R.I.P., SOUPY SALES

The man was funny.

Update: Here's a great moment in TV history, when Soupy answered the door and saw something generally not associated with children's TV. In the last NSFW segment of this video, you can see what Soupy saw, but his viewing audience did not.

(Thanks to Jeff Spots)

Comments

[tw]

Time for the Larry King Show Death Game....what three celebrities will Larry have on his show tonight to pay homage to Soupy Sales???

[Russellmc]

>takes a pie in the face in remembrance<

[Jeff Meyerson]

Soupy in action.

I always thought he was one of the forerunners of the late 60's. Our parents didn't see it but he had an anarchic presence kids loved.

And as Dave said, he was funny.

"Shown me a bomb thrown at a French bakery, and I'll show you a Napolean blown apart."

[Mike Antonucci]

I remember one episode when a newspaper reporter came to Soupy's door and said, "I'm Brown from The Sun." To which Soupy replied, "I'm pale from the lack of it."

[Jeff Meyerson]

I never saw that clip, Dave.

Thanks!

[judi]

i honestly don't remember any specific thing he did on the show, but i remember *him* and i know my whole family watched him (all the kids, i mean; parents didn't watch tv much back then, did they?). when i was young, my brother was on a plane with him once, which was a huge brush with greatness in our family ;)

[Mitch]

This article got a downward sloping ahhhh followed by a sigh from Denise. She loves pie-in-the-face humor from the likes of Soupy and Lucy.

RIP, Soupy.

[Allen at Division]

Soupy WAS funny--and got in trouble once.

In January 1965 on his morning children's show, the performer suggested to his young viewers that they find the wallets of their sleeping fathers and take out "some of those funny green pieces of paper with all those nice pictures of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Alexander Hamilton, and send them along to your old pal, Soupy, care of WNEW, New York. And you know what I'm going to send you? A post card from Puerto Rico!"

[queensbee]

sadly, philo kvetch has solved his last case.....

he had a great laugh and made us all laugh.

afternoons with soupy at 330 pm on channel 5 nyc.

[Guin]

OMG! That video is NOT at all safe for work!

[Horace LaBadie]

Frank Nastasi was also great as Pookie, White Fang, Black Tooth and just about every other character who showed up at the door.

[Brian]

...slides into third row of seats in Geezer Bus...

I really think that one of my earliest memories, at least TV memories maybe, was of The Soupy Sales Show. I was maybe 4 or 5 and I can see in my mind his set, the show was in B&W of course. I remember a big painter's ladder and him wearing a painter's hat and overalls. Was he dressed this way every show? I dunno. He had as his sidekick, the long, boom microphone with eyes stuck to it that he spoke to and call, "Mr. Mike". Lots of pies and nothing else too specific.

It's funny what made an impression on a kid back then that still sicks in the back of this foggy old brain.

[billinbossier]

I almost hate to say this, but I watched his Saturday morning show, as an adult, and wondered how he got away with such things on 'children's TV'. But, then figured out the kids probably didn't know what he was talking about most of the times, they were just waiting on the pie in the face.

[Lairbo]

When I heard that Soupy Sales died, I was so mad!

You were, huh?

Yeah! [begins singing Sinatra's Young at Heart]

ps: haiku tributes here

[Freaking Weird]

"Pie in the face" humor is not funny. Sorry, that's the truth. I don't care for the stooges either.

[snif]

The first children's show for adults. White Fang, Black Tooth, and of course Pookie. He also had big names on the show like Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. He was one funny guy!

[wiredog]

Freaking Weird you are hereby banned from this blog, forever or until the blog ladies and their machetes catch up with you. Whichever comes first.

[Jeff Meyerson]

Not funny to you you meant, right?

[poorrichrichard]

I'm way to young to know who the hell this dude was... But I love boobs no matter what era they're from! Thanx Dave!

[Jeff Meyerson]

Horace: Frank Nastasi also played Onions Oregano in the Philo Kvetch sketches.

Great stuff!

*goes to turn off indicator in geezer bus*

[trustf8]

No Soup for YOU, Freaking Weird

[Lairbo]

poorrichard: one of the Joys of Geezerhood (now there's a book title with best-seller potential), is having watched Soupy Sales in his heyday.

[nursecindy]

Siouxie will probably do this but I'll start. *SMACKS* Freaking Weird. May I suggest you use this?

[snif]

Stooges...not funny? Meet my bare hand!

[Mazarlarry]

Now all that's left for the kids is PEE WEE Herman
:(

[NotSherly]

I'm not a stooges fan either but I am a pie fan.
Can the blog help me locate a pie scene that I thought was very funny? I think it takes place in a hall in a castle and possibly in B&W (it's old). Lot's of people get involved. That's all I got. Thanks.

and o/t, are you still fluey today ncindy?

[Diva]

Now, now - no need for smacking or showing the guy the door. A simple pie in his face will suffice.

*tosses a banana cream at FW's face*

You had to know that was coming. ;-)

[Brian]

Diva in action

; )

[Allen at Division]

NotSherly: Danny Kaye had a pie scene in The Court Jester.

And in the Stooges' Half-Wits' Holiday (Curly's last), the scene where a cream pie is about to fall off the ceiling onto a rich society matron -- "Young man, you look as though the sword of Damocles is about to fall on your head!" Moe looks up at the ceiling at the pie just about to fall and hit the lady, and replies, "Lady, you must be psychic!" As Moe walks off, the woman looks up to the spot where Moe was looking, and is hit in the face with the pie.

[Allen at Division]

"Oh, FW, a wise guy, eh?"
*two-fingered eyepoke*

[nursecindy]

I'm feeling a little better NS. Thank you for asking. I know what pie scene you're talkinng about and I'm going to try and find it. If I remember correctly they were in a big room full of machinery and at the end there is pie on everyone but Tony Curtis. Is this it?

[Brian]

I think that maybe
this is what you're looking for NotSherly.
Classic Saturday morning stuff!

[nursecindy]

This blog knows it's pie fights! btw, The Great Race is one of my all time favorite movies. They don't make them like that anymore. *Heads towards geezer bus.*

[Cheesewiz]

He was early television.

[Jeff Meyerson]

cindy, I forgot to mention it, but did you know Soupy Sales (rn: Milton Supman) was from North Carolina? Franklinton, to be exact. Apparently it's near Raleigh.

Amaze your friends!

"Mr. Sales, Mr. Sales, you gotta help me."
"What's wrong?"
"It's my brother. He thinks he's a chicken."
"A chicken? Did you take him to a psychiatrist?"
"I would but we need the eggs."

ca-ching

[nursecindy]

I didn't know that Jeff. I remember him mostly on the game shows. I always liked him.

[ken in sc]

The opening door link was removed from Youtube, anyone got another link or description?

[Diva]

Brian, that's a great picture of me! :D

[queensbee]

the pie fight in Blazing Saddles!

[nursecindy]

Here you go queensbee. Blazing Saddles is my other all time favorite movie. In fact it is number 1 in my book.

[Meanie the Blue]

At your service, ken in sc

I bumped into the man once in the WNEW NYC studio, where I, then a kid, was entering an elevator as he was exiting. He was gregarious, I was dumbstruck.

*Does Soupy Shuffle in honor of a raucously funny man*

[phelps101893]

REMOVED? AWWWWWWWWWWW!

[Siouxie]

*SMACKS* FW and gives him/her a wedgie!!!

[Allen at Division]

THAT link worked (wasn't blocked), MTB! Thanks!!

(Looked like an average day at the office for me...)

[queensbee]

thanks! i love blazing saddles. i can almost recite the entire movie.i should be able to do that after i see it just 20 or more times. i think i've probly seen it 150 times. it never gets old, and i always find something great in it.

Always like to leave my audience riveted!

[Cheesewiz]

Soupy was credited with saying this and getting kicked off the air again. Wild rumors surrounding this entire affair swirled through my tender youth. Does anyone know if it was even true?

He apparently said the following:

"I took my girlfriend to the Yankee game. I kissed her between the strikes and she kissed my between the balls."

[NotSherly]

Thanks for the laughs Allen, ncindy and Brian. Nothing like a great pie fight! I think it was the Great Race I was remembering, although I haven't tracked down Danny Kaye yet.
Off to make an apple pie (really).

[bonmot]

Ah, the days before silicone.

[tek]

I well remember watching him on TV. A great loss. RIP, man..

Also:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/soupy-sales-jazz-maven-brought-live-gigs-to-the-small-screen

[Jeff Meyerson]

Cheesewiz, that was always the rumor though he always denied saying it...at least on the air.

My brother always claimed this happened:

Soupy was (supposedly) teaching White Fang to spell. He kept pointing to the letter "F" and Fang kept saying "K" until he (supposedly) said, "How come every time I say "F" you see "K"?"

Tip your servers, we'll be here all week.

[Lairbo]

As a panelist on What's My Line, Sales once had to drop out of the round because he recognized the guest and knew her line; she was a bunny from the local Playboy Club.

[valpal]

the video has been pulled from youtube but you can find it here http://www.detroitkidshow.com/NakedSoupClipp.wmv

[AlanBoss]

Had the pleasure of working with Soupy about 20 years ago. A great guy and naturally funny. He will be missed.

BTW... something I noticed while watching the clips... was anyone else reminded a bit of Craig Ferguson?

[Ted E.]

And let us not forget his wonderful and delightfully irreverent afternoon radio shows on WNBC-AM in the late 80's.

About the video clip:

What you see now is edited from two tapes from two cameras... one on Soupy's reactions (which went live over the air) and another from a second camera with a view of the young lady (which did not go over the air.)

However... the Engineers had gone to to the trouble of wiring the second camera's red “on the air” light so that Soupy would see it and THINK that the second camera was the one that was live and on the air.

Thus, he thought his career in broadcasting was over forever.

D-) <==Pie-in-Face Emoticon

Oh — about the “between the strikes” joke... originally attributed to Dick Biondi, WLS-AM, Chicago, c.1961.

[Bob]

It looks like YouTube has taken the video down. Is it archived anywhere?

[Meanie the Blue]

Here it is, Bob.

His grin afterward is so wonderfully irrepressible.

[Bernard Scooper]

It never rained when Soupy was on. I only remember sunshine, and laughter, and the astounding fact that there was a grown-up who understood anarchy and applied it with genius.