20,000 Pies in the Face: Soupy Sales (January 8, 1926 – October 22, 2009)

Image by John McNab via Flickr

Soupy Sales passed away on Thursday.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, Sales was known as one of those "do anything for a laugh" comedians. Unlike many who traded in the over-animated goofball ad-lib slapstick style and relied on being loud and clownish enough to cover for weak material, Soupy was a genuinely funny person. Yes, he was responsible for, by his own count, over 20,000 pies thrown in peoples' faces over the years (most often, Soupy himself being the recipient!), but if you only focused on the zany, broad physical shtick he was doing, you missed a lot of wit in the one-liners he'd throw out there: "You show me a giant rooster chasing a member of Parliament, and I'll show you a Chicken Catch A Tory!"

Whether hosting his own shows (Lunch with Soupy in 1965-66; the brief comeback New Soupy Sales Show in 1978) or appearing as a guest panelist on numerous game shows throughout the 1970s (including a steady gig on the panel of What's My Line? in the early part of the decade), Soupy brought his insane world to every corner of television. His high-energy craziness was not for everyone's tastes, but those who got it often found themselves literally doubled over in tears laughing.

The characters he created and interacted with on his shows were legendary: Pookie the Lion and Hippy the Hippo, puppets with whom he would interact through a giant picture window on the set of his show, often pantomiming along to records; and his "dogs" White Fang and Black Tooth, who were only ever seen as giant white or black paws, respectively, and who communicated in hysterical growls and grunts which Soupy would translate.

Soupy had been having health issues in recent years, and was in hospice care in New York when he passed at age 83.

RIP, Soupy. The world is now a little less funny, and a little less silly.

Favorite Five Comedy Routines

There are some comedy routines that you hear once and they're funny, but they just don't hold up well upon repeated hearings. And then there are those that leave you in tears laughing again and again no matter how many times you hear them. You might even know the routine by heart, be able to recite it word for word, and you still double over in hysterics when you hear it. That's what this list is about. These are my favorite five. Let's do this countdown style, shall we?

#5 - Rowan Atkinson's Amazing Jesus
British humor seems to either strike me as utterly unfunny or utterly hysterical. Seldom do I find any middle ground - must be a cultural thing. Nonetheless, Atkinson is one Brit who never fails to leave me laughing, whether he's doing his slapstick Mr. Bean shtick or doing something a bit more cerebral, like this.



#4 - Andy Kaufman's Old MacDonald
Ah, the Genius himself. Kaufman is one of my favorite comedians of all time, and the very fact that most people didn't "get" what he was doing is sad. He was (and probably still is) way ahead of most other comedians, essentially doing meta-comedy (the comedy itself is often the butt of the joke). I almost went with the classic Mighty Mouse routine, but this one actually builds on that premise by involving audience participation...even if they had no idea what they were participating in until it happened!

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

#3 - Larry Miller's Five Stages of Drinking
The best comedy is always rooted firmly in truth, and (to be cliched) in holding a mirror up to ourselves when we are at our worst. Hence Miller's classic routine - we've all either been there or seen many a person who has.

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

#2 - Groucho and Chico Marx's Contract Scene from A Night at the Opera
Hard to top the Marx Brothers when it comes to funny. This particular bit is a classic piece of silliness and punnery. Pay attention to the apparent throw-away lines: Groucho saying "You must've been out on a tear last night" when he does is so perfectly timed.



#1 - Bob and Ray's Slow Talker
Absolutely the funnniest bit I have ever heard. The characters here are so perfectly portrayed, and even though you'll know what's coming from the halfway mark on, it's brilliantly funny. You know the frustration of dealing with someone so oblivious to the obvious, and therein lies the hilarity.



All right, gang, those my faves. What are yours?