Soupy Sez!: My Life and Zany Times

by Soupy Sales

Book Overview

Soupy Sales is one of the most recognizable and best-loved personalities in show business. In the 1960s, Soupy was a national phenomenon. This book is a hilarious and candid romp through Soupy's more... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0871319357
• ISBN13: 9780871319357
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: M. Evans and Company
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Duck Soupy?

There's no doubt Soupy Sales is truly an American original, and I just had one comment to make about that, relating to how he got kicked off the air for a year back in the 60's.He was angry at the producer of his show for some reason, and so at the end of the hour-long show, where Soupy says goodbye to all the kiddies, he holds up his hand, and says, (I think I'm recalling it more or less correctly, but cut me a little slack, since it's been almost 40 years). Anyway, at that point he said: "This is for White Fang, this is for Pookie, and this is for our producer," as he ticked them off on his fingers.Unfortunately for both Soupy and the producer, he curled each finger down as he did this, leaving only his middle finger sticking up at that point, and was now basically giving his boss the finger on national TV, for all the little kiddies and their now outraged parents to see.I read the show immediately got thousands of calls from angry parents all over the country, and that this led to his one-year long hiatus from the air-waves.Anyway, that was probably one of the most outrageous moments in kiddy TV ever, and it probably took someone as funny, feisty, and as off-the-wall as Soupy to bring it to us. I was delighted to find Soupy is still around and kicking at age 75, and that he could bring this engaging and funny story of his life to us.

Excellent Autobiography of Soupy!!Where's His Movie?!!!

This book is a highly recommended,excellent autobiography of Soupy Sales.Hopefully Someday his reknowned 1966 Movie"Birds Do It"co-starring Tab Hunter and Arthur O'Connell will be released on dvd/vhs including the film trailer that's been very,very long overdue and should be a smashing hit!!Video distributors both large and small should aggressively pursue the released of this superbly Soupy overlooked gem of a movie!!So spread the word!!

Soupy's book is a winner . . . just like he was AND is!

Read SOUPY SEZ! by Soupy Sales with Charles Salzberg, the tale of the TV/Radio personality that helped me grow up . . . before reading the book, I had the impression that Soupy was a real nice guy . . . I'm now convinced.I never felt he talked down at me . . . rather, he invited me into his world . . . and what a world it was!This book gave me a better feel for what I saw on an almostdaily basis . . . Soupy had been and still is one of my heroes . . . in fact, he helped teach me the one dance that I could do without making too much of a fool of myself: the mouse.I liked his tales of showbiz, as well as the recollections of several of his friends and colleagues . . . the many pictures were an added "plus."There were several memorable passages; among them:There is a definite art to pie-throwing. You can use whippedcream, egg whites or shaving cream, but shaving cream is much better because it doesn't spoil. And no tin plates. Thesecret is you just can't push it and shove it in somebody'sface. It has to be done with a pie that has a lot of crustso that it breaks up into a thousand pieces when it hits you.[his infamous request of kids that got him suspended]So I moved up as close to the camera as I could, and Isaid, "Hey, kids, last night was New Year's Eve and yourmom and dad were out having a good time and it's only right,since they work hard all year long. And they're probably still in the bedroom asleep. Now, what I want you to do is tiptoeinto the bedroom and don't wake them up and you'll probablysee your mom's pocketbook on the floor along with your dad'spants. Now, be real careful, because we don't want to wake them up, but I want you to go into your mom's pocketbookand your dad's pants and you'll find some little green piecesof paper with pictures of guys with beards on them. Now, what I want you to do is take those little pieces of green paper and put them into an envelope, and on the envelope,I want you to write Soupy Sales, Channel 5, New York, New York, and you know what I'm gonna send you in return? A postcard from Puerto Rico."Soupy's Definitions:Apple turnover--a command a fruit peddler uses when trainingan apple.Bacteria--the back door of a cafeteria.Bewithces--the way people in Brooklyn say, I'll be rightthere"--I'll bewitches in a second!"Blue jeans--tight pants that tell dirty jokes.Chestnuts--people who are crazy about Dolly Parton.Dialogue--how you make a phone call to a tree.Operating room--Warren Beatty's bedroom.Stopwatch--the command a policeman gives to a Rolexwho's going too fast.

Soupy Sez (My Life and Zany Times)

For anyone who grew up watching Soupy Sales on Televison,this book is a must.It,s a hilariously funny,warm and very truthful account of a career that spans 50 years.I can,t reccomend it enough.You won,t be able to put it down (Soupys put Super Glue on the edge of the pages.) Great fun!!

An above average show biz bio from Soupy!!

Soupy Sales was to kids growing up in the 50s and 60s what Ernie Kovaks was to adults: a comedian with attitude, a visual zaniness unmatched by other kids-show performers, a kids show host who just happened to do kids shows...but shows where he talked TO and never DOWN TO the kids. And his seemingly ad lib (a lot was planned), crazy, punny, pie-in-the-face and slapstick schtick won over may ADULT viewers too...such as Frank Sinatra, who asked to appear on his show -- and get a pie in the face (he DID, and Sales lived to talk about it..). Today's question: could the former Milton Supman, now 75, write a show biz bio that goes BEYOND being a syrupy fanzine bio to a tell "all" book offering something of interest to those who want to go into comedy or show biz -- yet STILL be a FUNNY book? The answer is YES. I collect show biz bios and this is one of the few that I actually underlined. It is outstanding in its genre. It's a book that will be interesting to those who SAW Sales in his prime AND those who want to learn more about show business' realities, the importance of self-confidence, goal-setting, and comedy. If you loved Soupy as a kid, you won't be disapppointed. It's all here: info about his shows in Ohio, L.A. and New York, his battles with corporate "suits" who tried to typecast and creatively stifle him, the (in)famous joke where he asked kiddies in his New York audience to sneak into their sleeping parents' rooms and send him those little green pieces of paper in their wallets with George Washington's picture on it (many did), his hit record (The Mouse), details about who played his characters White Fang, Black Tooth, Pookie, info about his other television, movie, and radio work...and more. A key secret revealed: his favored pie ingredient was...shaving cream. If you like LOTS of puns and one liners, the book is crammed with them. In fact, Sales seems greatly influenced by the Marx Brothers' word play jokes (much as the late Steve Allen was). But there are some other qualities in this bio that you do NOT see in other show biz bios -- and it is HIGHLY refreshing...and WORTH THE PRICE of this book. It makes the book a great GIFT for any aspiring young comedian, actor or kids performer who also wants to perform for adults (his secret here: he did NOT change his act for adults...long before it was fashionable, he appealed to -- and was appealing to -- the "inner child" in adults). He talks about personal and career ups and downs with great candor. At an early age he was "addicted to the sound of applause" but upon entering show biz he admits he was "unprepared for the kinds of people I was going to meet in the business, the kinds of people who didn't know how to be straight with you, the kinds of people whose only interest in you would be what you could do for them." He learned that when he was on top, everyone wanted him around, wanted to swim in his pool, eat his food, and drink his booze. When he wasn't on to