Soupy Sales was a pioneer of slapstick comedy. His classic pie in the face gag turned him into a household name. He was born Milton Supman on January 8, 1926, in North Carolina. He died October 22, 2009, in a Bronx Hospital after battling illness for many years.

He had many jobs before hitting the big time. He was in the U.S. Navy and served during World War II, in the South Pacific. In 1953, Soupy started in his hit children’s show, Lunch with Soupy. The show was picked up for national broadcast, and in 1959 Soupy moved to Los Angeles. After the show’s cancelation in 1962, Soupy did odd acting jobs, once filling in for Steven Allen on The Steven Allen Show.

A New York City network picked up Soupy’s Show in 1964.

The show had 260 episodes and aired to 1966.  This version of the show had many guest stars including, Frank Santra, The Supremes and Sammy Davis Jr. In 1978, The New Soupy Sales Show aired in Los Angeles. This show had one season with 65 episodes.

Soupy created a dance album in the 1960s called “The Mouse.” He even performed “The Mouse” on the Ed Sullivan Show. He returned to the show many times. Once he appeared on the show with the Beatles.  He also released a single, “Muck-Arty Park” and another album “A Bag of Soup.”

Soupy was also a regular on some TV game shows. For seven years Soupy was a panelist on What’s My Line? He was also host of Junior Almost Anything Goes. He has also appeared on such classics as The Match Game, To Tell The truth, and Hollywood Squares.

Soupy was notorious for his dislike of television executives. He also received a lot of flack from one gag where he told children to get money out of their mom’s purse and send it to him.

Sales was twice married, first to Barbara Fox until 1979, then to Trudy Carson from 1980 until his death. Soupy was a great comedian with a love for children. He humored audiences with wacky puppets, wild faces and over 20,000 pies in the face. We will always remember the guy who won America’s heart one pie gag at a time.