1995 - Broke his leg, which has since limited his walking ability.
2000 - Had surgery to repair damage to his vocal cords.
A prank was played on him by the studio crew during a live broadcast of one of his shows. Upon opening a prop door on his set, a nude dancer was gyrating in front of him as a recording of "The Stripper" was playing over the studio loudspeakers. While the woman was out of camera shot for the television feed, the studio monitors were rigged so Sales could see the nude dancer on them, giving the impression that she was being broadcast live on his children's show. Convinced that his career was over, yet still laughing with his crew, he asked that they cut to a commercial. Only then was he told that the nude dancer wasn't shown on the live feed. He later joked, "All I really wanted from her was her autograph." The clip from the show has circulated in several videotape collections of "bloopers" and out-takes.
According to Sales' autobiography, the name Soupy Sales was derived from two things. "Soupy" came from "Soupbone", a nickname he got in his youth which was a mispronunciation of his real last name, Supman; and Sales came from the suggestion of an Ohio television manager who knew of a comic named "Chick Sales". Soupy knew that the man was referring to 1920s comic actor Charles 'Chic' Sale, but didn't correct him and accepted the name. Sales also went by the name of "Soupy Hines" for a while, which was a reference to (and a misspelling of) the famous soup company.
After moving to Los Angeles, he eventually became an occasional fill-in host on "The Tonight Show.".
An urban legend claimed Sales sneaked off-color humor onto his show for the amusement of his huge adult audience. This has been disproven repeatedly. For many years, Sales had a standing offer of $10,000 to anyone who could prove he worked "blue" on his kids' shows. Nobody ever took the offer, although the rumor persisted.
Childhood hero of Howard Stern.
Father of Hunt Sales and Tony Fox Sales, who have played in bands with such rock notables as David Bowie, Todd Rundgren and Iggy Pop.
Good friend of Cynthia Pepper.
Graduated from Huntington High School in Huntington, West Virginia in 1944. He then enlisted in the United States Navy and served in the South Pacific during the latter part of World War II. After the war, he graduated from Marshall College, where he earned a Master's degree in Journalism.
Graduated from Marshall College in West Virginia, where he earned a Master's Degree in journalism. While at college he performed in nightclubs as a comedian, singer, and dancer.
Graduated in 1944 from Huntington High School in Huntington, West Virginia. He then enlisted in the United States Navy and served on the USS Randall (APA-224) in the South Pacific during the latter part of World War II.
Has been a popular New York City area radio personality since the early 1980s.
He and his older brothers all had nicknames. Soupy was "Soupman", and his brothers were "Hambone" and "Chickenbone".
He began his television career on WKRC-TV with "Soupy's Soda Shop," TV's first teen dance program.
He had a pair of albums that hit the Billboard Top 10 in 1965 and his surprise hit single, the novelty song "Do the Mouse," sold 250,000 copies in New York alone.
His first pie to the face came in 1951, when the newly christened Soupy Sales (aka Milton Supman) was hosting a children's show in Cleveland.
His older brothers are Marvin who goes by Jack (born 1917) and Leonard (born 1918); both brothers survive him.
His older brothers had been nicknamed "Hambone" and "Chicken Bone".
In a 1964 incident that nearly ended his career, Sales jokingly told his young viewers on his syndicated show to "take some of those green pieces of paper with pictures of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Lincoln and Jefferson on them" from their parents' wallets and send them to him, and he would send them a postcard from Puerto Rico. Several young viewers did send Sales some money, but all were returned. He was suspended from television for a week, but the incident made his show "cool" and boosted his ratings when he returned to the air.