[78-L] Soupy Sales: One of jazz's best friends is gone

Wed Oct 28 04:31:46 PDT 2009

McCann......He is just amazing. I well remember his shows as well. He played
both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy on one of them, obviously not at the same
time, but who else in the world could do it. To see Dick Van Dyke and Chuck
McCann together is a wonderful memory.

It is such a pity that much of their work is lost. As I said in an earlier
post, I can't wait to share whatever is in circulation with my son when he
is old enough. That was wonderful children's television!

Jeff Sultanof

On Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 12:36 AM, Michael Biel <mbiel at mbiel.com> wrote:

> I remembered Sandy Becker mainly from his hosting of the Looney Tunes
> program afternoons on Channel 5.  I was never into his other characters
> on other shows.  He also did radio announcing and was Young Doctor
> Malone on radio soaps.  A nice clean cut boy that nice girls could take
> home to introduce to their mothers.  However, this weekend his widow
> Cherie participated in a panel chaired by Joe Franklin at the Friends of
> Old Time Radio.  I was busy settling up with some of the vendors who had
> put things aside for me, so I left Leah alone to run our broadcast of
> the session.  I never knew that nice, clean-cut Sandy Becker had such a
> foul mouth that he made Dayton Allen appear to be as pure as the Pope.
> Cherie brought along some outtakes and poor Leah was beside herself
> trying to reduce the nastiest of his phrases for our conservative
> YesterdayUSA audience!  Who would have guessed????  Out at the front
> desk, Jay Hickerson was saying, I don't believe Cherie is playing these
> things!" as I was casually returning to help out Leah, and I was greeted
> with a blast of profanity from the screen when I opened the door.  Sandy
> Becker???!!!  Who would have guessed!!!  Part of that outtake reel is
> actually on YouTube, so you can see and hear it for yourself, although
> Leah says some of the best parts aren't there, and she is still looking
> for them.  Maybe Chuck McCann has them.  Another madman.  At about 2 in
> the morning he performed the lost final reel of King Kong, and we are
> still laughing.  (It starts with him miming a cop slowly taking out his
> ticket pad, looking over the scene, putting up his leg like he is
> putting his foot on the bumper of a car -- but it isn't -- and then he
> says:  "This your ape?"  And that's just the start.)
>
> Mike Biel   mbiel at mbiel.com
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> From: Jeff Sultanof <jeffsultanof at gmail.com>
>
> Becker was a madman. He had a group of weird characters named Geeba
> Geeba
> (who worked in a sauerkraut factory), K. Lastima, Hambone (who would
> dance
> on the stage to the tune "Hambone" and usually write a crazy message).
>
> There is a DVD (some of it is not is such great shape) from
> mediastation.comwhich is a good representation of some of what Becker
> was up to.
>
> Jeff Sultanof
>
> On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 12:46 AM, Cary Ginell <soundthink at live.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> > Growing up in L.A., I only got to see Sandy Becker's show one time -
> during
> > a visit to my grandparents' house in Brooklyn in the summer of 1964. I
> > remember only one thing about Becker's show: the theme song, which, as I
> > later found out, was "The Happy Trumpet" by Bert Kaempfert. I tried to
> > figure that out for years. Can anyone describe his show? I know we're
> > getting off-topic, but it's an irresistible topic.
> >
> >
> >
> > Cary Ginell
> >
> > > Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:45:09 -0400
> > > From: jeffsultanof at gmail.com
> > > To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> > > Subject: Re: [78-L] Soupy Sales: One of jazz's best friends is gone
> > >
> > > Soupy, Chuck McCann and Sandy Becker were my TV heroes growing up in
> New
> > > York. Brilliant does not begin to describe the sheer creativity of the
> > shows
> > > they hosted; Sandy was so off-the-wall and surreal. I've managed to get
> > DVDs
> > > of the little that is out there from these shows, specifically to share
> > them
> > > with my son when he is old enough to understand them (he is only 14
> > months
> > > now).
> > >
> > > I remember so clearly Soupy's serial "Philo Kvetch," where he ran
> around
> > New
> > > York like a maniac. His face was rubber, his expressions would make me
> > laugh
> > > for days. It's such a pity that most of his show is now gone. He was a
> > true
> > > star as far as I'm concerned.
> > >
> > > Jeff Sultanof
> > >
> > > On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 10:36 PM, Royal Pemberton <ampex354 at gmail.com
> > >wrote:
> > >
> > > > And Soupy was truly a master at it.
> > > >
> > > > On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 9:31 PM, Michael Biel <mbiel at mbiel.com>
> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > From: Royal Pemberton <ampex354 at gmail.com>
> > > > > > The UK children's show TISWAS had lots of 'pies', done with
> shaving
> > > > cream
> > > > > > and all....paper plates were standard. More goop here:
> > > > > > http://www.tiswasonline.com/pies_gunge_water.php?section=pies
> > > > >
> > > > > This would not have met with Soupy's approval and is probably why
> he
> > was
> > > > > so successful for so many years, and so many celebrities like Frank
> > > > > Sinatra wanted to be on the show and get hit. Shaving cream is soap
> > and
> > > > > tastes disgusting and could make the person sick. Word of this
> would
> > > > > travel and turn celebs off. Paper plates would stick to the goop
> and
> > > > > since they are very lightweight they might not fall away fast
> enough
> > to
> > > > > show the person's face for an IMMEDIATE reaction shot. Breaded
> crust
> > > > > breaks at impact showing the face immediately, and if there are
> small
> > > > > pieces that fall away one at a time, that increases the humor by
> > > > > lengthening the effect. Whipped cream and bread pie crust, maybe
> with
> > > > > some cherry or lemon filling to add color for color TV. Truly
> > inspired
> > > > > comedy is not casual, it is a science.
> > > > >
> > > > > Mike Biel mbiel at mbiel.com
> > > > >
> > > > > On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 8:33 PM, Michael Biel <mbiel at mbiel.com>
> > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > Soupy died on the eve of the Friends of Old Time Radio
> convention,
> > and
> > > > I
> > > > > > opened my broadcast of the event with Soupy's obit. He had made 3
> > or 4
> > > > > > appearances there in recent years, and was well remembered this
> > weekend
> > > > > > by some of his WNEW-TV co-conspirators such as Chuck McCann.
> Sandy
> > > > > > Becker's widow Cherie showed some X-rated outtakes of her hubby
> > from
> > > > > > that same station. Soupy had been very ill in recent years and
> > suffered
> > > > > > from an illness which left his body in the way that he looked and
> > > > > > sounded like he had suffered a serious stroke, but his mind was
> > > > > > completely undamaged so it must have been frustrating to him. But
> > he
> > > > > > loved being at FOTR and every once in a while was able to put in
> a
> > > > > > zinger to top his old-time buddies. The video they showed to end
> > the
> > > > > > tribute was not the usual -- we've seen all those before -- but
> > rather
> > > > > > his Ed Sullivan Show performance of "Do the Mouse" where he
> pranced
> > > > > > around Ed's audience and coincidentally danced with and met for
> the
> > > > > > first time his future wife, who remained devoted to him. That
> > simple
> > > > > > video, no jokes and no pies, was strangely moving to me, and it
> > took
> > > > > > about 15 seconds before I was able to talk after it, and I don't
> > think
> > > > I
> > > > > > was fully fluent till several minutes after. There is a picture
> of
> > a
> > > > > > tribute that has been placed at Soupy's star: a pie.
> > > > > > http://www.newsfromme.com/images11/soupystar.jpg The pie appears
> > to be
> > > > > > in a tin, something that Soupy did not allow. His colleagues told
> > us
> > > > > > that his theory was that the person's face must be immediately
> > visible
> > > > > > as the pie hits and falls away, something that a tin will
> inhibit.
> > So a
> > > > > > pie throwing hint: filling and crust only.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Mike Biel mbiel at mbiel.com
> > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
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