Biography

In a 1965 incident that nearly ended his career, Sales jokingly told his young viewers on his syndicated show to "take some of those green pieces of paper with pictures of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Lincoln and Jefferson on them" from their parents' wallets and send them to him, and he would send them a postcard from Puerto Rico. Several young viewers did send Sales some money, but all were returned. He was suspended from television for two weeks, but the incident made his show "cool" and boosted his ratings when he returned to the air.

Numerous celebrities were on the receiving end of Soupy's pies over the years, including, on one memorable occasion (c. 1965 Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Trini López, all on the same program, in the same sketch.

Was a huge jazz fan and regularly introduced greats like Count Basie, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker to the stage of his Detroit-based, jazz-oriented "Soupy's On" program. Sales utilized his extensive jazz record collection throughout his television career as introductory or character theme music.

Father of Hunt Sales and Tony Fox Sales, who have played in bands with such rock notables as David Bowie, Todd Rundgren and Iggy Pop. Grandfather of Anthony Tyrone Sales and Valentina Fox Sales (Tony's children).

A prank was played on him by the studio crew during a live broadcast of one of his shows. Upon opening a prop door on his set, a nude dancer was gyrating in front of him as a recording of "The Stripper" was playing over the studio loudspeakers. While the woman was out of camera shot for the television feed, the studio monitors were rigged so Sales could see the nude dancer on them, giving the impression that she was being broadcast live on his children's show. Convinced that his career was over, yet still laughing with his crew, he asked that they cut to a commercial. Only then was he told that the nude dancer wasn't shown on the live feed. He later joked, "All I really wanted from her was her autograph." The clip from the show has circulated in several videotape collections of "bloopers" and out-takes.

Producers say, "Hey, all he does is throw pies". It kept me off a lot of shows.

I've never done a pretentious show; it's always had a live feeling, the kind of thing that comes across when you don't know what's going to happen next. I've never done anything simply because I thought I could get away with it. I've just wanted to do the funniest show.

I'll probably be remembered for the pies, and that's all right.

One of my younger fans made the mistake of heaving a frozen pie at me before it defrosted. It caught me in the neck and I dropped like a pile of bricks.

I remember one time we were working with Pookie at the window. He was doing a bit where he was breaking eggs and one of the eggs turned out to be rotten. My God, the smell was terrible! And I'm sure, watching us at home, everyone knew there was something wrong from the look on our faces.