Legendary TV comic Soupy Sales dies at 83

Sales, 83, died Thursday night at Calvary Hospice in New York, said his former manager and longtime friend, Dave Usher. Sales had many health problems and entered the hospice last week, Usher said.

At the peak of his fame in the 1950s and '60s, Sales was one of the best-known faces in the nation, Usher said.

At the same time, Sales retained an openness to fans that turned every restaurant meal into an endless autograph- signing session, Usher said.

"He was just good to people," said Usher, a former jazz music producer who managed Sales in the 1950s.

Sales began his TV career in Cincinnati and Cleveland, then moved to Detroit, where he drew a large audience on WXYZ-TV. He moved to Los Angeles in 1961.

The comic's pie-throwing schtick became his trademark, and celebrities lined up to take one on the chin alongside Sales. During the early 1960s, stars including Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Shirley MacLaine received their share, side-by-side with the comedian on his television show.

"I'll probably be remembered for the pies, and that's all right," Sales said in a 1985 interview.

Sales was born Milton Supman on Jan. 8, 1926, in Franklinton, N.C., where his was the only Jewish family in town.

His greatest success came in New York with "The Soupy Sales Show," an ostensible children's show that had little to do with other kiddie fare. His manic, improvisational style also drew an older audience that responded to his envelope-pushing antics.

Sales, who was typically clad in a black sweater and oversized bow tie, was once suspended for a week after telling his legion of tiny listeners to empty their mothers' purses and mail him all the pieces of green paper bearing pictures of the presidents.

The cast of "Saturday Night Live" later paid homage by asking their audience to send in their joints.

His influence was also obvious in the Pee-wee Herman character created by comedian Paul Reubens.