Phoebe Judge

For an interview with one TV show, Alan brought a bag of clothes with him, as well as some diagrams of animals appropriately covered up.

At one point, he pulled a large pair of pants out of his bag.

They were for an elephant.

Tell me about the idea for D.C., picketing in D.C.

In 1962, Alan Abel and Buck Henry visited the San Francisco Children's Zoo.

which Buck Henry said they called, quote, the burlesque house of the animal world.

Somehow, the Daily Herald in London picked up the story and wrote that, quote, crowds cheered as G. Clifford Prout Jr.

attempted to put a pair of pants on a goat.

Some reporters were much more skeptical about Sinna.

When Buck Henry was interviewed by New York's Daily News, the writer said, quote, he's been on several TV shows, and thus far no one has discovered whether he has his tongue wedged in his cheek.

Alan Abel and Buck Henry told the press that Sinna had tens of thousands of members, but they made it clear that Sinna never asked for money.

Once, Jean Abel remembers they actually did get a check from a woman in Santa Barbara who wanted to support the cause.

The woman sent it to Sina's supposed office at 507 Fifth Avenue in New York City, which was actually a small closet Jean and Alan rented.

They sent the check back.

In one interview, Allen said Sinna wouldn't accept money because it had been founded with G. Clifford Prout Jr.

's inheritance from his father, $400,000.

But then, Allen heard from the IRS.

Things started to fall apart after Buck Henry, playing G. Clifford Prout Jr., was interviewed by Walter Cronkite on CBS.

It was a risky move because Buck Henry was about to start working at CBS as a writer for The Gary Moore Show.

Jean says that eventually someone recognized him and CBS realized they'd been pranked.