Candid Camera Host's Plane Hijacked

On February 2, 1969, Allen Funt boarded a plane from New Jersey to Florida with his wife and two young children. His son, William, was one year old, and his daughter, Juliet, was two years old.Julietwas just two years old at the time. Thanks to his years hostingCandid CameraFunt became known to millions as a prankster and mischief-maker after appearing first on the radio and then on television between 1960 and 1967.

Funt traveled to Florida to work on an adult movie version ofCandid CameracalledWhat Do You Say To A Naked Lady? He had acamera crewtraveled with him. The film came out in 1970.

In 1969, at least three dozen attempted or successful hijackings to Cuba occurred. Airport security was minimal then; hijackers thought they were going to Cuba as heroes.going to Cuba as heroesFidel Castro welcomed the planes to politically embarrass the United States and ransom the aircrafts back to the airlines. Hijackings were so common comedians like Carol Burnett joked about it, and Monty Python did skits about it.Monty Pythondid skits about it.

When the captain of Flight 7 approached the intercom and said, "we've got a man up here that wants to go to Havana, so we're going to Cuba," many passengers were stunned.intercomsaid "we've got a man up here that wants to go to Havana, so we're going to Cuba," many of the passengers were stunned.

Then they saw Allen Funt on the flight.

The day after the event, Funtrecountedthat "at least four people who recognized me pounced on me." A later interview shows Juliet Funtrecalled that one woman recognized her father and "all of a sudden she bolted up and said, ‘Wait a second! We are not being hijacked. It’s a Candid Camera stunt.’"Candid Camerastunt."

Despite one hijacker holding a 10-inch knife to a flight attendant's throat, passengers laughed, stomped their feet, and danced in the aisle. Allen Funt saidthe unbelievable thing is the way everybody took it as one big joke. We saw the knife but everybody was cool and calm, just a little annoyed at the delay. It is strange how you can be so close to danger and not feel it.""the unbelievable thing is the way everybody took it as one big joke. We saw the knife but everybody was cool and calm, just a little annoyed at the delay. It is strange how you can be so close to danger and not feel it."

Other passengers contradicted Juliet Funt, who described a party atmosphere in her account. One passenger statedthat people recognized Allen Funt but there were tears and concern—no dancing.recalls that people recognized Allen Funt but there were tears and concern—no dancing.

As passengers noticed Funt, several asked him toautographtheir air-sickness bags. Attention shifted from the hijackers to Funt despite his attempts to tell fellow passengers the hijacking was real. Passengers laughed and celebrated out of relief, sometimes even applauding the hijackers.applaudthe hijackers.

The one passenger who knew the hijacking was not a Candid Camera episode, and it was totally real, Funt tried to convince someone. He saw a priest and asked him for help. Despite his pleas, the priest said, "You can’t get me, Allen Funt," and "Oh no you don’t!"and totally and comletely real, Funt tried to get someone to believe him. He saw a priest on the flight and appealed to him.appealed to him. Despite his pleas, "the priest wasn't buying it. 'You can’t get me, Allen Funt,' he said. 'Oh no you don’t!'"pleas"the priest wasn't buying it. 'You can’t get me, Allen Funt,' he said. 'Oh no you don’t!'"

Funt's presence on the flight, plus how the hijackers looked, shaped passenger opinions about the event. An interview after the flight showed this.Funt described the hijackers as 'frumpy' in the 'Candid Camera Host's Plane Hijacked' list."A little fat man with a 10-inch knife held at a stewardess's neck." He also recalled: "The biggest joke was how much the whole thing looked like a bad movie. Nobody looked the part. The hijackers seemed ridiculous in their business suits."

They looked like paid comedy actors more than dangerous hijackers.

Some passengers blamed Funt for 'tricking' them when they landed.Accounts show some passengers blamed Funt for 'tricking' them upon landing.The hijackers received a standing ovation when the plane landed. Soon after landing, passengers saw the hijacking was real. Cuban military and police moved quickly. They removed everyone from the plane. They bussed passengers to the resort town of Varadero.

Juliet Funt said many passengers wereFunt became angry with her father.about the whole thing. They felt he lied to them, even with his protests during the ordeal.

The bus with passengers from Flight 7 arrived atCastro was hospitable to the passengers in Varadero after the situation calmed.Funt and, according to Funt, Castro was hospitable to the passengers after the situation calmed.

"For 11 hours, we were Mr. Castro's guests. He fed us, guided us, and treated us courteously, with one exception. If you needed information, everyone suddenly went deaf and dumb. There was no phone, no way to send a wire, no one to talk to except Cubans, and they wouldn't speak a word."

Later, the passengers flew back to the United States.

Allen Funt told the Federal Aviation Administration he did not want theThe FAA tried to award Allen Funt for bravery.for bravery. He stated he was just another passenger on the flight and did not deserve any praise.