Soupy and J. Summerhays

Soupy and V. German

THIS TRAIN brought comedy legend Soupy Sales back to Cincinnati where he began his television career in the 1950's with a popular dance show. Soupy wasn't back in town for five minutes before he was signing autographs en route to the airport baggage claim. Soupy's famous 1960's network program, The Soupy Sales Show will long be remembered for such pie-faced notables as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, and Mickey Rooney. His career includes over forty television shows as well as humor-books such as Soupy Sales' Did You Hear The One About? and the Broadway show Come Live With Me. He couldn't resist adding a few one-liners to his scenes as well, proving that there is a bit of the comic in every salesman, and a bit of the salesman in every comic...

Soupy hosts an annual big-band concert in his hometown of Huntingtion, West Virginia where a downtown plaza is named in honor of him. He continues to perform stand-up comedy, headlining at clubs across the country. Most recently, Soupy turned his talents to the screen, completing four films in the past two years, including Eddie Murphy's The Holy Man and Christopher Coppola's Palmer's Pickup. In THIS TRAIN, Soupy plays his first dramatic part: John, a retiring salesman who struggles to find meaning in the life after the death of his wife. Although the part required a doleful disposition, Soupy found a way to inject his famous humor both on and off the set. After a particularly grueling shoot when the producer asked Soupy how he was holding up, he replied, "Suspenders."