Sorry to hear the news that comedian Soupy Sales died last night, at age 83. I got to know him as a kid, while visiting my grandparents in New York City, and watching him heave pies into the faces of guests was a big treat. (His show wasn't carried by any of the stations in Hartford, and in those days, there were only three or four stations available on our TV.)

Sales (nee Milton Supman) had a subversive, slapstick humor that will outlive him. I'd bet that Woody Allen and other great comedians cut their teeth watching Sales, who once was suspended for encouraging kids to take money from their parents and send it to him. He could even incorporate jazz into his skits, like this one with Pookie and White Fang.

He wrote a few books including "Stop Me if You've Heard It" and "Soupy Sez," with lines like this: "I was, in short, the toast of New York. I don't know if it was rye or whole wheat, but it was fun."