January 17, 2009

• The Soupy Sales Stripper is not an Urban Legend

   

   

  The show's set included a door in the background. During the show, Sales would answer a knock at the door and interact with an actor seen only as an arm. Occasionally, the guy at the door was a celebrity (Burt Lancaster, Fess Parker, Alice Cooper.)

  One time during the Los Angeles years, as Sales was ending the show, he opened the door and saw a topless dancer gyrating with a balloon. Viewers saw only the balloon, although a second, nonbroadcasting camera captured the uncensored version, and Sales was forced to try to keep the show going without revealing the risque events backstage. This event, in censored and uncensored variations, has been featured on many blooper compilations.

  Actually, this was the second time Sales' studio crew pulled this prank; the first time occurred while the show was being broadcast live from Detroit. Some reports say the gag was furthered by the crew switching the studio monitors so that Soupy would think the stripper image was going out over the air.

   

   

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