Talk:Soupy Sales
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[edit] Fair use issue
The material from Sales' book constitutes "fair use". It is much less than one page of the entire book and does not constitute a substantial percentage of Wikipedia's total content.
[edit] Puppeteer
Does anyone remember the name of the puppeteer who "worked" the puppets who played Pookie, White Fang, Black Tooth, etc? He is certainly worthy of mention in the main article! Response - The puppeteer/actors'name was Frank Nastasi
[edit] Dirty Jokes
I am a few months short of 55, at the time of my writing this correction, on 2005-12-28. I grew up in the NYC suburbs and regularly watched Soupy Sales on two different shows that appeared in New York, the first around 1960-61, where Soupy threw a cream pie at Frank Sinatra (and lived) and the more well known show of around 1963-65, where Soupy did indeed tell what for that time were obscene jokes. I had also seen him, around 1962 in an episode of the show "McKeever and the Colonel".
In the mid-sixties, when I was in Junior High, I watched the Soupy Sales show every afternoon, after school, and looked forward to Soupy's blue humor (in B&W of course). The next day my friends and I would often discuss Soupy's jokes, which on occasion were more obscene than anything appearing on TV, in those days. I can attest to the following three jokes having been told by Soupy in the mid-sixties TV show, none of which caused him to be taken off the year (at least in the NYC area):
Soupy did say "I took my wife to a baseball game. I kissed her on the strikes and she kissed me on the balls."
Soupy did ask "Who's hairier men or woman?"; and then replied "On the whole woman are hairier" - actually although I am sure Soupy told the punchline, it might have been asked by his assistant Frank Natassi (Black Tooth, White Fang, Pookie, the reporter Brown from "The Sun", Onions Oregano, and most characters appearing from Soupy's door).
Soupy did say "My wife is a great cook, she makes great pies -- she makes my Banana Cream."
Other obscene jokes allegedly told by Soupy might well be Urban Legend, but the three jokes I have quoted were definitely told on TV by Soupy Sales, around 1964-65, and heard by me at the time, back when I was in 7th and / or 8th grade in New Rochelle, NY.
I also ask the public, where can I get a copy of Soupy's song, Pahkalafakah (unsure of spelling)?
I give my name and email address here to provide integrity to my statement:
- Brian Sussman briinc@att.net (originally posted in main topic by 68.161.42.48
Unfortunately, one person's recollection, no matter how vivid, cannot be used as a source for an encyclopedia. As Soupy says, only if someone could find actual recordings of these events is it likely that the matter could be settled (or if a large number of people came forward and attested that he did say these things on air, collected in some work we can cite).
I personally find it extremely unlikely that a joke involving "she kissed me on the balls" could be snuck into a children's television show and go unnoticed (or rather pass without repercussions), even in this day and age, let alone the sixties. See also [1]. JRM ยท Talk 17:00, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
Whereas I don't know whether Soupy made these 'dirty' jokes, there is no doubt at all that a lot of his jokes were 'adult' in the sense that they would go over children's heads (and would also be politically incorrect by today's standards'), would frequently be about alcohol, Jewish references or things you'd never hear on Sesame Street.
I offer the following direct transcripts from shows which I watched on DVD only half an hour ago.
From the 'White Fang the Olypmian' episode:
Soupy is fitting White Fangs running shoes. Fang complains. Soupy says, "A little tight? You have to be to run in The Olympics"
later: "Do lemons have feathers? Uh-oh - I just squeezed your canary into my bloody mary."
Later in the show the lights get cut off because they haven't paid the power bill. When the crew get them working, Soupy asks how they raised the money and one of them, off camera, saus "We robbed the coffee shop across the street"
A navy representative comes to the door and conscripts Soupy to go diving, as they've discovered Atlantis. To get him into diving gear he starts cutting Soupy's trousers around the thighs with a pair of scissors. Soupy warns, "Careful - that's how my Rabbi started."
In his 'definitions' segment, he holds up a card with the word 'Booze' on it and defines it as 'the noise Dean Martin makes when The Dodgers are losing'
A forthcoming guest is 'James Bondstein' - "Thats 007 - but for you $6.98" (which doesn't really make sense, but never mind)
In the early 60's episode where Dean Martin and Sammy Davis get pied, Soupy plays a waiter. Reading the paper to his boss he notes that a cab driver found $3000 in a bag in the back of his cab. He comments that if he found a 'bag with $3000' he'd 'marry her'.
Sinatra is talking to Davis about 'Von Ryan's Express' and mentions that it was popular because he 'saved two girls'. Davis says, "Yeah, one for the producer and one for himself." Sinatra also asks Sales whether he serves women, and proceeds to order one.
Sales comments to someone, "don't you know the customer is always tight?"
Sinatra gets a phone call from Dean Martin. When he asks "what are you doing" a stream of liquid gushes out of the mouthpiece. Neither rational explanation for this gag could be called G-rated.
So I don't know if the more risque lines happened, but the show was certainly rife with adult-oriented dialog.
Tim Gadd fluke@southcom.com.au
