RIP: Soupy Sales

cartman · 10-23-2009, 09:57 AM

He wasn't too well known to this generation, but in his day he was one of the funniest and most irreverent comics out there.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | US pie-splattered comedian dies

Honolulu_Blue · 10-23-2009, 10:03 AM

He was a local guy who got his career started here in Detroit.

Good ole, Soupy.

JPhillips · 10-23-2009, 10:05 AM

Do I remember right that it was his live show that broke down completely when an offstage actor answered the door naked?

JonInMiddleGA · 10-23-2009, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Do I remember right that it was his live show that broke down completely when an offstage actor answered the door naked?

You do indeed remember correctly.

M GO BLUE!!! · 10-23-2009, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Do I remember right that it was his live show that broke down completely when an offstage actor answered the door naked?

Quote:

Let me let you in on a little secret. Lunch with Soupy Sales, Detroit’s most popular TV kid’s show, wasn’t really a kid’s show at all. Oh sure, Soupy always reminded the kiddies to take their vitaminnies and eat Silvercup Bread, “the best bread in Dee-troit,” but the show always relied on more adult oriented humor. In a 1958 Detroit Times article Sales even admitted, “There’s really no message to this show. It’s actually a kid’s show for adults.”

Soupy and his straight man, puppeteer Clyde Adler, were basically a modern day vaudeville team. Their routines borrowed heavily from old school burlesque and yellowed copies of Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang, a series of bawdy post WWI joke books. The humor was ancient and corny but it was new to the kids. The fact that Soupy occasionally snuck in risqué material got the older kids and adults watching too.

The show never had a live studio audience, except for a very vocal stage crew. Soupy always tried to crack up the crew, and they were more than happy to reciprocate. For example, Soupy’s orange juice was on more than one occasion spiked with 100 proof vodka, courtesy of the stagehands. Another crew prank involved the placing of dirty notes between the buns of Soupy’s hamburger. When Soupy lifted the top of the bun to put ketchup on his burger he’d see the dirty note, which would invariably break him up.

The most well known gag from the show ranks as one of the classic outtakes in TV history, thanks to Dick Clark’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes TV show. So without further ado, I give you the true story of the famous “Naked Lady Behind The Door.”

There never was a written script for the show; Soupy and Clyde would just work out what they were going to do, giving the director a bare-bones outline for camera angles and sound cues. The bit was for the ET man to play a recording of a woman screaming. Soupy would then run to the door, open it, and look down to see a pair of women’s shoes being pulled by fishing line, running from a pair of men’s shoes. Blackout, cut to commercial.

The studio that day was filled with curious onlookers who were in on the joke. Soupy knew that something was up, but he wasn’t quite sure what. The show started precisely at noon, and ran smoothly. At about 12:27 Soupy, as rehearsed, heard a woman’s scream. He ran to the door, opened it, and instead of a pair of women’s shoes saw a nude woman wearing nothing but a smile. Soupy stole a quick glance at the master monitor, hoping that the curvaceous cutie’s image wasn’t being broadcast live over the airwaves. Sure enough, to his horror the monitor showed exactly what Soupy had feared- a smiling nude woman. The engineers were clever enough to patch a different camera angle into the monitor, making Soupy think that thousands of Detroit kiddies were at home eating their lunches in front of the TV while getting a lesson in female anatomy. In reality, what the kids saw was a speechless Soupy standing next to an open door, nothing more. Soupy saw what he thought was his career passing before his eyes.

Since the show was broadcast live, no video footage exists. The gag was recreated once more in Los Angeles in 1962, but because the show had gone completely to videotape by then, any flubs could be easily edited out, making the practical joke less effective. The L.A. footage has survived; in the 1990s it became a popular part of Soupy’s nightclub act. Naked Lady number two married a California banker, while Naked Lady number one’s whereabouts are unknown.

You can see the famous uncensored Los Angeles Soupy and the Naked Lady blooper by clicking on the photo at the right. WARNING! If you are under 18, offended by female nudity, have a heart condition or just aren’t interested, DO NOT CLICK ON THE PHOTO!

Naked Soupy

SirFozzie · 10-23-2009, 11:53 AM

I demand a 21 pie salute for the legend.

OldGiants · 10-23-2009, 03:58 PM

I miss White Fang and Black Tooth.

In a similar vein, he got suspended from New York TV by telling the joke,

"I took my wife to the ball game. I kissed her between the strikes and she kissed me between the balls."

M GO BLUE!!! · 10-23-2009, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I demand a 21 pie salute for the legend.

Mmmmm... pie.

QuikSand · 10-24-2009, 06:08 AM

F you see K

10-23-2009, 10:03 AM	#2
Honolulu_Blue Hockey Boy Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Royal Oak, MI	He was a local guy who got his career started here in Detroit. Good ole, Soupy. __________________ *Steve Yzerman*: 1,755 points in 1,514 regular season games. 185 points in 196 postseason games. A First-Team All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Selke Trophy winner, Masterton Trophy winner, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Olympic gold medallist, and a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Longest serving captain of one team in the history of the NHL (19 seasons).

10-23-2009, 10:05 AM	#3
JPhillips Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Newburgh, NY	Do I remember right that it was his live show that broke down completely when an offstage actor answered the door naked? __________________ To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.. - Mr. Rogers

10-23-2009, 11:53 AM	#6
SirFozzie Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: The State of Insanity	I demand a 21 pie salute for the legend. __________________ Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com

10-23-2009, 03:58 PM	#7
OldGiants College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Location, Location, Location	I miss White Fang and Black Tooth. In a similar vein, he got suspended from New York TV by telling the joke, "I took my wife to the ball game. I kissed her between the strikes and she kissed me between the balls." __________________ "The case of Great Britain is the most astonishing in this matter of inequality of rights in world soccer championships. The way they explained it to me as a child, God is one but He's three: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I could never understand it. And I still don't understand why Great Britain is one but she's four....while [others] continue to be no more than one despite the diverse nationalities that make them up." Eduardo Galeano, SOCCER IN SUN AND SHADOW

10-24-2009, 06:08 AM	#9
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	F you see K

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