadget in the receiver. The victims reacted with disgust, at least until Fridge Logic kicked in.
- Recycled in Space: "Candid Candid Camera" was a direct-to-video spinoff featuring coarse language and nudity.
- Schmuck Bait: A key component of many pranks.
- Inverted once where they put a bowl in a public place full of money with a sign that said "FREE MONEY". Nobody touched it, assuming it was Schmuck Bait.
- The Television Talks Back: Once done on the French version with a victim who was watching Questions pour un Champion, just as the guy found the answer to a question about a TV show where people are pranked on tape.
- Visual Pun: Frequently used as the basis for a gag, such as the "Rest Room" filled with cots and sleeping people.