A Blast from the Past. To all those born between 1930 and 1979. (New York: crime, bars)

[Fun City Man]

Dear Nancy The Reader,

I also remember Mr.Heatherton hosting "The Merry Mailman"once again on

WPIX TV Ch.11 in NYC.

Of Course?

That show was not called:"The Merry Mailman"at the beginning of it's

run..it was titled"The Merry Mailman's Funhouse!".

The show was seen weekday afternoons around peanut butter and

jellytime on Ch.11 from Monday September 25,1961 to Friday May 31,1963.

Eventually, the show's title changed to"The Merry Mailman"..but?

The series was not a hit..mainly because..Poor Mr.Heatherton was forced

to mc the show alone.

Unlike his previous WOR TV Ch.9 NYC format from the 1950's..the station

execs at WPIX TV refused to allow Mr.Heatherton to ultilize an elaborate format

for the prorgam.

One which would have required a live band or musician playing music on

the set,an elaborate backdrop,comedy asistants and puppeteers,a studio

audience etc.

At that time,WPIX TV had quite a few kids tv shows that had their

mc's working solo.

As they entertained and inform their viewers for a few moments

inbetween the reruns of cartoons,serials and comedies.

With the exception of"Bozo The Clown"/"Bozo's Big Top Circus"

hosted by Mr.Bill Britten and Messers:Chuck McCann and Paul Ashley's

"Let's Have Fun!".

The station execs at Ch.11 would treat "The Merry Mailman's Funhouse"

as they would any kids tv show..that would have to work with a limited

budget and format.

Entertain and inform a little bit..but..introduce the films and promote

the hell out of the sponsors.

And never be the star of the show..to the station execs..you're just

another cartoon show host.

Ray Heatherton was never like that..He was a Wraparound host/

performer..a unique type of individual..who was a composite of

entertainer and educator..who can entertain and inform his viewers

and studio audiences..without preaching or talking down to them.


It's too bad that the damn,stupid station execs at Ch.11 didn't

see the potenial for the type of show that Mr.Heatherton could have

offer to them and to the kids of 1960's NYC kids tv.


But..the station execs didn't see it..and they messed up a good

idea and we the kids lost out on what could have been a great

kids tv series.


Anyway,

Thanks for your reply and Thanks For Remembering Mr.Ray

Heatherton and"The Merry Mailman's Funhouse!"(In a postive sense)

Fun City Man.

[scammed1]

When I read Gale Storm had passed away I wanted to bring this thread back up. My Little Margie, Oh Susanna and so much more.
Quite a bit on her on you-tube.

[nancy thereader]

Gale Storm. Wow. That's a real oldie.

[Fun City Man]

Dear Nancy The Reader and Scammed,

Ms.Storm also appeared in a "Three Stooges"feature film comedy

"The Swing Parade of 1946" and she did a movie with "The East Side Kids".


I've seen "The East Side Kids"movie that she did with the boys on "Eastside

Comedy"on WNEW TV Ch.5 in NYC back in the early 1960's and I have a DVD

print of "Swing Parade Of 1946"in my private home video collection.

I also remember watching her tv shows"My Little Margie" and

"The Gale Storm Show"being rerunned on WCBS TV Ch.2 and WABC TV

Ch.7 in NYC back in the late 1950's and into the early 1960's.


She was a wonderfully talented and sweet lady..and I'll

Miss Her!


Thanks For Remembering:Ms.Gale Storm,

Fun City Man.

[nancy thereader]

Hello, Fun City Man

I hope everything's all right with you & your wonderful memory .
I guess we no longer have those local shows like Soupy Sales and Herb Sheldon . All of the shows are national or even international now.
Well, except for News 12.

[NYEconomist]

Funny since many of the people born in that range are part of the most self gratifying, spoiled, excuse ridden, whiny, materialistic, weak, and undisciplined American generation better known as the Baby Boomers. AkA, some of the people who were the direct cause of the mess we are in right now

Good work. Take the rest of the week off!

[Fun City Man]

Dear Nancy The Reader,

Soupy's show wasn't always local.."Lunch With Soupy Sales"/"The Soupy Sales

Show"was seen on the ABC TV Network.

"Lunch With Soupy Sales"was seen saturday afternoons on ABC TV from Saturday

October 3,1959 to Saturday March 25,1961 and "The Soupy Sales Show"was seen on

ABC TV Friday Nights from Friday January 29,1962 to Friday April 13,1962.


Fun City Man.

[crojj42]

Originally Posted by Ann1

I live in Houston in an area called Olde Oaks. The homes are beautiful and the ages range from young married couples with young children to older people whose children have already left home. Quite a few people move from transfers and then I have a feeling quite a few people are not able to keep up with their homes financially. I have a neighbor across the street and in nineteen years I had two waves. I try to be friendly but it is very different living then in the East. Actually, I had two very close friends that I met when I first moved down here and they were both from Long Island. They could not take living down here and when their husbands refused to move back East they both left their husbands,took the kids and moved back to NY.

I know this is an old posting, but I just had to respond. I think this is a problem of the changing times and is in no way limited to a particular geographic area. My family lived in the Houston area during my elementary school years, from 1981 to late 1986, when we moved back to NY. We lived both in the Alief area (back when it was actually nice) and in Sugar Land, and in both cases, neighbors were extremely friendly and cared a lot about each other. Just one example is our next door neighbor who would come by our house and we'd all get in his van and go out together to the ice cream parlor. It's not related to ethnic changes as both areas had a lot of diversity back then, from families that have been here for generations to recent immigrants. My father lives in Houston now in a very wealthy suburb and he complains all the time about the neighbors now. Society is crumbling partly because people now communicate by proxy via texting, internet, etc, but there's got to be a lot more to it than that. It must not be everyone thinking that things were better in the past.

[Fun City Man]

Sadly,Kids tv has suffered another loss!

Soupy Sales..the host/performer of ABC TV's"Lunch With Soupy Sales" and ABC TV's

/WNEW TV Ch.5 NYC's"Soupy Sales Show!"is dead!


Soupy sucummbed to cancer at The Calvery Hospic in The Bronx,NYC on Thursday

Night October 22,2009..he was 83 years old.

Born Milton Supman(Not Milton Hines as some tv comedy history books have

stated)in Franklinton,North Carolina on January 8,1926.


Soupy was the youngest of three boys..he was nicknamed "Soupbone"by his family

..his father Irving Supman..a dry goods dealer..who was forced to sell sheets to The KKK.


Died from a respetory disease when Soupy was only five.

Spending alot of his free time alone..he would play imaginary characters and spend

his time at the movie theater in Wake Forrest,Ga.


Where he would watch the Warner Brother Movie Musicals and the film comedies of

L&H,"The Three Stooges",The Ritz & Marx Brothers,Charlie Chaplin,Buster Keaton,and

"The Keystone Kops".


Years later..he would become a fan of movie westerns and the film comedies

of Abbott & Costello.


His first performance was in a kindergarden production of"Peter Rabbit"..where

he played the title role.


His mother Mrs.Sadie Supman would remarry to Felix Goldstein..a former traveling

salesman.


The family would move to Huntington,West Virgina..where Soupy would go to

high school and later attened Marshall University.


Where he would earn his master's degree in Journialisim.


Following a stint in the US Navy..where he would perform for the captain and

the crew via the ship's pa system.


Soupy would return to The USA..working for a local radio station WHTN as a copy

writer,dj,singer and comedy performer.


He would also perform at many local nightspots as an entertainer under the

name of Suppy Hines!


Eventually,he would move to Cincinatti,Ohio..where he would host more radio show,

perform at nightclubs and make his debut on the medium that would make him famous..

television.


In 1949 he hosted"Soupy's Soda Shop!"(A teens dance and music tv series that

featured swing jazz music)and "Club Nothing!"(A late night talk/comedy/variety show).


Neither program was appreciated by the station execs and Soupy was fired!


He moved to Cleveland,Ohio..where his radio and tv shows fell prey to

station interference and he was once again..cancelled!


(Despite the fact that Cleveland,Ohio based late night comedy/variety tv

series"Soupy's On!"was cancelled..prior to the program being dropped..he received

his first pie in the face..when he played a put upon indian in a comedy skit that spoofed

the movie western "Broken Arrow")


It was not until 1953..when he joined WXYZ TV Ch.7 in Detroit,Mi. that Soupy

began hosting the tv series..which he will always be remembered!


He was hired by the station execs at WXYZ TV to mc their daily kids tv

comedy series"12 O'Clock Comics!".


On this show..he sportted a baggey,black pullover sweater,a big floppy checkered

bowtie,a shirt dress shirt,white jeans,black slip on shoes and a beat up black tophat.


He would perform jokes,puns,perform crazy song and dances numbers:EG "The

Soupy Shuffle",dispence his own brand of advice to his viewers"Soupy Sez!:The Words Of

Wisedom!",perform comedy skits with his puppet pals'White Fang","Black Tooth","Pookie

The Lion","Hippie The Hippo","Herman The Flea" and "Willie The Worm",narrate old silent

film comedies and get a pie in his face for his troubles.


Wrapped around his silent film comedies narrations and eating lunch with his

viewers.


The show became a hit with the teens,kids and adults of "Motown" and on

Saturday Afternoon October 3,1959..50 years ago.


"Lunch With Soupy Sales"..as the show was now titled was seen on the

full ABC TV Network.


The program became a hit with the viewers seen first from The WXYZ TV

studios in Detroit and later from KABC TV Ch.7 in Hollywood,Cal. ..but?


The show soon fell prey to creative interference from the network execs.


By Saturday March 25,1961.."Lunch With Soupy Sales"was cancelled!


The show was still seen locally in Los Angeles and it was still a

popular feature with Hollywood's kids.


On Friday Night January 26,1962..Soupy and Clyde returned to the

ABC TV Network airwaves as a prime time series.


The"Lunchtime"segments were dropped in favor of performing

more comedy skits with guest stars.


Frank Sinatra,Dean Martin,Tony Curtis,Jerry Lewis,Shirley MacClaine,

Edd("Kookie")Byrnes,Troy Donahue and Burt Lancaster(Decked out in a replica

of Soupy's costume)would come thru the front door of Soupy's house to get a pie

in the face from "White Fang!".


Unfortuneatly..Soupy's show was again cancelled on Friday April 13,1962.


It was not until two years later..that he revive his show on WNEW TV Ch.5

in NYC.


Hiring Frank Nastasi to replace Clyde Adler as his puppeteer and comedy

asistant.

Soupy and Frank hosted "The Soupy Sales Show"weekday afternoons and

evenings and Saturday evenings and mornings from Monday September 7,1964

to Monday September 11,1966.


Soupy left the show after becoming fed up with more creative interference

from the Metromedia execs..he was also tired of being type cast as a kiddie tv

entertainer.


He left the show for other venues..he performed in plays and musicals in

summer stock and dinner theaters,he performed in many movies,in nighclubs

and on tv sitcoms.


He also appeared on games shows,talk shows and specials..and he cut some

music and comedy records.


For a time..he was a semi-regular panelist on the nationally syndicated version

of"What's My Line?"hosted by Wally Brunier and later by Larry Blyden.


Soupy was also a regular on the nostalgic rock and roll music and comedy

tv series"Sha Na Na"...where he first played a wise cracking cop and later on?

He played"Igor"..the manager of "The Sha Na Na Clubhouse!".


He tried to return to regular tv..first as the host/performer of a kids tv

game show"Junior Almost Anything Goes!"saturday afternoons in 1976.


"Junior Almost Anything Goes!"was broadcast over Soupy's old tv

network ABC..but the network execs refused to air the show in one timeslot.


Hence!

It was never able to find it's audience and it was quickly cancelled!


In 1979..he tried to revive his old kids tv comedy format for national

syndication.


Working with Clyde Adler again.."The New Soupy Sales Show"debuted in

many markets in 1979(WPIX TV Ch.11 in NYC aired the show weekday afternoons)

..but the show was still seen as a kiddie program and many viewers didn't watch it.


It was also ruined by creative interference again and Clyde Adler was forced to

leave the series..when he was stricken with a heart attack.


Soupy's last regular tv work was providing the voice of"Donkey Kong The Gorrilla"

for the CBS TV Saturday morning cartoon show"Saturday Supercade!"in 1983.


That series remained on the air for three years.


Soupy continued to perform in the nightclubs,in the theater,in films and

on tv talk shows and specials.


Until he began sufferring from a series of multiple illnesses.


Despite his failing health..he maintained a postive spirit and he found

the time to write his memoirs"Soupy Sez!:My Life And Zany Times!".


He also rereleased his old tv shows onto VHS and later on DVD.


He received some honors..The Hollywood "Walk Of Fame"gave him a

star,he received The NYC Emmys "Silver Circle Award" and The NYC Founding

Chapter of"The Sons Of The Desert"gave him their "Comedy Performer Of The

Award"in 1978.


The NYC Sons(The L&H Film Appreciation Club)made both Soupy and Frank

lifetime members in 1997.


He was a wonderful talent and sweet and kindly person..(Crying)

I'm going to miss him!


Goodbye Soupy And God Bless You Dear Sir!


Fun City Man!

P.S. Clyde Adler passed away in the 1990's and Frank Nastasi left us in either

2004 or 2005.

[ClarkStreetKid]

Corny jokes, Pookey, White Fang, Black Tooth, Peaches, Sinatra and a naked lady behind the door. Classic TV. At least we can still watch the Soupster on video.