Friday, October 23, 2009

Soupy Sales, Slapstick Comedian, Dies at 83

"Soupy Sales, whose zany television routines turned the smashing of a pie to the face into a madcap art form, died Thursday night. He was 83.



...Cavorting with his puppet sidekicks White Fang, Black Tooth, Pookie the Lion and Hobart and Reba, the heads in the pot-bellied stove, transforming himself into the private detective Philo Kvetch, and playing host to the ever-present “nut at the door,” Soupy Sales became a television favorite of youngsters and an anarchic comedy hero for teenagers and college students.

...Clad in a top hat, sweater and bow tie, shuffling through his Mouse dance, he reached his slapstick heyday in the mid-1960s on “The Soupy Sales Show,” a widely syndicated program based at WNEW-TV in New York."

Growing up in the WNEW-TV broadcast area in New Jersey, I remember Soupy well.

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3 comments:

  1. I absolutely loved Soupy's style -- it was fun for the whole family (most of the time); how could you not love a guy with a name like "Soupy," right?

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  2. Norman Haase3:31 AM

    I also remember enjoying 'Wonderama' as a child!

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  3. Anonymous2:14 AM

    As a kid, I loved Soupy Sales and his kid-friendly goofy skits and pranks. It was a simpler time and Soupy's death is one more evidence that it has passed away forever.

    Tim

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