08-25-2016, 10:24 PM
Buck Henry has been nominated for two Academy Awards (for writing the screenplay for The Graduate and directing Heaven Can Wait), but most people known his as the comic who once held the record for most time guest hosting Saturday Night Live. He was co-creator (with Mel Brooks) of the TV show Get Smart and has written and acted in a long list of movies and television shows. He is a very funny talented man. But I just found out the incredible story of how he first became famous.
From 1959 to 1962 Henry teamed with fellow comedian Alan Able to promote the group S.I.N.A., The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals. The group used the language and rhetoric of conservative moralists for the aim of clothing naked animals, including pets, barnyard animals, and large wildlife. An alleged debate within SINA was how large an animal had to be to require clothing. Slogans such as "Decency today means morality tomorrow" and "A nude horse is a rude horse" were offered. Buck Henry played the group president, G. Clifford Prout, in public appearances, and Abel played the group vice president. After Henry (as Prout) made an appearance on the Today Show in 1959 the movement gained popularity. Newspapers in large cities all across the country and major magazines, including Playboy, ran serious stories on SINA.
![[Image: o7lipz.jpg]](http://i48.tinypic.com/o7lipz.jpg)
Thousands of dollars of donations came in (but they were all returned). Supporters of SINA even protested against President Kennedy allowing his children's pet pony to appear on the White House grounds naked.
![[Image: SINA.png]](http://pix-media.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/1148/SINA.png)
Prout urged SINA members (he claimed there were over 50,000 of them) to take an active role in their communities by handing 'SINA Summonses' to people who shamelessly walked their naked pets down the street. They published a regular newsletter Inside SINA that included features such as press releases and sewing patterns for pet clothes.
![[Image: 5wl2j4.jpg]](http://i49.tinypic.com/5wl2j4.jpg)
The hoax was finally exposed when Henry was interviewed by Walter Cronkite on CBS News. Cronkite recognized Henry as a former writer for CBS.
Truly one of the greatest hoaxes of all time. The real brains behind it was Abel who is probably the greatest prankster of all time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Abel, but it was the big launching point for Henry's fame.
No explanation was ever given for why the Society was "for" indecency to naked animals instead of "against".
From 1959 to 1962 Henry teamed with fellow comedian Alan Able to promote the group S.I.N.A., The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals. The group used the language and rhetoric of conservative moralists for the aim of clothing naked animals, including pets, barnyard animals, and large wildlife. An alleged debate within SINA was how large an animal had to be to require clothing. Slogans such as "Decency today means morality tomorrow" and "A nude horse is a rude horse" were offered. Buck Henry played the group president, G. Clifford Prout, in public appearances, and Abel played the group vice president. After Henry (as Prout) made an appearance on the Today Show in 1959 the movement gained popularity. Newspapers in large cities all across the country and major magazines, including Playboy, ran serious stories on SINA.
Thousands of dollars of donations came in (but they were all returned). Supporters of SINA even protested against President Kennedy allowing his children's pet pony to appear on the White House grounds naked.
Prout urged SINA members (he claimed there were over 50,000 of them) to take an active role in their communities by handing 'SINA Summonses' to people who shamelessly walked their naked pets down the street. They published a regular newsletter Inside SINA that included features such as press releases and sewing patterns for pet clothes.
The hoax was finally exposed when Henry was interviewed by Walter Cronkite on CBS News. Cronkite recognized Henry as a former writer for CBS.
Truly one of the greatest hoaxes of all time. The real brains behind it was Abel who is probably the greatest prankster of all time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Abel, but it was the big launching point for Henry's fame.
No explanation was ever given for why the Society was "for" indecency to naked animals instead of "against".
