Allen Funt had good natured fun and if asked would probably tell you that he never intended to publicly expose or humiliate those he pranked with stunts. He seemed more interested in “everyman” cases and different reactions people might have to a situation, warning the audience, laugh now but this could be you!
At the end of each prank he’d have someone drop their guard and reveal the gag and Mr. Funt would come out to gladhand shake hands with the embarassed mark.
I don’t think he sought out to bruise egos.
I know that. But he’s basically a low rent Allen Funt (who was a bad guy behind the scenes but that’s another story). Also, Funt required a release form for every person deceived by his jokes; otherwise, it couldn’t be aired.
I never knew this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Funt
On February 3, 1969, Funt, his wife, and his two youngest children boarded Eastern Airlines Flight 7 in Newark, New Jersey with a destination of Miami, Florida. While en route, two men hijacked the plane and demanded passage to Cuba. However, some of the passengers, having spotted Funt, believed the whole thing to be a Candid Camera stunt. Funt repeatedly attempted to persuade his fellow passengers as to the reality of the hijacking, but to no avail. The plane later landed in Cuba, finally convincing the passengers.