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9781527576407

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Francis Shor has done the painstaking research of relating Sales' evening program, Soupy's On, to the jazz life of Detroit. Many prominent jazz artists appeared on the program when they played in Detroit jazz clubs. This is a most unique and valuable addition to Detroit jazz history. Lars BjornProfessor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Michigan; author (with Jim Gallert), Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit An entertaining read about a beloved pop-cultural icon that also captures the complexity of Detroit's economic, political, and social landscape in the 1950s. This book will change the way you understand Soupy Sales's humor, the wild popularity of his TV show, and his enduring impact on an entire generation of viewers. This is cultural history with pie-in-the-face explanatory power. Catherine Cangany, PhDExecutive Director, Jewish Historical Society of Michigan; author, Frontier Seaport: Detroit's Transformation into an Atlantic Entrepot Entertaining and well-written, this story of Soupy Sales and his years in Detroit is a time machine transporting the reader back to the 1950s in a wonderful way. Supplemented with information about the comedy landscape of the time and the unique relationship Soupy had with Detroit, the book is historically valuable while simultaneously being warm and nostalgic. Lawrence EpsteinAuthor, The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America Francis Shor's lively study of comedian Soupy Sales' career in the early years of Detroit TV is a total delight! The stories about the young viewers' engagement with the show at lunchtime, and Soupy's innovative performances and production in both daytime and nighttime local television in the 1950s and 1960s are fascinating. Shor's meticulously researched and captivating book adds wonderful new chapters to our knowledge of TV studies and the cultural history of Detroit. Kathryn Fuller-SeeleyWilliam P. Hobby Centennial Professor of Communication, The University of Texas at Austin; author, Jack Benny and the Golden Age of American Radio Comedy Mention the name Soupy Sales to any Baby Boomer and you'll most likely be met with a huge smile and a memory of one of his whacky shows that appealed as much to adults as they did to children. But few know about the early days in Soupy's career, and the soil into which the seeds of his comic sensibilities were planted. Francis Shor does a terrific job of chronicling Soupy's early days in television, especially those important Detroit years, before he made it to Los Angeles and then New York, where he created some of his most memorable characters. Shor makes a compelling case for placing Sales squarely in the pantheon of other legendary TV comedians like Pinky Lee and Milton Berle. Charles SalzbergCo-Author (with Soupy Sales), Soupy Sez: My Life and Zany Times and twice-nominated Shamus Award author of the Henry Swann series

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Francis Shor is an Emeritus Professor of History at Wayne State University, USA. During his long academic career, he authored numerous books, the most recent being Weaponized Whiteness: The Constructions and Deconstructions of White Identity Politics (2020), and hundreds of articles covering a broad range of topics in 20th century US and global social and cultural history. In addition to his academic work, he has been a long-time peace and justice activist, serving on the Boards of Peace Action of Michigan and the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR).

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