Posted by Big Jay Sorensen on October 23, 2009 at 21:29:00:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Soupy Sales R.I.P. posted by Dale Parsons on October 23, 2009 at 16:47:52:
I must speak up about this "disagreement" between Dale Parsons and Allan Sniffen (they seem to happen now and then, and I'm sometimes in the middle.)
One must understand that almost EVERYTHING Imus or Stern did was to mock or bait another staff member to react to something they said. That was the "style" of the station at that point. It worked perfectly for the demo at that time. It made for very compelling radio...but not everyone's cup of tea.
Flash forward a year…When I was Joey Reynolds' sidekick (Jay the Jock) after Howard was gone, some of that on-air animosity disappeared, although, there WERE times where Soupy made it VERY clear he didn't want HIS staff members hanging with those guys on that "Joey Reynolds Show." Why? Because our producers got better guests. The REASON we did was usually because of availability. We got a lot of guests from Live at Five, Letterman (who taped upstairs at 30 Rock) while we were on live...so it was a matter of convenience for the celebs to show up, either right after or before they were scheduled for the other shows. (I also should include Sat. Night Live's guest stars and players.) I thought Soupy was just plain jealous and made it very clear to all of us who worked on Joey's Show (and his own staff who had to deal with his wrath.)
Looking back, it's actually funny how this created a rift (whether real or for show.)
I would be in the 2nd floor JOHN, and the Soup-man and I would chat like there was nothing wrong. It's difficult to argue while tryin' to aim.
So I suspect MOST of that jealousy was pure show-biz. We DID work hard to get guests...and most of the time we got the "A" listers. But Soupy DID "get us back" once. We managed to get Carol Burnett on the show. Joey was in the middle of interviewing Carol when Soupy opened the air-tight doors of the studio and came waltzing in...Burnett got up in mid-sentence and hugged and kissed Soupy and they walked off together...with Carol never to return. Now THAT'S funny. We were pissed at that moment, but of course, Reynolds turned it into a bit. But Soupy had the last laugh.
Like many of you on this board and others of the boomer generation, there was nothing cooler than Soupy on TV. He hit just the right chord at the right time. We could argue endlessly (as seen by this thread) about whether or not he was "right" for WNBC Radio.. I think it would have made a GREAT two hour midday show around lunchtime...OR even better, a 4 hour Saturday midday show. Dale is correct. Soupy WAS very funny. Where we might disagree is I think Soupy was a bit out of his comfort zone doing the radio show. He was "stuck" between the two wise-guys of radio (then Joey after Stern left.) And while I think Dale's intention was to BUFFER the two shows on either side, it didn't hit the mark...and ONLY because the OTHER GUYS were SO high up on the "whatever it takes" scale. Soupy's act WAS a kinder and gentler act...and THAT is what I think Allan is trying to point out. FUNNY is subjective. I DO think Soupy was FUNNY as DALE points out. But whether that was good for the station at that time can only be told by the sales numbers and ratings. But we all know good sales people can sell without huge ratings.
So can we end this little war? Both of you have very valid points. It is healthy to hear different ideas. I've noticed MOST of the posters in this thread simply said they had fond memories of Soupy...Period. Let the man rest in peace. I wish I heard Joey's tribute last night on WOR.
BE BIG! Aloha Dale...and thanks Allan.
Jay