The Flying Phone Booth: Three years behind the Candid Camera Review

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(More customer reviews)Candid Camera was a top ten show for many years, and during Lou Tyrrell's tenure as producer/director, it was number one for 16 weeks. I was one of the millions who loved the gags, but I never realized how much crazy-hard work goes into making a weekly comedy show - and I didn't know how difficult and complex a personality Allen Funt was -- until now. The book gives a...well, yeah, a CANDID portrayal of Tyrrell's time with Allen Funt, who comes off as a genius, but a troubled genius: always a smile for the camera, but rarely a pleasant word for his troops who were always busting it for him. Tyrrell, however, was not afraid to cross swords with Funt, and the gamesmanship between the two men creates the necessary tension for a real page-turner -- and yes, there are many pages to be turned, but Tyrrell's crisp, staccato writing style never drags.
There are loads of very personal memories about his family life, about the women he loved, and a poignant remembrance of Kennedy's assassination. There are the classic Candid Camera gags. There's even the great Durwood Kirby! And there's the almost-obsessive details throughout about NY food, from piping hot spring rolls at a favorite Chinese restaurant to the cool creamy cheesecake at Junior's. I came to understand that food played a big part in keeping Tyrrell at peace with himself, his family, and his colleagues during these very turbulent times of his life.
Highly recommended!

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Come back to the sixties!Come back and join the crew producing America's number one television show, Candid Camera.Come back, meet Mr. Candid Camera himself, Allen Funt, the self proclaimed genius whose great idea developed into America's first reality television success.Join the workers and discover the multiple personalities that filled his magic brain.Learn the problems dealing with a different boss everyday, the tension waiting to see which Allen showed up every morning bringing new problems you didn't have yesterday. Then go in the studio watch the fans as they pour their love on the smiling, bouncy star they know as Allen Funt.Read stories about great Cndid Camera sequences, about the Candid stars who made them work, and the subjects, the real people, the ones responsible for the all the laughter across America,Sunday nights on CBS.Live life at the whim of Allen Funt, not the smiling jolly man in front of the TV camera but the real Allen Funt.Come back, sit in the conference rooms and help pitch a Candid Camera spin-off, dance to the networks tune and produce a new series...Allen's only failure.Come back...live in the golden years of television and remember that someday, somewhere when you least expect it, someone will step up to you and say, Smile, you're on Candid Camera.Come, step into the flying phone booth and enjoy the ride.