Lunch with Soupy Sales

Milton Supman was born January 8, 1926, in Franklinton, North Carolina. His family was the only Jewish family in the town and Sales often commented (humorously) that the "local Ku Klux Klan members bought the sheets used for their robes from his father's store." Sales got his nickname from his family, who called him "Soup Bone," later shortened to "Soupy." From then on he would be known as Soupy Sales.

For all of the wonderful things Sales gave the world, the daily children's television show "Lunch with Soupy Sales" is how he was best known.The show featured on the spot improvised sketches, many slapstick in nature, gags, puns, banter with the TV crew, which generally concluded with Sales getting a pie in the face. The pie then became his trademark, and also a staple in the TV series. Over the years Soupy Sales estimated that he and his guests had been hit by more than 20,000 pies during his career.

In 1960, Sales moved to the ABC-TV Studios in Los Angeles, California. ABC-TV cancelled the show in March 1961, but it continued as a local program on KABC-TV until January 1962. Sale's guests included Hollywood stars, and people like Frank Sinatra literally "begged" Soupy to be hit with a pie on the show. Sinatra was not only incredibly plastered by pies, he delighted in throwing them back at the cast and TV crew. The episode of Sinatra is available on YouTube and DVD, and it's hilarious seeing Frank behaving like a kid, laughing, as his pal, Sammy Davis, gets another pie in the face! That episode was something like, "The Three Stooges Meets The Rat Pack."

Soupy's TV entourage routinely included the "giant dogs" White Fang and Black Tooth, Pookie, The Man at Door, Hippy, and both puppets and humans seemed to merrily engage each other in Soupy's Playhouse (much like Pee Wee Herman's, but far less eccentric). As a kid, this was the perfect show to watch after school, and because much of the dialogue and humor was also cleverly targeted towards adults, my parents often watched the show with me. It's a shame that the studios did not think to archive the episodes because very little of them exist today for viewing. Amazon offers a small handful of DVDs which include some of the original black and white episodes, and a few later episodes in color. The black and white (Season 1) episodes are the most outrageous and frankly the most fun to watch.

Soupy Sales was one of a kind, and his book, "Soupy Sez!: My Zany Life and Times," is worth reading, especially if you are a fan looking to get a little more insight into his life.

When i was growing up in New Jersey, one of the first shows I remember was The Soupy Sales Show on Channel 5 in the afternoon. He was so talented and so funny and while I remember little about his show, I do remember he had several puppets including Pookie the Lion, who always said "Hey Bubbie!" and White Fang the dog who never spoke, just grunted. One memory that has stuck with me for many years is that my mom use to refer to him as "Soupy Salesman." His show will always be remembered for the many pies he threw or got in the face and that was so funny. I never saw the incident where he told his young viewers to send him "those little green pieces of paper" but i've read about it in a number of books. Sadly, most of his shows from the WNEW era (they also aired in syndication) were erased but the ones that still survive are treasures of a very talented man. Let's not forget that he also created the dance "The Mouse" that was also a record. The Soupy Sales Show brings back memories of the 60s.

You couldn't have asked to meet a nicer person, we went to see one of his shows at the bottom line in NYC's village, when the show was over, he came out a spoke with his fans, I was first in line, we stood side by side and spoke like two old friends, he didn't try to give me the bum's rush away from him. My cousin had Polaroid camera, but when it came time to get my picture taken with soupy, the damn camera wouldn't work, so Soupy ad-libbed, how about a quick charcoal sketch? Sure his old shows had corny jokes and routines, but he was funny and every other word didn't have to be blocked out, ala Chris rock, whose only claim to fame is the word 'F**k I asked him about the episode that resulted in him being suspended, he said he received mostly Monopoly money and 2 bucks from a woman who said he should stay in Puerto Rico. I guess everyone has different tastes in comedy, but i like mine clean and sober, like Bob Newhart, etc. To the person that was born in 62, you missed a classic show, I only hope you grow up and give Soupy a chance, who knows, you may find yourself chuckling. He was playing to the crew as much as his audience.

If you were a kid in the 60s it didn't get any better than "The Soupy Sales Show", an improvisational-type comedy show for children that worked on several levels. Soupy appeared with puppet friends Pookie, White Fang and Black Tooth, but it weren't no Shari Lewis show. As best I can recall, show was single-set with a back door that Soupy often opened, only to be greeted by anything from a speeding locomotive to a pie in the face. Legend has it that joking request to kid viewers to open dad's wallet and send in pictures of the presidents led to untimely cancellation. As Black Tooth might say "Ruh Uh Ruh Uh". Watch it if it's ever shown again, it's classic early television.

No sour grapes from Wisconsin, on this fellow.

Soupy was a part of our growing up. Take away the pie throwing for a minute... there was some great, clean comedy... jokes that have lasted for generations.

And, even through the What's My Line era, he kept us entertained as well.

Try to take a static set with a door, window and table, and try to make something out of it... maybe Ralph Kramden did it... but Soupy excelled!

I think, just like Captain Kangaroo, Romper Room, The Mickey Mouse Club, this was part of our life. To ignore it, is a shame.