|
|
|
Tweet this article !
Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced, pie-in-the-face comic beloved by the Baby Boomer generation, died Thursday, October 22, 2009. He was 83, and succumbed to cancer at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx.
Born Milton Supman in North Carolina, Sales was best known for his long-running TV show, "Lunch with Soupy Sales," the 1960s children's show that wasn't just for children. The show's comedy sketches made use of such characters like White Fang, the biggest and meanest dog in the USA; Pookie, a hipster with rapier wit; Peaches, Soupy's girl, whom he played in drag; private detective Philo Kvetch; The Mask, Kvetch's evil nemesis and "Onions" Oregano, henchman of The Mask. The sketches often ended with Sales getting plastered with a pie in the face, which became his trademark and delighted his fans.
My biggest memory of Soupy was during high school at the height of "Lunch with Soupy Sales." In the summer, when our families belonged to the beach clubs in Lido Beach, Long Island, you could usually catch Eydie Gorme or Totie Fields, not only on stage, but playing canasta during the afternoon with some of the women at a cabana, their hair up in rollers ready for their shows that evening. But the kids never went to those shows, unless we sneaked in. We had our own shows, and the one that 
made it for me was Soupy Sales with The Young Rascals, with whom he had worked when he hosted "Hullabaloo" and "Shindig" on TV. They were all there, Soupy, White Fang, Pookie and a bunch of high school kids laughing and listening to "Good Loving" by the Rascals.
made it for me was Soupy Sales with The Young Rascals, with whom he had worked when he hosted "Hullabaloo" and "Shindig" on TV. They were all there, Soupy, White Fang, Pookie and a bunch of high school kids laughing and listening to "Good Loving" by the Rascals.Years later, I got to know him better through my friend Joey Reynolds, when Soupy would guest on Joey's late night radio show on WOR. I laughed at his jokes, routines and characters the same way I did when I was 15. His humor was timeless and silly and fondly made me remember my youth.
"He had a heart of gold," said Reynolds, who met Sales almost 40 years ago when they both worked at WNBC, and remained friends until his death. "You'd do anything for him," said Reynolds, "because he'd do anything for you. And he was the kind of friend who was honest. If he thought your show last night sucked, or some bit wasn't working, he'd tell you. Not in an unkind way, but more like a parent. If you were smart, you'd listen. He was a great comedian," added Reynolds. "He probably didn't get as much credit as he deserved, because that was an era when to ‘make it,' a comedian either had to have a show like Carol Burnett's or host a game show. Soupy never wanted to do that. He wanted to be a guest, not a host. But other comedians really respected him. He was a lot like Nipsey Russell that way." Soupy's funeral will be on Monday at noon at Riverside Chapel at Amsterdam and 76th Street. Pie is optional.
|
|
|
 |
Web services: launchpadny.com