Biography for
Soupy Sales More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

28 January 1926, Franklinton, North Carolina, USA

Date of Death

22 October 2009, The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA (cancer)

Birth Name

Milton Supman

Spouse

Trudy Carson	(31 March 1980 - 22 October 2009) (his death)
Barbara Fox	(1950 - 27 August 1979) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

Father of Hunt Sales and Tony Fox Sales, who have played in bands with such rock notables as David Bowie, Todd Rundgren and Iggy Pop.

Once claimed to have been hit in the face with 25,000 pies in the course of his career.

A prank was played on him by the studio crew during a live broadcast of one of his shows. Upon opening a prop door on his set, a nude dancer was gyrating in front of him as a recording of "The Stripper" was playing over the studio loudspeakers. While the woman was out of camera shot for the television feed, the studio monitors were rigged so Sales could see the nude dancer on them, giving the impression that she was being broadcast live on his children's show. Convinced that his career was over, yet still laughing with his crew, he asked that they cut to a commercial. Only then was he told that the nude dancer wasn't shown on the live feed. He later joked, "All I really wanted from her was her autograph." The clip from the show has circulated in several videotape collections of "bloopers" and out-takes.

In a 1964 incident that nearly ended his career, Sales jokingly told his young viewers on his syndicated show to "take some of those green pieces of paper with pictures of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Lincoln and Jefferson on them" from their parents' wallets and send them to him, and he would send them a postcard from Puerto Rico. Several young viewers did send Sales some money, but all were returned. He was suspended from television for a week, but the incident made his show "cool" and boosted his ratings when he returned to the air.

Mr. Sales attended the "Hollywood Collectors & Celebrities Show", at Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn, in North Hollywood, California, on October 6th & 7th, 2001.

Soupy was born Milton Supman, the youngest of three sons born to dry-goods store owners Irving and Sadie Supman in Franklinton, North Carolina.

1995 - Broke his leg, which has since limited his walking ability.

2000 - Had surgery to repair damage to his vocal cords.

Recorded a novelty song entitled "Do the Mouse", which, oddly enough, became a modest hit single.

Has been a popular New York City area radio personality since the early 1980s.

Numerous celebrities have been on the receiving end of Soupy's pies over the years, including, on one memorable occasion (c. 1965), Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Trini López, all on the same program, in the same sketch.

According to Sales' autobiography, the name Soupy Sales was derived from two things. "Soupy" came from "Soupbone", a nickname he got in his youth which was a mispronunciation of his real last name, Supman; and Sales came from the suggestion of an Ohio television manager who knew of a comic named "Chick Sales". Soupy knew that the man was referring to 1920s comic actor Charles 'Chic' Sale, but didn't correct him and accepted the name. Sales also went by the name of "Soupy Hines" for a while, which was a reference to (and a misspelling of) the famous soup company.

The first actor to do the voice of the video game ape, Donkey Kong.

Met his wife, dancer Trudy Carson, while performing on "The Ed Sullivan Show".

Once, during the run of his slapstick show, the crew played a joke on him by posing a naked woman at a stage door. When Sales opened the door, he gasped and feared his career was over, but the scene was never telecast.

Participated in school plays and was voted most popular boy in high school.

He and his older brothers all had nicknames. Soupy was "Soupman", and his brothers were "Hambone" and "Chickenbone".

Was a huge jazz fan and regularly introduced greats like Count Basie, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker to the stage of his Detroit-based, jazz-oriented "Soupy's On" program. Sales utilized his extensive jazz record collection throughout his television career as introductory or character theme music.

An urban legend claimed Sales sneaked off-color humor onto his show for the amusement of his huge adult audience. This has been disproven repeatedly. For many years, Sales had a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone who could prove he worked "blue" on his kids' shows. Nobody ever took the offer, although the rumor persisted.

He began his television career on WKRC-TV with "Soupy's Soda Shop," TV's first teen dance program.

Graduated from Marshall College in West Virginia, where he earned a Master's Degree in journalism. While at college he performed in nightclubs as a comedian, singer, and dancer.

Has two older brothers, Leonard and Jack.

Joined WNBC-AM as a disc jockey in 1985, a stint best remembered because Sales filled the hours between shock jocks Don Imus and Howard Stern.

He had a pair of albums that hit the Billboard Top 10 in 1965 and his surprise hit single, the novelty song "Do the Mouse," sold 250,000 copies in New York alone.

After moving to Los Angeles, he eventually became an occasional fill-in host on "The Tonight Show.".

Is said to have been an influence in the Pee-Wee Herman character created by Paul Reubens.

Graduated in 1944 from Huntington High School in Huntington, West Virginia. He then enlisted in the United States Navy and served on the USS Randall (APA-224) in the South Pacific during the latter part of World War II.

His first pie to the face came in 1951, when the newly christened Soupy Sales (aka Milton Supman) was hosting a children's show in Cleveland.

Graduated from Huntington High School in Huntington, West Virginia in 1944. He then enlisted in the United States Navy and served in the South Pacific during the latter part of World War II. After the war, he graduated from Marshall College, where he earned a Master's degree in Journalism.

His older brothers had been nicknamed "Hambone" and "Chicken Bone".

Childhood hero of Howard Stern.

Good friend of Cynthia Pepper.

Personal Quotes

Producers say, 'Hey, all he does is throw pies.' It kept me off a lot of shows.

I've never done a pretentious show; it's always had a live feeling, the kind of thing that comes across when you don't know what's going to happen next. I've never done anything simply because I thought I could get away with it. I've just wanted to do the funniest show.

I'll probably be remembered for the pies, and that's all right.

One of my younger fans made the mistake of heaving a frozen pie at me before it defrosted. It caught me in the neck and I dropped like a pile of bricks.

I remember one time we were working with Pookie at the window. He was doing a bit where he was breaking eggs and one of the eggs turned out to be rotten. My God, the smell was terrible! And I'm sure, watching us at home, everyone knew there was something wrong from the look on our faces.

Once I found out that adults were watching, too, I never consciously changed anything to play to them.

Our shows were not actually written, but they were precisely thought out. But the greatest thing about the show and I think the reason for its success, was that it seemed undisciplined. The more you can make a performance seem spontaneous, the better the entertainer you are.

Where Are They Now

(2001) Release of his book, "Soupy Sez! My Life and Zany Times".

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