SOUPY SALES January 8, 1926 - October 22,2009 Milton Supman (professional name Milton Hines) - more famously known as Soupy Sales - has passed away at the age of 83. Soupy Sales was a regular visitor to my house when I was a kid. My siblings and I watched his show all the time and I remember first hand some of the stunts he pulled that later became legend (and a bit infamous.) I loved White Fang, which was basically just a big white furry paw - you never saw the rest of White Fang - who threw pies at Soupy. Black Tooth was the same only black and female and she gave Soupy big wet kisses. His most famous stunt was the time he told the kids in his audience to sneak into their parents bedroom, rummage through their wallets or pants, take out a dollar (which he described as, "funny green pieces of paper with pictures of U.S. Presidents") and mail it to him. He then told the kids that they would get a postcard from him from Puerto Rico for it. The dollars started rolling in, Soupy tried to explain to the angry parents complaining that it was a joke and the money would be donated to charity, but he was suspended from the show for two weeks. When kids started picketing Channel 5-WNEW it just served to increase Soupy's popularity. Of course, we've all heard about the "topless dancer behind the door" stunt his crew pulled on him. Remember he would open a door on the set to reveal a celebrity guest or just an arm he would joke with? Well, to Soupy's surprise, his crew once positioned a topless dancer behind the door during the live broadcast (out of range of the show camera but covered with a few strategic balloons). I didn't find out he had a Twitter account until I read the news of his death - I certainly would have followed him. One of his last tweets was, "Did you kids catch me at the Oscar ceremony last Sunday? Neither did security! KAPOW!" Typical Soupy humor. Goodbye Soupy, thanks for all the laughs. Lunch with Soupy, 1959: THE TOPLESS DANCER INCIDENT: Soupy, White Fang & Pookie: Soupy talks about those "green pieces of paper": Read more about Soupy Sales at Wikipedia ----------------- Check out The POP ART DIVAS - Original Miniature Paintings by PopArtDiva Prices for originals starting at $20! Check out MY LATEST ART PROJECTS at my ART BLOG ------------------- Follow me on Twitter Friend me on Facebook One Click Shopping at The PopArtDiva Gift Gallery:
