Soupy Sales
| Soupy Sales | |
|---|---|
Sales on Lunch With Soupy in 1960
|
|
| Birth name | Milton Supman |
| Born |
January 8, 1926 Franklinton, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | October 22, 2009 (aged 83) Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Medium | Television, radio, film |
| Years active | 1949–2009 |
| Genres | Slapstick, word play, improvisation |
| Spouse | Barbara Fox (1950–1979, divorced) Trudy Carson (1980–2009, his death) |
| Children |
Hunt Sales Tony Sales |
| Parent(s) | Irving Supman (1890–1931) Selma "Sadie" Berman (1897–1970) |
| Notable works and roles | Lunch with Soupy Sales |
Milton Supman (January 8, 1926 – October 22, 2009) — known professionally as Soupy Sales — was an American comedian, actor, radio/television personality, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales (1953-1966), a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his trademark.
From 1968–75, he was a regular panelist on the syndicated revival of What's My Line? and appeared on several other TV game shows. During the 1980s, Sales hosted his own show on WNBC-AM in New York City.
Milton Supman was born in Franklinton, North Carolina, to Irving Supman and Sadie Berman. His father, a Jewish dry goods merchant, had emigrated from Hungary in 1894. Sales had three siblings: Marvin Supman (1916–1920) who died during childhood, doctor J. Leonard Supman (1918–1998) of Kingsport, Tennessee, and attorney Jack Supman (1921–2014). His was the only Jewish family in the town; Sales joked that local Ku Klux Klan members bought the sheets used for their robes from his father's store.
Sales got his nickname from his family. His older brothers had been nicknamed "Ham Bone" and "Chicken Bone." Milton was dubbed "Soup Bone," which was later shortened to "Soupy". When he became a disc jockey, he began using the stage name Soupy Hines. After he became established, it was decided that "Hines" was too close to the Heinz soup company, so he chose Sales, in part after vaudeville comedian Chic Sale.
Sales graduated from Huntington High School in Huntington, West Virginia in 1944. He 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. He sometimes entertained his shipmates by telling jokes and playing crazy characters over the ship's public address system. One of the characters he created was "White Fang", a large dog that played outrageous practical jokes on the seamen. The sounds for "White Fang" came from a recording of The Hound of the Baskervilles.
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