NEW YORK - Popular U.S. television comedian Soupy Sales has died.  He was 83 years old.

Sales died Thursday at a hospice in New York City.  He suffered from a number of health problems.

The U.S. comedy icon was wildly popular in the 1950s and 1960s.  He is best remembered for his pie-in-the-face acts, with thousands of pies smashed over his career.

His television career began with a 1950s children’s program that developed into the popular The Soupy Sales Show.  He played a host of characters in the show, which featured puppets and popular stars.  

Celebrities including Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine appeared on his show to be splattered with a pie.  His television fame had begun to fade by the late 1960s, but he continued to appear as a guest in various television shows.

Sales was born Milton Supman in Franklinton, North Carolina, in 1926.  He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Source:  VOA News