Wait, did that car just split in half? Smile, Binghamton, you're on 'Candid Camera'

When you least expect it, you’re elected — you’re the star today. Smile, you’re on what?

The answer is "Candid Camera." For those unfamiliar with the name, it was originally a radio show called "Candid Microphone," which started in 1947, before moving to ABC television in 1948. Its run on television was sporadic for the 1950's, but its creator and producer, Allen Funt, was relentless in pushing the concept of using ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances.

In 1960, the show appeared weekly on Sundays at 10 p.m. on CBS. Well-known radio and television personality Arthur Godfrey was the “host” for the first season, always with Funt on stage. Beginning in the second season, Durwood Kirby, the sidekick of Garry Moore, took over that role for the next five years.

The stunts could range from human hands handing out foods at an automat (an old version of fast foods), to strange sightings in the sky — all created to fool the poor, unaware citizens.

In the fall of 1965, the Binghamton area became home to one of those stunts — and it was one that thousands across the country still talk about today.

The brainchild for the stunt was Ronald Jerauld, of Otego, who wrote Funt that he could do anything with a car. Someone came up with the idea of a car that could split in two, and the Jerauld offer was brought to the front of the letter pile. Sure, enough, Jerauld worked on the project by obtaining a 1959 Renault and cutting it in two with an acetylene torch.

Jerauld rigged each half with its own engine, and added a series of pulleys that could hold the two halves together until they would be released, with each half being able to move in separate directions.

The stunt took two drivers and a full production crew consisting of cameramen, sound systems and directors. They were disguised as utility workers hidden in cherry pickers to get the shots of the poor, unsuspecting bystanders watching as a car would seemingly break into two and go its own ways.

The "Candid Camera" crew selected Binghamton as the nearest city to where the fake car was located. On Oct. 12, 1965, the entire entourage arrived in Binghamton to begin filming. The first attempts met with trouble as one half of the car nearly fell over, but some quick modifications, and the stunt was off and running.

Using Grand Boulevard on the city’s West Side, a series of takes was shot — one including a Binghamton patrolman directing traffic as the car took two directions. The poor officer looked befuddled but continued doing his duty to move vehicles — most of them in one piece — along the roadway.

While setting up the shot while parked on Orton Avenue, "Candid Camera" producer became the passenger in a cab driven by Ray Wright, who was told to follow that Renault. Wright did exactly as he was told as the fake car proceeded down Grand Boulevard as it, once again, split into two parts down the street. The confused Mr. Wright was quoted as saying, “I’ll be darned.” That confusion, however, was short-lived as one homeowner called out that he was on television.

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Neighbors and children poured out to watch the goings on, and it made the location useless to film, as the secret had been given away. A decision was made to move to another area. The car was moved over to Campus Plaza in Vestal for one last split. This time, the producer was asking directions from a woman — who couldn’t tell him how to get to that location because she was from Endicott — as the Renault bore down on them. She tried to get out of the way just as the car broke into two and went around them.

Her expression is priceless, showing both fear and utter confusion. Eventually, the familiar “Smile, You’re on Candid Camera” is uttered, and all is once again right with the world. The segment aired, and Binghamton was on the map.

Today, you can still find the segment on YouTube. What became of the two-part car? That part of the past is for future research.

Gerald Smith is a former Broome County historian. Email him at historysmiths@stny.rr.com.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: 'Candid Camera' came to Binghamton in 1965 and split a car in half