[Red Badger]

The New Year's Day incident

On New Year's Day 1965 Soupy, miffed at having to work on the holiday, ended his live broadcast by encouraging his young viewers to tiptoe into their still-sleeping parents' bedrooms and remove those "funny green pieces of paper" from their pants and pocketbooks. "Put them in an envelope and mail them to me," Soupy allegedly instructed the children. "And you know what I'm going to send you? A post card from Puerto Rico!" In his 2001 autobiography Soupy Sez! My Life and Zany Times, Soupy admits it is true. He was suspended by the station for two weeks for encouraging children to steal. Soupy received $80,000 from viewers, mostly in play money. Any real money was donated to charity.........

[zook]

I don't think Soupy got fired, either. He's a Detroit icon, having started out there before moving to NY.

[newcats]

Per Snopes.....

It didn't work. Although various accounts credit Soupy with having received up to $80,000 through the mail, Sales himself has revealed on numerous occasions that he netted only a few real dollars, along with a lot of play money and green Monopoly money.

[llevrok]

The New Year's Day incident On New Year's Day 1965 Soupy, miffed at having to work on the holiday

(allegedly) Soupy was trying to teach Blacktooth how to spell. He put the letter F on a chalk board and asked Blacktooth what letter it was. Blacktooth said K.

Back and forth the two of them went until Soupy asked Blacktooth - "I don't get it. I see F and you see K"

Another few weeks in the penalty box.