Jester, Soupy Sales, Dies at the Age of 83

Soupy Sales died on Thursday, October 22, 2009, at the age of 83. He was a comedian, actor, and radio-TV personality and host. He was best known for his long-running local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales. This show ran from 1952 to 1959. Many of you won't remember him but he was very funny. The show was a series of comedy sketches usually ending with Soupy getting a pie in the face, which became his trademark. His comedy was slapstick/vaudeville more than anything else. He created the dance craze single "The Mouse."

From 1968 to 1975, he was a regular panelist on What's My Line? and appeared on several other TV game shows such as The Match Game and To Tell the Truth. These were really great shows long before the word "reality" came to be. During the 1980s Sales hosted his own show on WNBC-AM in New York City.

Milton Supman a.k.a. Soupy Sales was born in North Carolina. Sales had two sons, Hunt Sales and Tony Sales, who are musicians who have played with David Bowie and Todd Rundgren. He was married to Barbara Fox and to former dancer Trudy Carson.

Soupy Sales got his nickname from his family. His older brothers had been nicknamed "Hambone" and "Chicken Bone" so Milton was nicknamed "Soup Bone," which was later shortened to "Soupy." He used the name Soupy Hines as a disc jockey but once he was established he decided Hines was too similar to Heinz (foods) so he named himself Sales after the comedian Chic Sale.

Sales enlisted in the United States Navy and served on the USS Randall during World War II. He entertained his shipmates by telling jokes and playing crazy characters over the ship's public address system. You can imagine this happening I am sure for those of you who remember Soupy or who will read more about him. He was one crazy, happy character for sure!

One of the characters he created was "White Fang," a large dog that played practical jokes on the seamen. The sounds for "White Fang" came from a recording of "The Hound of the Baskervilles". He took the record with him when he left the Navy. White Fang was a puppet on his television show along with his other characters, Black Tooth, Pookie the Lion, and Hippy the Hippo.

His jokes were one might say corny at best but he was a beloved jester for many . One such corny stunt was to talk with his TV girlfriend, Peaches, always offstage. Peaches was Soupy in a wig which was why she was off stage when he was on.

RIP, Soupy

Sources
LA Times
Freep.com