DETROIT – Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, has died. He was 83.
Sales died at Thursday night at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx, New York, said his former manager and longtime friend, Dave Usher. Sales had many health problems and entered the hospice last week, Usher said.
At the peak of his fame in the 1950s and '60s, Sales was one of the best-known faces in the nation,
"If President Eisenhower would have walked down the street, no one would have recognized him as much as Soupy," said Usher.
At the same time, Sales retained an openness to fans that turned every restaurant meal into an endless autograph-signing session, Usher said.
"He was just good to people," Usher said.
Sales began his TV career in Detroit, where he drew a large audience on WXYZ-TV. He moved to Los Angeles in 1961.
The comic's pie-throwing schtick became his trademark, and celebrities lined up to take one on the chin alongside Sales. During the early 1960s, stars such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Shirley MacLaine received their just desserts side-by-side with the comedian on his television show.
"I'll probably be remembered for the pies, and that's all right," Sales said in a 1985 interview.
Sales was born Milton Supman on Jan. 8, 1926, in North Carolina and grew up in Huntington, W.Va.
His greatest success came in New York with "The Soupy Sales Show" — an ostensible children's show that had little to do with Captain Kangaroo and other kiddie fare. Sales' manic, improvisational style also attracted an older audience that responded to his envelope-pushing antics.
Sales, who was typically clad in a black sweater and oversized bow-tie, was once suspended for a week after telling his legion of tiny listeners to empty their mothers' purse and mail him all the pieces of green paper bearing pictures of the presidents.
The cast of "Saturday Night Live" later paid homage by asking their audience to send in their joints. His influence was also obvious in the Pee-Wee Herman character created by Paul Reubens.
Sales is survived by his wife, Trudy, and two sons, Hunt and Tony, a pair of musicians who backed David Bowie in the band Tin Machine.
Loved watching his show, R.I.P
RIP Soupy
THIS HURTS... I was just watching a best of Soupy Sales DVD last night that i bought from him at a Chiller show not long ago. While watching i couldn't help but wonder how he was doing, as he was pretty frail last time i saw him a couple of years ago. I've met Soupy a few times at Chiller in the past. The most memorable meeting was about 10 years ago when he shared the same autograph room as Zacherley. At one point my good friend, Mike Thomas [also recently deceased] strolled in and after telling Soupy [who even then was not well] how much he loved and admired him, knelt beside him and began softly singing Soupy's second best known song, [besides The Mouse] ''Parkelafakah''. Poor Soupy who was barely able to speak, soon began singing along with Mike! Zach stopped signing autographs and motioned for everyone to be quiet while the duet was being performed. One of those magical moments where it felt like the oxygen was being sucked out of the room and time stood still. By the end of the song there wasn't a dry eye in the place and i'm tearing up just thinking about it. Two wonderful people i'll never have the privilege of ever seeing again...I love and miss you both. Rest in peace my friends.
Rest In Peace Soupy.
Soupy Sales was a great comedian, I remember having my days brightened as a small kid. Some clips of his show are on youtube. Another piece of childhood slipped away. Rest in peace Soupy.
He was a hero to me when I was a kid. I cannot recall how many times I got sent to the Principal's office because I got caught emulating Soupy. Much of my sense of humor was shaped by Soupy (as well as by Bob Clampett and Stan Freberg).
In the 4th and 5th grade, my motto would have been WWSD.
I never met him, but I will still miss him.
Soupy Sales - My Baby's Got A Crush On Frankenstein (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcFpxZiSCVc#normal)
Farewell Soupy. BlackTooth and Whitefang will be howling tonite.
He was awesome. i remember as a little kid I tried to get my parents to send him money ebcause he ahd asked for it on his show (he was cancelled shortly after that). Then I met him at CHiller twice. He had suffered a stroke before his first appearance. And he still looked bad at his second appearance. R.I.P. Soupy. You were one of the best.
I enjoyed him as a kid. This is sad new. RIP
A little known factoid:
In the 1970s was a band called Iggy and the Stooges. After the band broke up, Iggy toured with a band which included two of Soupy's sons, Hunt and Tony, and some guy named David Bowie.
Here they are on Dinah Shore's show in '77.
David Bowie , Iggy Pop - Sister Midnight (1977) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdciK2Axc4A#normal)
In the 60s there was a band called Runt: Todd Rundgren, Hunt and Tony Sales.
My wife and I met Soupy at a Gaithersburg MD show. He seemed very slow, like he was medicated. This is probably after the stroke someone previously mentioned. It took him 2 to 3 attempts to sign my photo, and the signature is pretty small. He was still very nice and affable.
I did get him to finally click when I mentioned Franklinton, NC where his dad ran a shop. My grandmother Darden (nee' Day) was from there and knew the store well. She used to say, "I remember well little Milton running around his father's store with his brothers." She was always happy to see him on TV, and always called him "Little Milton."
He was a genuine American original. :)
There's an episode of "Hullabaloo" on one of the old MPI collections with Soupy hosting with Hunt and Tony and there band among the guests as well.