PEOPLE ARE FUNNY

Broadcast History
NBC April 10, 1942-May 29, 1951 30m.
CBS Oct. 9, 1951-March 30, 1954 30m.
NBC Oct. 12, 1954-June 10, 1960 30m.

Host: Art Baker until Oct. 1, 1943 then Art Linkletter.
Announcers: Herb Allen, Rod O'Connor, Ted Myers.

Series Description: Audience show.

People are Funny asked individuals to do extreme acts for the amusement of audiences. Once a week, a contestant was selected from the studio audience and sent out to do some outrageous stunt in public. The contestant couldn't reveal to passersby that he was on assignment from People Are Funny, and Irvin Atkins went along on "outside" stunts to make sure that nobody broke the rules. Guests could be hit in the head with a paper bag full of spaghetti. Another man had to attempt to register at a hotel claiming that a trained seal was his girlfriend. In another wild stunt, a man and his wife were sent out, camouflaged as trees. Art Baker, a popular emcee at the time was brought in as host; he was later joined by a young Art Linkletter. Linkletter and Baker served as co-hosts, an unusual setup for an unusual show. Linkletter went back to San Francisco, and Baker continued the show alone for seventy eight weeks, holding a solid rating throughout. On October 1, 1943 he was abruptly dropped and Linkletter brought in. Linkletter became so well established as the genial People Are Funny host that even its longtime listeners eventually forgot hat the show had once been handled by someone else. Linkletter continued at the helm for more than fifteen years, taking it into TV as well.

Reference:
Tune in Yesterday; John Dunning