Soupy Sales was a slapstick comedian who elevated pie-throwing to an art form to become a cult icon with his children’s television programs in the 1960s and 1970s.
He was born Milton Supman in Franklinton, North Carolina, on January 8, 1926. With his last name often mispronounced “Soupman”, he was dubbed with the nickname “Soupbone”, which eventually evolved into just “Soupy”. His brothers bore the dubious nicknames “Hambone” and “Chickenbone”. He began working in radio after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
He began a daily children’s television show, Soupy Sales Comics, for Detroit’s Wxyz-tv in 1953. He was Detroit’s top-rated television personality by 1955, when his show became known as The Soupy Sales Show. He shared the screen with such puppet pals as White Fang (”The Biggest and Meanest Dog in the USA”) and Black Tooth (”The Biggest and Sweetest Dog in the USA”), both...
He was born Milton Supman in Franklinton, North Carolina, on January 8, 1926. With his last name often mispronounced “Soupman”, he was dubbed with the nickname “Soupbone”, which eventually evolved into just “Soupy”. His brothers bore the dubious nicknames “Hambone” and “Chickenbone”. He began working in radio after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
He began a daily children’s television show, Soupy Sales Comics, for Detroit’s Wxyz-tv in 1953. He was Detroit’s top-rated television personality by 1955, when his show became known as The Soupy Sales Show. He shared the screen with such puppet pals as White Fang (”The Biggest and Meanest Dog in the USA”) and Black Tooth (”The Biggest and Sweetest Dog in the USA”), both...
- 11/7/2009
- by Harris Lentz
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Do you feel that? The world just got a lot less funny. Comedy icon and TV personality Soupy Sales (born Milton Supman) left us late yesterday at the age of 83, the Los Angeles Times reports. He'd spent the past week in a Bronx, NY hospital in steady decline after years of battling a variety of health issues. Sales leaves behind a great legacy and a large family, including Trudy Carson Sales, his wife of 29 years, two sons, a brother and four grandchildren. Our thoughts are with them all on this difficult day.
Sales was perhaps best known for his long-running sketch comedy TV series, which ran at varying times between 1959 and 1979. "The Soupy Sales Show" operated under several different names and locations during its on-again/off-again run, but it was always marked by a cast of wacky characters -- of both the human and puppet varieties -- notable guest celebrities (a varied list,...
Sales was perhaps best known for his long-running sketch comedy TV series, which ran at varying times between 1959 and 1979. "The Soupy Sales Show" operated under several different names and locations during its on-again/off-again run, but it was always marked by a cast of wacky characters -- of both the human and puppet varieties -- notable guest celebrities (a varied list,...
- 10/23/2009
- by Adam Rosenberg
- MTV Movies Blog
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