The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals, or SINA [pronounced "sinna"], was a satirical hoax concocted by serial prankster Alan Abel.
The society and its aims were then largely presented in the public arena on news and talk shows by comedian/improviser Buck Henry (in the guise of SINA president "G. Clifford Prout") from 1959 through 1963.
Looking to expand the range and impact of the hoax, Abel persuaded the actor Buck Henry to assume the role of the group president, G. Clifford Prout, Jr., in U.S. television news and talk show appearances.
Henry, who had improv training, was able to play Prout with an intense deadpan sincerity, as well as to stay in character through unscripted interviews.
The group received widespread American media coverage, beginning with an appearance by G. Clifford Prout on NBC's Today Show on May 27, 1959.
[2] The money was invariably returned, as neither Abel nor Henry wished to be charged with mail fraud by accepting donations for a bogus charity.
In public appearances (and in letters accompanying returned money or checks), "Prout" was careful to note that the by-laws of SINA prevented him from accepting donations, as he was independently wealthy and financed the operation through his own private means.