Soupy Sales was one of my true childhood heroes, and his wonderful, zany and unpredictable show was a daily joy for so many kids, AND adults of that era during the early to mid-sixties. He had a great love for music, which was always interwoven somehow into his show, with skits by “Pookie the Lion” singing songs like “Mumbles” by Clark Terry, or some Sinatra song, for example! He was an absolute scream, and the show always seemed like you were being brought in on one of his “in” jokes, with the crew always cracking up on the other side of the camera! The show had become so hip, that anyone who was anyone was showing up to get hit with a pie in the face!
The one time I got to meet Soupy Sales was at a Gibson party that was thrown for Les Paul’s birthday at either the Iridium or Fat Tuesday’s, can’t remember which! But I was so excited to be at the table with Soupy, Bernard Purdie (the drummer), the former Mayor of New York, David Dinkins and Jeff Beck! What a crew! But my favorite and most memorable moment was be able to crack Soupy up when I related the story to him about thinking it was so funny when he had Trini Lopez, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. on, and that when Soupy hit Sinatra with a pie, Trini said “you can’t do that to my leader!”, and then threw a pie at Soupy! I thanked him for making me laugh my whole childhood and beyond, and he truly thanked me and acknowledged it with lots of class and dignity. It was a great highlight for me, and I’ll never forget making Soupy laugh! It was the least I could do in return for all the joy he brought me and countless other folks during his great TV days! Farewell, Soupy my friend, you were, and always will be the best!