RIP Soupy Sales. Another legendary figure we non-Americans started knowing right after his death.

On January 1, 1965, Soupy was a bit put out at having to work on a holiday. During the closing moments of his show, he encouraged the kids who were watching to sneak into Mommy and Daddy’s bedroom and take those little green pieces of paper from their purses and wallets with pictures of presidents (like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln) on them and mail them to their ol’ pal Soup. He concluded by giving out the TV station’s address and promising to send the kids a postcard from Puerto Rico in exchange. Sales considered his remarks just another tossed-off ad-lib, meant to make his crew laugh. What he didn’t count on was the outrage of the many parents who’d been watching. The station received so many angry phone calls that Soupy was put on a two week suspension. In reality, very few children had the wherewithal to copy down the station’s address, get a postage stamp and actually mail a dollar bill to Soupy. His “punishment” was more or less a gesture on the part of management to appease the parents who’d been appalled at the possible anarchy Soupy Sales had inspired among their children.

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