Allen Funt's radio show The Candid Microphone debuted in 1947 and moved to television in 1948 (Wikipedia). Since then the best pranksters have been the ones who made people laugh with them, not at them: the pioneers of hidden-camera comedy, the masters of the great public hoax and the internet's viral wind-ups. The pranks were clever and kind, and the reveal always landed. Here is a tour of the icons and the pranks that made them famous.
What Makes a Prankster One of the Best?
It is not shock value. The pranksters people still talk about decades later nailed four things: a genuinely clever setup, a believable straight face, a target who ended up laughing, and a reveal that turned the whole room warm. Cruel "pranks" get forgotten (or regretted); kind, ingenious ones become legend. For the ground rules, see what is a prank.
The Pioneers of Hidden-camera Comedy
- Allen Funt: creator of Candid Camera (from 1948), the show that invented the hidden-camera prank and gave us "smile, you're on Candid Camera." Every prank channel alive owes him.
- Jeremy Beadle: Britain's king of the elaborate set-up with Beadle's About, staging wonderfully daft scenarios on unsuspecting members of the public.
- Their descendants: decades of hidden-camera shows worldwide built directly on that template.
The Great Media Hoaxers
The biggest pranks of all fooled everyone:
| Year | The prank | Who fell for it |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | The BBC's "spaghetti harvest" film | Viewers who rang in asking where to buy a spaghetti plant |
| 1962 | Sweden's "stretch a nylon stocking over your TV for color" broadcast | A nation of hopeful viewers |
| 1996 | Taco Bell "buys" the Liberty Bell | Outraged Americans until the reveal |
More where those came from in our greatest hoaxes in history.
The Internet Era
Hidden-camera comedy moved to the phone in your pocket. The modern prank-video genre, social experiments, wind-ups and reveals filmed for millions, is the direct heir to Candid Camera, just faster and more global. Browse the best of the format in our prank videos vault.
Want to Join Them?
You do not need a film crew. Pull off a believable wind-up with our free tools, a fake text message, a fake tweet or the Fake Broken Screen prank, then reveal it and enjoy the laugh. Not sure who even counts as a prankster? See prankster meaning.
For laughs only. The best pranks are kind: reveal the joke quickly and never genuinely frighten, harm or humiliate anyone.
