Laffing Sal

Laffing Sal is one of several automated characters that were built primarily for funhouses throughout the United States.[1] Sometimes called "Laughing Sal", she produces a raucous laugh that sometimes frightens small children and annoys adults.[2]

Contents

History

She was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) of Germantown, Pennsylvania in the early 1930s. There was also a Laffing Sam and Blackie the Barker ballyhoo characters offered utilizing similar construction. PTC subcontracted the production of their Laffing Sal figures to the Old King Cole Papier Mache Company of Canton, Ohio.[1] She was made of papier mache (seven plys of pressed ground wood pulp card stock with interior horse hair) over steel coils and frame, detachable head, arms, hands and legs, and held together with fabric, staples, pins, nails, nuts and bolts. She had a wig of non-human hair, and had a large gap between her front teeth.[3] She was advertised as being 6 feet, 10 inches high, standing on a 12 inch pedestal under which was a record player continuously playing her laugh. She would wave her arms and lean forward while laughing.[1]

The Pike featured her along with her PTC companions "Laughing Sam" and "Blackie the Barker" as ballyhoo over the center of "Laff In The Dark" dark ride.

The history of Laffing Sal at the Balboa Fun Zone goes back to the 1920s. When the Balboa Fun Zone wanted Laffing Sal to stand above the entrance to their Scary Dark Ride, they contacted Funni-Frite Inc of Pickerington Oh, who still had the original molds from the Pike's Laffing Sal's head and hands. The laugh track was originally on a stack of old 78 RPM records. They would stack a few records on an automatic changer turntable, and would re-stack the records as needed. The Fun Zone used modern technology to achieve the same effect. The Fun Zone's Laffing Sal was removed with the closure of the Scary Dark Ride in 2005.

Sal's asking price in 1940 was US$360, equal to $5638 today;[4] in 2004 the one now in Santa Cruz, California cost the bidder US$50,000.[3]

Laffing Sal is often thought to be one of the forerunners of Walt Disney's now famous Audio-Animatronics.

Sal appearances

Locations

References

  1. ^ a b c d Luca, Bill (2003) My Gal Sal Laff In The Dark.com. Accessed 26 August 2010
  2. ^ History of Laffing Sal, Musée Mécanique. Accessed 10 August 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Luca, Bill Saving Sal Laff In The Dark.com, page 3. Accessed 10 August 2007
  4. ^ Luca, Bill (2003) My Gal Sal Laff In the Dark.com, p 5. Accessed 10 August 2007
  5. ^ Luca, Bill (2003) My Gal Sal Laff In the Dark.com, p 8. Accessed 10 August 2007

External links