Hang On Soupy!

I wish he still COULD hang on, but unfortunately TV funny-man Soupy Sales died last night, at the age of 83. I was fortunate enough to grow up in the 50's and 60's, when TV was still experimenting, trying to find its footing, what it was and what it could be. Very un-like the trite formulas, copycat re-writing and animated everything that's out there now. As a boy, all I wanted to do was GET OUT OF SCHOOL and go play. Didn't matter if it was baseball, football, exploring sewers, throwing stuff at other stuff, it was just the best part of every day. In fact, it was hard to even get me to come in for dinner, if there was still light outside. But there was one thing that got me to come in. The Soupy Sales Show. Corny, crazy, and WAY more adult than most parents realized, there was something about this guy that just made you laugh out loud. Unfortunately, he got a little too "adult" on his live broadcast a couple of times, and parental complaints led to it going off the air prematurely. Soupy later tried his hand at film (Birds Do It), and had a few stints on game shows where the next generation became mildly aware of him, but unless you witnessed the creativity and daring of his live comedy show, you never really saw him at his best. Or worst, depending on your point of view. Most girls never got Soupy Sales. Like they don't get The 3 Stooges. That's ok though, because most guys never got The Brady Bunch or Family Affair. But for pure wackiness or zaniness (the amount of wack or zane in your humor), Soupy Sales ruled.

Now that I'm on the subject of my youth, I'll list my favorite TV shows from my formative years so you can get an idea of why I am who I am today. These are not necessarily in the order I would rank them. But I'll tell you my favorite show of all time was The Fugitive with David Janssen. Absolutely the best-cast lead role of all time. My faves:

The Fugitive
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Combat!
Twilight Zone
The Ed Sullivan Show (Beatles)
Ben Casey
Green Acres
The Soupy Sales Show
Any 3 Stooges that was not a movie
Streets Of San Francisco
Your Show Of Shows (Sid Caesar)
Mission Impossible

and...a few years later:

Monty Python's Flying Circus

Yeah, I watched I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Flipper, Wagon Train, Dick Van Dyke or whatever else my parents had on the screen, but those were just things to watch. The ones that set the tone for my sense of humor, drama and that helped mold my personality were the biggies on that list. The night The Beatles played on Ed Sullivan changed the course of my life forever. That night I became a musician, which led to getting a job years later working on a cruise ship, and now I'm here. Thank you Paul, John, George and Ringo - it's been quite a ride. My favorite "stupid comedy" of all time is Green Acres, and my favorite character was farm agent Hank Kimball, who was played by a man named Alvy Moore. One day I was working as a Purser on Carnival's "Tropicale" out of Los Angeles, and was in the main lounge helping sell tour tickets. Off to my right, I heard a voice buying shore excursions, and I immediately looked over and said "I know you - you're Alvy Moore!" The man had a stunned look on his face, and came over to talk to me after the tour sales had concluded. He said "Actually, my name is Jack Moore but when I became an actor somebody was already using that name, so I had to become Alvy Moore. But normally people come up and call me Hank Kimball - how did you know my real name?" I explained that he was my favorite character, and it's just one of those things I knew and remembered. He introduced me to his wife, and for the next few days I was able to hang out with him on the ship, have a couple of beers together, and just talk about stuff. That was very cool. It's also a bit strange that my two favorite TV characters ever were Hank Kimball and Dr. Richard Kimble.

Some things never change. And there are others that do, but probably shouldn't. According to the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper, a woman filed paperwork to have her name legally changed. Her name was Waiaulia Alohi Anail Ke Alaamek Kawaipi Olanihenoheno Kam Paghmani, which she felt was uncomfortably long. Imagine that! She filed to change it to Waiaulia Alohi Anail Ke Alaamek Kawaipi Olanihenoheno Kam, dropping the surname Paghmani. Now that's progress.
You go, girlfriend.