The Mouse That Roared: Soupy Sales
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Artist:
One of my boyhood heroes - along with fictional superspy James Bond, writer-broadcaster-orator Jean Shepherd, and The Who's singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Townshend - was a subversive but extremely popular TV kiddie show host, game-show regular and radio personality by the name of Soupy Sales. And alas, he has passed - the latest in an uncommonly long line of celebrity deaths that have been visited upon us in 2009.
This antic fellow was a fount of bad puns amid broad physical comedy and sneaky/funny satire, whose puppet companions were as off-the-wall as he was. His trademark was to receive a pie in the face after a particularly lame joke. Like I said, broad physical comedy. He was even tossed off of the air on one or two occasions for provocative stunts and statements. You can get a lot of the details of his life in the obits that are circulating today, but I should mention his most famous transgression: asking his young viewers to sneak into their parents' bedrooms, reach into their fathers' wallets and mothers' pocketbooks, and send ol' Soupy those green paper pictures of the presidents. If I remember correctly, he promised, in return, to send the kids a postcard from Puerto Rico.
During the '60s, in an age of seemingly endless dance crazes that swept the nation, he felt compelled to float one of his own, with tongue firmly in cheek (and teeth over lip): The Mouse. And damned if he didn't have a light hit with the single "Do the Mouse," even performing it on the massively popular TV variety program "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1965.
By the way, Soupy had more than one pop music connection. He was the father of musicians Hunt & Tony Sales from the band Tony & the Tigers, although the Sales brothers were probably better known as members of David Bowie's arty metal-rock group Tin Machine.
In Soupy's honor, I have embedded a take of him delivering "Do the Mouse" (preceded by some typical Soupy schtick with his ever-raucous studio crew) from a mid-'60s episode of his New York-based syndicated series. Take a peek. Have a chuckle.
I'll miss ya, Soupy.
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Comments (13)
sigh.
Being in my early thirties, I have had the misfortune of a life without Soupy Sales. But I know enough to know what a great entertainer he must have been.
In an EW article from this morning, journalist Ken Tucker recounts a past interview with Soupy:
I interviewed him for EW years ago, by phone. As the conversatiomn began to fade, Sales thanked me for not asking him about the "little green pieces of paper" controversy. "Everybody thinks they have to bring that up - why?" he asked me, irritation in his voice.
"Because their editors tell them to, thinking they'll get a bit more controversy out of it," I suggested.
"Yeah," he said, sighing. "Maybe. Or maybe some people just like to make happy people unhappy."
RIP Soupy
I remember the one where he was making his fingers be finger puppets, just an excuse to slip the middle finger in on a TV show. Can't remember if he got canned for that, but as a young teener it sure seemed cool to see.
So another one gone.... we ain't getting younger are we? (That's rhetorical, no need to answer.)
I was a regular watcher, so ahead of his time. a lot DIY could learn a lot from what he did and still be funny at the same. time. I remember BBKing showing up one time.
Somebody confirmed the green pieces of paper story to me today. That is funny!
I loved Soupy. This clip is interesting in that it sounds like he had an all adult studio audience. (the crew, as you said.) I'm sorry to hear he passed. Glad he made it to 83, at least. Many greats die young. A friend emailed me this video of a prank the crew pulled on Soupy while he was on the air. He opens the door and there is a naked woman giggling to "The Stripper" by David Rose. He could only smile and assume he was about to be thrown off the air again. But, in fact, the audience couldn't see her. I wanted to find a way to embed this, but the file format would not upload to YouTube. Here's a download you have to click "skip the ad" and "play" and "allow".
http://www.divshare.com/download/9008543-ae2
Mike--as usual, you wrote it well and these comments have been great.
This may seem like a contradiction, but somehow Soupy was involved in my entrance into adulthood. There was something about his comedic delivery that while being presented to me at a young age was making me think about things that maybe I wouldn't have until years later, both good and bad. I guess for this comment, my definition of adulthood doesn't necessarily mean that I had matured fully, but rather just been opened up to new thoughts.
Of course, it might also have led to me getting caught smoking pot at camp when I was 13. He was awesome.
"Show me flying cattle & I'll show you the herd shot round the world"
.......Soupy Sales R.I.P.
for some reason I am pretty sure i heard this once on the Dr. Demento show
I watched Soupy's show religiously after school, bought the single of 'The Mouse,' and went to see the rock show he hosted in Manhattan in 1965, where I saw Little Richard (someone told me recently that Jimi Hendrix was his guitarist, but of course I don't recall that), The Hollies, The Hullabaloos, and maybe Sandie Shaw (she's in the program, but my memory is hazy).
I loved it when Pookie danced around to 'Mumbles' by The Oscar Peterson Trio with Clark Terry. Inspired nuttiness.
I became a member of the Friars Club in NYC for a few years earlier this decade, and although he was in poor health, I did see him around from time to time. To us younger Friars, he was a legend.
jameson: Amd then I go and reiterate the "green paper" story. Ah well...
Jonh: I do think he was fingered for the finger, but it may have just been a reprimand. Too sad to research.
cpetersonart3: Soupy was cool. No doubt about that.
funoka: What? My account wasn't legit enough?
Spike 1: I don't think he ever had much of an audience other than his crew. BTW, I loved the nekkid lady clip. Thanks!
Robin: He never really talked down to the kids, did he? We were always in on the joke, too.
deadmandeadman: "Show me the ocean floor, and I'll show you the Prince of Wales." (Prints of whales. Get it?) And so many more...
Rawk: I'm pretty sure Demento played it way more than once.
emscee: Yep. In some ways, Soupy was as hip as they come. I always thought that he had more than a little Bohemian in him, not to mention a jazzy vibe that put him in the same ballpark as Lord Buckley and Ken Nordine, albeit not quite so out in left field.
Bopping around YouTube yesterday, I found a clip from 1955, where Soupy, on his local TV show, showcased Clifford Brown and Max Roach live in the studio. Tres hip.
Thanks for restoring good memories of Soupy. This clip had it all - the clandestine, in-joke bantering with the crew which was totally entertaining and engaging, and the somewhat repulsive "Mouse" dance. Unfortunately, the latter had come to be the thing I most remembered about Soupy, while the former is what should be topmost in the mind.
I was really little when he was really big. But I do remember him- and some of the characters and sketches, though many of the jokes went over my head at the time.
as a testament to his material being timeless I have a quick story: This past summer, I got a DVD collection of his show from our library and played several episodes for my 10-year old daughter. She spent the next several weeks reciting "Waiter, there's a fly in my soup" jokes (which she watched enough to memorize) to everyone she came across. So, even in 2009, a 10-year old can appreciate the great Soupy.
Amen to that and RIP, Soupy.
btw- the DVD included a great sketch with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Joey Bishop all ending up with pies in their faces.