Electronic Cupid

With a blinking of lights, a digestion of digits, and melodies played out on a monochromatic scale, the giant electronic brain took over TV last week. The machine proved itself a better matchmaker than oddsmaker. Before election night was over, CBS's Univac Babysitter Doug Edwards wearily offered to give his magic brain (estimated cost: $1,000,000) to Commentator Walter Cronkite for Christ mas. But on NBC's popular, 16-year-old stunt show, People Are Funny (Sat. 7:30 p.m.), Remington Rand's Univac No. 21 turned Cupid, brought together a flesh-and-blood couple as scientifically selected "ideal marriage mates." It was a clear-cut victory for Univac, hormones and Trendex (which gives People a sizable 23.7 rating).

Sex, Politics, Religion. The electronic boy-meets-girl gambit began when self-styled "Master of Informalities" Art Linkletter, 44, read that some 14 million Americans belong to lonely-hearts clubs. Machiavellian M.C. Linkletter, who once put a crocodile in a woman's bathtub, and recently sent a honeymoon couple to Utah to prospect for uranium, called on Dr. Paul Popenoe of Los Angeles' American Institute of Family Relations. Popenoe pointed out that people get married in a haphazard way, then drew up a questionnaire of 32 items that affect marital relations (sex, race, religion, politics, weight, height, pets, drinking, preferences for double or twin beds, etc.). Linkletter put ads in local papers asking people over 21 who hankered for a mate to get in touch with him. To the more than 4,000 who replied, he dispatched the questionnaires.

Then Univac stepped in, sifted and sorted the answers of both sexes, spewed forth a couple of its favorites: John Caran, 28, a Los Angeles adman, and pretty, brown-eyed Barbara Smith, 23, a receptionist. In September the couple saw each other for the first time, before the People Are Funny camera, and, boasts Linkletter, "hit it off great."

Ideal Girl. By last week they were holding hands and looking deep into each other's eyes. Said Barbara: "Univac is a pretty good deal." But an old beau disagreed, and next day Linkletter received a message: "Dear Cupid: I come to you asking that equity be done for a grave injustice to me. The girl that might have possibly become my wife was taken by you and Univac and given to another. I therefore request that you bring to me the one ideal girl who can replace the one I lost and make my life whole again." Mused Art: "The least we can do is take his background and run it through the machine. He'll have the equivalent of 3,000 dates in a couple of minutes."

Ignoring her old suitor, Barbara put her trust in -the machine, and this week she will announce her engagement to John. Early next year Linkletter will buy the air passage for a Paris honeymoon. "It's not the natural thing," says John, "I'll grant you that. But Univac figured out a lot of things in advance which normally a couple doesn't find out until later." Univac had no comment.

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