Celebrities

Beloved TV golden era comic Soupy Sales has passed away Thursday. The funnyman – born Milton Supman – died at a New York hospice. He was 83.

His manager and longtime friend, Dave Usher, said he had been in declining health for some time.

Soupy is best known for his trademark act, wherein pies were hurled at him during routines. He started hosting the kids show “Lunch with Soupy Sales,” later known as “The Soupy Sales Show,” in the late ’50s. The show comprised of comedy sketches and gags, almost all of which ended up in his pie-hurling signature act.

The show also became adult friendly when he featured notable guests such as Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, and Alice Cooper, who are all willing to have pies splattered on their faces.

He said in an interview in the ’80s that he would probably be remembered for his pie act and “that’s alright.”

Sales, who was typically clad in a black sweater and oversized bow-tie, was once suspended for a week after telling his legion of tiny listeners to empty their mothers’ purse and mail him all the pieces of green paper bearing pictures of the presidents.

He became a regular on game shows, such as “To Tell the Truth,” “Hollywood Squares,” and “What’s My Line?”

Sales is survived by wife Trudy and two sons, Hunt and Tony.