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A television prank filmed in 1990 with the Jamestown Expos baseball team will be part of Candid Camera's 8 Decades of Smiles with Peter Funt on Aug. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Reg Lenna Center for The Arts during the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival.
A hit with audiences nationwide Peter Funt's stage comedy is blended with clips, quips and behind-the-scenes tales from the show's funniest moments. Candid Camera holds a unique place in entertainment history as the only show to have produced new episodes in each of the last eight decades -- from Allen Funt's debut in 1948 through Peter Funt's recent run on TV Land. The Aug. 3 live event incorporates the best Candid Camera clips in a fast-paced romp through the decades. Peter Funt's humor is blended with audience participation and special surprises.
The 1990 prank -- filmed at College Stadium, now named for Russ Diethrick -- was originally aired on CBS before a Major League playoff game and featured Jamestown Expos pitcher Bob Baxter. Jim Riggs, late Post-Journal sports editor, wrote an extensive article about the prank on August 6, 1990. Within his article, Riggs detailed that Candid Camera host Peter Funt posed as the homeplate umpire and beyond the Candid Camera crew, only Expos staff, scorer, scoreboard operator, umpires, The Post-Journal and public announcer Todd Peterson were in on in the prank.
Robert H. Jackson Center co-founder Greg Peterson was in attendance at the game.
"It was an evening for the ages which brought great attention to Jamestown baseball," Peterson said. "The Funt family's sense of humor -- which always touched on the lives of ordinary people – caught the fans, players and more by surprise. Three decades later we revel in Jamestown baseball more!"
Peter Funt is a TV host, speaker and columnist, continuing the Funt family tradition of catching people in the act of being themselves. In addition to hosting the landmark series Candid Camera, Peter writes frequent op-eds for The New York Times and Wall Street Journal as well as his weekly syndicated column. His writing and public appearances contain the same pointed social observations that have made Candid Camera popular since its invention by Peter's dad, Allen, back in 1947.
The Aug. 3 performance at 7:30 p.m. will be presented one week ahead of the 70th anniversary of Candid Camera. A few celebratory surprises will be in store for audiences. Tickets for the general admission performance are $5 for children aged 18 and under and $20 for adults.
A temporary box office location is open at 215 Spring St. between Second and Third streets while renovations continue throughout the building. The temporary box office is open between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and one hour prior to movies and performances. The newly reconstructed Reg Lenna entrance at 116 E. 3rd St., lobby, concessions and box office will be completed and open to the public in time for Candid Camera and all of the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival's events at The Reg.
Tickets may be purchased in person, over the phone at 484-7070 or online at reglenna.com.