Frank Nastasi, Soupy Sales' Sidekick, 81
A Friend
Detroit and New York in the 1960s, died June 15 in New York of a brain
tumor. He was 81.
Frank and Soupy first worked together in Detroit, where Frank regularly
appeared on a program called Wixie's Wonderland. Soupy's usual
sidekick on his Detroit show was Clyde Adler, but Frank would
substitute for Clyde whenever Clyde was sick or on vacation. A stage
actor, Frank had long since relocated to Manhattan when Soupy moved a
later version of his show from Los Angeles to New York in 1965, and so
Frank was brought aboard. Frank, who co-wrote the show with Soupy,
played "the man at the door" and served as puppeteer for Pookie, White
Fang and all the other characters in Soupy's collection.
Tregembo
"A Friend" <no...@noway.com> wrote in message
news:220620041828527229%no...@noway.com...
Additional info from Mark Evanier...
We're big fans here of folks who do (or did) kid shows, so it's sad to hear
of the passing of Frank Nastasi. Not having grown up in Detroit or New York,
I never got the chance to see much of Mr. Nastasi's work but he had a pretty
big credential on his list of credits: He was the guy who replaced Clyde
Adler as the "other" cast member of the Soupy Sales program. As I discussed
in this article, Soupy started his legendary show in Detroit, employing
Clyde to play White Fang, Black Tooth, Pookie, Hippy and all the odd folks
who came to the door. Whenever Clyde was ill or on vacation, the void was
filled by Frank Nastasi, who was then appearing on Wixie Wonderland, another
kids' show produced at the station. Soupy and Clyde soon relocated to Los
Angeles where their show went from local to national and became quite
popular for a time. In 1965, Soupy had an offer to do a new version of it
out of New York but Clyde didn't want to live back there and a new co-star
was needed. Fortunately for Mr. Sales, Frank Nastasi had moved to Manhattan
by that time and he quickly and efficiently assumed all the supporting
roles. If you've seen the famous clip from Soupy's show of a pie fight with
Frank Sinatra, Trini Lopez and Sammy Davis, Nastasi is the other guy in that
sketch.
When he wasn't hurling shaving cream at the Soupman, Nastasi had a solid
career as a character actor both on stage (including a role in Golden Boy
opposite Sammy Davis) and on TV and in commercials. Here's an obit from a
newspaper in Detroit where they still remember Frank fondly as a part of
many childhoods. [Thanks to Mike Kuypers for the link.]
Ray Arthur
Kathy O'Connell
"Tregembo" <tr...@krajfm.com> wrote in message
news:J6qdnaPZjfn...@iwvisp.com...
>
> "A Friend" <no...@noway.com> wrote in message
> news:220620041828527229%no...@noway.com...
> > Frank Nastasi, who worked with Soupy Sales on Soupy's kid shows in
> > Detroit and New York in the 1960s, died June 15 in New York of a brain
> > tumor. He was 81.
> >
> > Frank and Soupy first worked together in Detroit, where Frank regularly
> > appeared on a program called Wixie's Wonderland. Soupy's usual
> > sidekick on his Detroit show was Clyde Adler, but Frank would
> > substitute for Clyde whenever Clyde was sick or on vacation. A stage
> > actor, Frank had long since relocated to Manhattan when Soupy moved a
> > later version of his show from Los Angeles to New York in 1965, and so
> > Frank was brought aboard. Frank, who co-wrote the show with Soupy,
> > played "the man at the door" and served as puppeteer for Pookie, White
> > Fang and all the other characters in Soupy's collection.
Frank was amazing to watch in action on the Soupy Show. He moved very
quickly from scene to scene, running around in sneakers. He stood on a box
to play White Fang ("the biggest and meanest dog in the whole world") and
Black Tooth ("the biggest and sweetest dog..."), wearing a furry arm as he
made grunting noises that Soupy translated. Then, he'd have to throw on a
jacket to appear at the door (just his arms...the most expressive on
television) After that, he'd be down on his knees in another part of the
studio, working the Pookie puppet and doing all the voices.
He was a little guy (around 5'5", I guess) who made an enormous impact on
that show. Sometimes he appeared on screen, and you can see him in some of
the Soupy shows that are available on video. As another poster pointed out,
he's in "The Waiter." He plays an annoying little boy who spells everything
out, and he cues the mayhem when he spells out: "P-I-E-T-O-S-S."
>
> Additional info from Mark Evanier...
Soupy and Clyde soon relocated to Los
> Angeles where their show went from local to national and became quite
> popular for a time. In 1965, Soupy had an offer to do a new version of it
> out of New York but Clyde didn't want to live back there and a new co-star
> was needed. Fortunately for Mr. Sales, Frank Nastasi had moved to
Manhattan
> by that time and he quickly and efficiently assumed all the supporting
> roles. If you've seen the famous clip from Soupy's show of a pie fight
with
> Frank Sinatra, Trini Lopez and Sammy Davis, Nastasi is the other guy in
that
> sketch.
Frank is dressed as a little kid in "The Waiter." Others in that show were
William B. Williams and Sinatra pal Jilly Rizzo. At one point in the
sketch, Sinatra asks for a salad with "Italian dressing." Soupy drags Jilly
in and says, "Put your coat on....here's your Italian dressing."
> When he wasn't hurling shaving cream at the Soupman, Nastasi had a solid
> career as a character actor both on stage (including a role in Golden Boy
> opposite Sammy Davis)
Co-starred in the London tour of "Golden Boy" @ 1967. He appeared on
Broadway in "Avanti!" and (I think) "Kean." Off-Broadway I saw him as one
of the 3 Witches in "MacBird!," the political comedy about LBJ & RFK. He
was also in Soupy's only starring movie, "Birds Do It," with a short role as
a cab driver.
He's the second member of the cast of that movie to die within a
week...Doris Dowling was in it as well.
and on TV and in commercials. Here's an obit from a
> newspaper in Detroit where they still remember Frank fondly as a part of
> many childhoods. [Thanks to Mike Kuypers for the link.]
>
>
The link didn't make it to the newsgroup (at least, not on my server). But
if you Google his name, you'll find a couple of obits from Detroit papers,
including a photo of Frank.
Frank Nastasi played a huge role in my life many years ago. He was always
accessible to fans, even long after the Soupy days were over. He taught me
the best way to get the ketchup out of a bottle, among other life lessons.
Hope his last years were happy ones. His obituary mentions a fiance. I
know his wife, Ruthie, passed away several years ago.
On another Soupy note...
Soupy was approved last week for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for
2005. Well deserved.
A Friend
<ocon...@pobox.upenn.edu> wrote:
> Hope his last years were happy ones. His obituary mentions a fiance.
Mona Sands. She is a chanteuse and sometimes-actress who had a show on
public-access cable TV in Manhattan in the 1980s and perhaps afterward.
Frank and Soupy's last joint appearance on TV was on her show. (It was
an interview. They didn't do any bits.) Mona also runs a service
called As You Like It, which finds apartments for visiting
out-of-towners to stay in while visiting the city, so they can "live
like New Yorkers" for a little while.
BTW, here's Frank's death notice from the Detroit Free Press on June 19:
> June 15, 2004. Age 81. Beloved husband of the late Ruth and fiance of
> 19 years to Mona Sands. Dearest brother of Anne (the late Carmen)
> Venezia, Margaret (the late Leo) Braga, Yolanda (Louis) Mancina and
> Dolores (Raymond) Pizzuti. Also survived by many special nieces and
> nephews. Visitation Saturday 3-9 p.m. and Sunday 1-9 p.m. at
> Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons, Inc., 36900 Schoenherr at Metro Pkwy. (16
> Mile). Scripture service Sunday 7 p.m. In state Monday 9 a.m. until
> 9:30 a.m time of Mass at St. Blase Church, 12151 15 Mile Rd. (btwn.
> Schoenherr and Van Dyke). Interment Resurrection Cemetery. Share
> memories with the family at their "On-Line Guest Book" at
> WujekCalcaterra.com
Kathy O'Connell
> In article <cbampb$6mbl$1...@netnews.upenn.edu>, Kathy O'Connell
> <ocon...@pobox.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
> > Hope his last years were happy ones. His obituary mentions a fiance.
>
> Mona Sands. She is a chanteuse and sometimes-actress who had a show on
> public-access cable TV in Manhattan in the 1980s and perhaps afterward.
> Frank and Soupy's last joint appearance on TV was on her show. (It was
> an interview. They didn't do any bits.)
Wow. I wonder if anyone made a tape of it. If the show was done out of ETC
Studios, I'd bet Jim Chladek (the guy who ran the place) made sure there was
a record of it.
The last time I saw Soupy & Frank together was about 15 or so years ago at a
salute to TV Kids' show hosts at the Museum of TV & Radio.
Mona also runs a service
> called As You Like It, which finds apartments for visiting
> out-of-towners to stay in while visiting the city, so they can "live
> like New Yorkers" for a little while.
What a good idea. I know Ruthie (Frank's wife) had died several years ago.
They had a dog named Paisan. There's trivia for you.
Frank played softball in the Broadway League many, many years ago on a team
that included a very young actor named Reni Santoni. (later Popi on
"Seinfeld.")
>
> BTW, here's Frank's death notice from the Detroit Free Press on June 19:
>
> > June 15, 2004. Age 81. Beloved husband of the late Ruth and fiance of
> > 19 years to Mona Sands. Dearest brother of Anne (the late Carmen)
> > Venezia, Margaret (the late Leo) Braga, Yolanda (Louis) Mancina and
> > Dolores (Raymond) Pizzuti. Also survived by many special nieces and
> > nephews. Visitation Saturday 3-9 p.m. and Sunday 1-9 p.m. at
> > Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons, Inc., 36900 Schoenherr at Metro Pkwy. (16
> > Mile). Scripture service Sunday 7 p.m. In state Monday 9 a.m. until
> > 9:30 a.m time of Mass at St. Blase Church, 12151 15 Mile Rd. (btwn.
> > Schoenherr and Van Dyke). Interment Resurrection Cemetery. Share
> > memories with the family at their "On-Line Guest Book" at
> > WujekCalcaterra.com
Thanks.
Bob Feigel
<ocon...@pobox.upenn.edu> wrote:
>On another Soupy note...
>Soupy was approved last week for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for
>2005. Well deserved.
And WAY overdue, in my opinion. b
"Until death, it is all life." - Cervantes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
April Cool
<b...@surfwriter.net.not> wrote:
> On Tue, 22 Jun 2004 21:37:21 -0400, "Kathy O'Connell"
> <ocon...@pobox.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
> >On another Soupy note...
> >Soupy was approved last week for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for
> >2005. Well deserved.
>
> And WAY overdue, in my opinion. b
I bet that someone (probably Johnny Grant) hits Soupy in the face with
a pie at the ceremony. Whoever does it will probably fake trying to
hit someone else first.
Kathy O'Connell
"April Cool" <firsto...@fools.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:280620040612322578%firsto...@fools.com.invalid...
If this had happened 20 years ago, I'd agree with you. But Soupy has been
in poor health for a few years, and it would be just cruel to hit a sick old
man with a pie.
April Cool
<ocon...@pobox.upenn.edu> wrote:
> "April Cool" <firsto...@fools.com.invalid> wrote in message
> news:280620040612322578%firsto...@fools.com.invalid...
> > In article <jvavd0pfemvb3saos...@4ax.com>, Bob Feigel
> > <b...@surfwriter.net.not> wrote:
> >
> > > On Tue, 22 Jun 2004 21:37:21 -0400, "Kathy O'Connell"
> > > <ocon...@pobox.upenn.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > >On another Soupy note...
> > > >Soupy was approved last week for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
> for
> > > >2005. Well deserved.
> > >
> > > And WAY overdue, in my opinion. b
> >
> > I bet that someone (probably Johnny Grant) hits Soupy in the face with
> > a pie at the ceremony. Whoever does it will probably fake trying to
> > hit someone else first.
>
> If this had happened 20 years ago, I'd agree with you. But Soupy has been
> in poor health for a few years, and it would be just cruel to hit a sick old
> man with a pie.
I didn't know he was ill, and I'm sorry to hear it. But will he pass
up the opportunity? (This presumes he doesn't look ill, or show up in
a wheelchair, or something.)
Kathy O'Connell
"April Cool" <firsto...@fools.com.invalid> wrote in message
(snip)
> > > I bet that someone (probably Johnny Grant) hits Soupy in the face with
> > > a pie at the ceremony. Whoever does it will probably fake trying to
> > > hit someone else first.
> >
> > If this had happened 20 years ago, I'd agree with you. But Soupy has
been
> > in poor health for a few years, and it would be just cruel to hit a sick
old
> > man with a pie.
>
> I didn't know he was ill, and I'm sorry to hear it. But will he pass
> up the opportunity? (This presumes he doesn't look ill, or show up in
> a wheelchair, or something.)
I'll almost bet the rent that he'll be there. He had serious heart surgery
last fall and his recovery has been slow. Several years ago he fell off a
stage at the NY Emmy Awards and sustained injuries that have limited his
movement every since. He's an amazing guy, and an amazing trouper.