BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-2009)

Subject: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: catspaw49
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 12:58 AM

If you were a boomer, especially in the midwest, it was hard not to know Soupy Sales. At the height of his popularity he was one of the most recognized people in America. With his trademark pie-in-the-face schtick and a cast of wacky characters, Soupy Sales became an American institution. Lowbrow? Sure, but this is us and as a nation we sorta' liked that.

Anyway, thanks for the laughs Soupy. I'm sure Fang and Blacktooth and Onions Oregano and the rest are in mourning as well but I bet when Peter opened the Pearly Gates a pie came flying right out at you!

Brief Obit


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: Janie
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 01:05 AM

Right you are, Spaw. Innocent slapstick. I remember my sisters and I laughing uproarously as young kids do.

Rest in peace, Soupy. And as Spaw has already said, thanks for the laughs.

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: Joe Offer
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 01:17 AM

Aw, I think that's one non-music obit that's worth a copy-paste. I used to watch Soupy Sales as a kid in Detroit, long before the rest of the country discovered him. He was a little too raunchy for my mom's taste, so we had to watch him on the sly.
Rest in peace, Soupy.
-Joe-

Comedian Soupy Sales Dies at 83

Soupy Sales, pie-splattered comedian who won hearts in early TV days, dead at 83

By DAVID N. GOODMAN Associated Press Writer

The Associated Press

DETROIT, October 22, 2009

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, Usher said.

"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.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: catspaw49
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 01:29 AM

"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."

Gawd, what a classic......That one was originally just meant as a throw-off line and no one including him thought anything about it til the money started rolling in. As I recall, he donated all that was sent to a charity cause.

Yeah Joe.......he started in Cincy then Cleveland and then went on to Detroit where he really took off. So those of us in the midwest were laughing long before the rest of the country.


Spaw

Subject: Obit: Soupy Sales
From: SINSULL
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 08:15 AM

Turned his Vaudeville act into a children's show and made lots of money. My favorite SOUPY says: "Show me a cowboy who rides sidesaddle and I'll show you a gay cabellaro."
RIP
Sad to see you go...

Subject: RE: Obit: Soupy Sales
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 08:29 AM

Here's a Youtube tribute with pies in the kisser and more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT5TKTt5BeA

Subject: RE: Obit: Soupy Sales
From: SINSULL
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 08:31 AM

White Fang, Black Tooth and The Mouse.

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: bobad
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 09:12 AM

Soupy shook my hand at a performance of Hellzapoppin, which he was appearing in at Expo '67 in Montreal. He was quite the zany performer, perfect for that zany period that was the 60s.

RIP Soupy.

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: maire-aine
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 10:38 AM

Growing up in Detroit, I had "lunch with Soupy" almost every day. Thanks 'spaw & Joe for posting that.

RIP, Soupy.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: gnu
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 11:37 AM

Great talent. RIP.

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: EBarnacle
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 11:43 AM

One of the things which may have led to his sense of humor was reported in another obit. His family was the only Jewish family in a Southern town. They sold yard goods and their biggest customer for sheets was the Klan. Amazing--the Klan buying sheets from a Jewish family.

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: catspaw49
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 01:52 PM

As the family migrated northward, one of his brothers, Jack Supman, setttled in Lancaster, Ohio and for many years through the 60's and 70's Soupy would spend a few weeks with him. Lancaster is the county seat where I live, about 10 miles from here and a lot of the older businesses and restaurants have signed pictures he had given them over the years.

His brother is a pretty prominent attorney in the community and "Supman Court" is named after him. To the best of my knowledge, Jack is still alive.


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 01:57 PM

Thank you Spaw - I would have missed his departure.

His "banning" from the air-waves (as I heard it) came from a skit on camera. He was already controversial, and in hotwater and treatened with cancelation by the sponsors for his zanny innuendo humor (" at the ballgame I kiss my girlfriend on the strikes and she kisses me on the balls...-") he dispised by parents and loved by teens - sort of a Gypsy-Boots,Pee-Wee-Herman,Wolfman-Jack,Jerry-Lewis, mesh.

Holding up his hand and grabbing a finger....Blacktooth asked,"Muhmmnuyyugnyhhhmmmh!"
Soupy replied, "I have a finger for every person in my life."
Blacktooth said, "Muhmmnuyyugnyhhhmmmh!" Holding up four fingers he began he grabbed one then pulling down each indiviual finger as he said"

Little Finger - This one is for WhiteFang.
Index Finger - This one is for BlackTooth
Ring Finger - This one is for Peaches - my girlfriend - because it is the one she likes best.

Holding up his middle finger - "And this one is for the sponsors!"

Poooof - he was off the air.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-2009)
From: catspaw49
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 02:59 PM

That story and many others were widely thought to be true but they came more under the heading of urban legend. Eventually he had a $10,000 standing offer to anyone who could prove he "worked blue" on the kid shows. He was suspended for a time over the money send in joke but to my knowledge, never banned. Here's a page at Snopes on Soupy


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-2009)
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 03:14 PM

Spaw,

Thanks for the heads up.

I Watched him faithfully in the days when I had a TV.

If I remember correctly, he was a graduate of what was then Marshall College (Huntington, WV), my and my wife's alma mater.

Russ (Permanent GUEST)

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-2009)
From: GUEST,Guest - Michael Harrison
Date: 24 Oct 09 - 01:24 AM

Yeah, I was a "Birdbath" - a 1950's little kid Detroiter. The Soup was great. Thanks Soup, and rest in peace old friend,..............mwh

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-2009)
From: Bill H //\\
Date: 24 Oct 09 - 05:21 PM

A funny and clever man---a while back (when he was already quite infirm--and using a cane) he was interviewed on---I don't recall the radio program (perhaps NPR) and he mentioned that he had walked into his bank using his cane and stumbled near the teller and the next person in line grabbed him and said-"...its a shame you lost your balance". His quick riposte--"Damn--I hope not that is why I am the bank in the first place.

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-2009)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Oct 09 - 07:32 PM

So, who were the characters who accompanied Soupy? I remember the names White Fang and Black Tooth, but don't recall anything visually, other than a claw that appeared occasionally on the side of the screen - were they puppets? were there others? I get the impression from this Website that White Fang and Black Tooth were dogs, and all we ever saw was a huge glove-paw with claws. Maybe they were the only ones, and maybe all we ever saw was a single paw.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-2009)
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Oct 09 - 08:37 PM

Joe, here's list from Wiki that covers most althgought I think there were a few others as well. Like many shows back then, the star and a small cast played everyone, the "King" of that style being the brilliant and hilarious Ernie Kovacs.

Clyde Adler, a film editor at Detroit's WXYZ-TV, performed in sketches and voiced and operated all puppets on Sales' show in Detroit in the 1950s and in Los Angeles from 1959 to 1962 and in 1978. Actor Frank Nastasi assumed the role of straight man and puppeteer when Sales took the show to New York from 1964 to 1966. Nastasi was originally from Detroit and had worked with Sales at WXYZ. Appearing on the show were both puppets and live performers.

The puppets were:

White Fang, "The Biggest and Meanest Dog in the USA," who appeared only as a giant white shaggy paw with black triangular felt "claws" jutting out from the corner of the screen. Fang spoke with unintelligible short grunts and growls, which Soupy repeated back in English, for comic effect. White Fang was often the pie thrower when Soupy's jokes bombed.
Black Tooth, "The Biggest and Sweetest Dog in the USA", also seen only as a giant black paw with white triangular felt (just the opposite of White Fang), and with more feminine, but similarly unintelligible, dialogue. Black Tooth's trademark was pulling Soupy off-camera to give loud and noisy kisses.
Pookie the Lion, a lion puppet appearing in a large window behind Soupy (1950s), was a hipster with a rapier wit. For example: Soupy: "Do you know why my life is so miserable?" Pookie: "You got me!" Soupy: "That's why!" One of Pookie's favorite lines when greeting Soupy was, "Hey bubby... want a kiss?". In the Detroit shows, Pookie never spoke but communicated in whistles. That puppet also was used to mouth the words while pantomiming novelty records on the show.
Hippy the Hippo, a minor character who occasionally appeared with Pookie the Lion and never spoke. Frank Nastasi gave Hippy a voice for the New York shows.

Regular live characters included:

Peaches, Soupy's girlfriend, visually played by footage of Sales in drag.
Philo Kvetch, a private detective played by Sales in a long-running comedy skit during the show's New York run (a parody of early 20th century fictional detective Philo Vance).
The Mask, evil nemesis of Philo Kvetch, revealed in the last episode to be Nikita Khrushchev, who had been deposed about a year earlier.
"Onions" Oregano, henchman of The Mask, played by Frank Nastasi, who ate loads of onions. Every time Oregano would breathe in Philo's direction, Philo would make all sorts of comic choking faces, pull out a can of air freshener, and say "Get those onions out of here!"
Hobart and Reba, a husband and wife who lived in the potbelly stove on the New York set.
Willie the Worm was a 35-cent toy Sales got from Woolworth's, according to WXYZ art director Jack Flechsig. With animated squeezings of his rubber air bulb, the latex accordion worm flexed in and out of a little apple. Willy was "The Sickest Worm in all of Dee-troit" and suffered from a perennial cold and comically-explosive sneeze. He helped read birthday greetings to Detroit-area kids while the show was on WXYZ. Willie didn't survive the show's move to the Big Apple.

Also, there are some clips on YouTube although not as many as I expected.


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-20
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 24 Oct 09 - 09:20 PM

Oh...Yeah...Mr. Spaw!!!

I had girl-friends, who had boy-friends....who swear the baseball game was true...

And boy-friends ... of those other girl friends ... swore that since his show was canceled...they never got beyond second-base...until high-school.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

So....WHY was his show abruptly canceled???? More than Burl have had to "toe the line."

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-20
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 24 Oct 09 - 09:24 PM

Yeah - he was a schmuck of an actor....and legends spring eternal.

But I also beleive (after hours and hours of listening) that "Louie-Louie"...had lyrics of "evil intent."

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Take care old friend .

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-2009)
From: Peace
Date: 24 Oct 09 - 09:29 PM

Soupy Sales.

Thanks for the laughs.

Subject: RE: BS: Obit-One Last Pie for Soupy Sales (1926-2009)
From: GUEST,Alvin
Date: 26 Oct 09 - 01:00 PM

You know... I actually remember SEEING that skit! And after thinking, "Wow"! but now sure what would happen to him. I bet the networks destroyed that little bit of history.