If you lived in the New York area, Soupy Sales was introduced to us back in September of 1964, when “The Soupy Sales Show” debuted over Metromedia’s WNEW-TV Channel 5. Soupy had conducted a similar show over KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

Five nights a week you could count on him for sidesplitting laughs, quirky humor and zany characters such as White Fang, Black Tooth and Pookie. Soupy’s response to those characters and situations was a big part of the experience.

You had to watch Soupy. Those words of wisdom such as “Be true to your teeth and they won’t be false to you” and the proverbial knock on the door with “Mr. Arm.” You never saw the man, but the dialogue between he and Soupy was always hilarious, supplemented by grainy film footage for effect. It was on the cheap and you knew it, but it all worked so well. I later learned that the characters (including Mr. Arm) were the work of the late Frank Nastasi.

I was lucky enough to have met Soup and see one of his nightclub acts. He was hilarious. And, I loved his humor. I can’t help but smile when I think of the man – Soupy Sales.