Soupy Sales Passes Away at Age 83
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Allie @ Gone Hollywood | Friday, October 23, 2009 |
Comedy legend Soupy Sales, the man who took thousands of pies to the face in his 5,000+ live television appearances, has died at the age of 83. His legend spans all the way back to the ’50s and ’60s, thanks to ‘The Soupy Sales Show’ and ‘What’s My Line?’
Sales died Thursday night at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx, New York, his former manager and longtime friend, Dave Usher, said. Sales had many health problems and entered the hospice last week, Usher said.
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 such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Shirley MacLaine received their just desserts side-by-side with the comedian on his television show.
source: Soupy Sales dies at 83; slapstick comic had hit TV show in 1960s [los angeles times]
