By Steve Marinucci
Published on October 12, 2006, San Jose Mercury News (CA)
PIE IN YOUR FACE
'THE SOUPY SALES SHOW' WAS MORE THAN A KIDS' SHOW, AS ADULTS ENJOYED THE FUN
It's funny how many of the shows we watched as youngsters are still as much fun to watch as adults.
''Beany and Cecil,'' ''Rocky and Bullwinkle,'' ''The Three Stooges'' and ''Quick Draw McGraw'' all had humor that worked on levels for both kids and adults, though few of us kids probably realized it at the time.
Then there was ''The Soupy Sales Show.'' It was billed as a kids' show, but Sales' show was full of slapstick, horrible puns and physical comedy that could also be enjoyed by adults, topped by Sales' penchant for getting pummeled by whipped cream pies, estimated to number a staggering 25,000 during his long career.
The show's best period is warmly recalled in ''Soupy Sales: In Living Black & White,'' released in late September by Morada Vision.
''The Soupy Sales Show'' first ran in 1953 at WXYZ-TV in Detroit, and later moved to Los Angeles, and then New York's WNEW-TV in 1964, from where it was syndicated all over the country in black and white. (A color version followed later in 1979.)
It was during his time in New York in the '60s that Sales (real name: Milton Supman) had probably his greatest success, garnering a radio hit with ''The Mouse'' and even appearing on a 1965 edition of ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' that also featured the Beatles.
Soupy's shows were one surprise after another. You never knew what was coming when Soupy opened the back door on his set or encountered one of his two dogs -- White Fang and his counterpart Black Tooth -- or his other puppet friends Pookie the Lion and Hippie the Hippo (all four puppets were voiced by Clyde Adler).
The jokes were bad -- and the cast knew it. Soupy would often banter with the crew and could ad lib jokes a mile a minute.
Not everyone found his antics funny all the time. The most notorious was the 1965 New Year's Day show where Soupy told his young viewers to quietly reach into Daddy's wallet and take out the ''little green pieces of paper with pictures of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Lincoln and Jefferson on them. Send them to me, and I'll send you a postcard from Puerto Rico.'' The angry reaction from parents caused him to be suspended for two weeks.
The fun of those early days is all here on this disc, which features more than 2 1/2 hours of vintage antics. Among the highlights: Soupy plays a surprising game of fetch with White Fang, finds a surprise guest -- Fess Parker -- and sings his big hit, ''The Mouse.''
A bonus track -- really nothing more than some miscellaneous clips -- is highlighted by a Three Stooges-like romp starring Soupy and a young Donald O'Connor outwitting two bad guys.
The quality on these vintage shows, which aren't taken from master tapes, is not the greatest, but the comedy holds up marvelously. This single disc release follows a three-disc set of color episodes from the late '70s the company issued last year.
The color episodes don't have the razor-sharp comedy of the black-and-white episodes. But the color set is notable for two great Soupy moments: a skit featuring Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. in which the Chairman of the Board takes a pie in the face; and a notorious outtake that finds Sales opening his door and finding a naked woman and trying to keep from letting on to his young audience.
A spokesman for the company says public response for Soupy DVD sets has been so strong that the company is considering putting together more releases.
CAPTION: PHOTO: BOB WYNNE GRAPHICS
Expect the unexpected in ''Soupy Sales: In Living Black & White,'' released in late September.
PHOTO: JANET OSEROFF -- SOUPY SALES ARCHIVES
Pookie the Lion and Soupy Sales put their heads together on ''The Soupy Sales Show,'' available on DVD.
