Comedian, actor, and radio-TV personality Soupy Sales has died of a “series of ailments” in New York at the age of 83.

Born in Franklinton, North Carolina, Soupy Sales served in the Navy in the final years of World War 2, before studying journalism at college and starting his career on radio, then later television.

Soupy Sales was best known in the United States for his long-running local and network children’s television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales. A series of comedy sketches ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face became his trademark.

From 1968 to 1975, he was a panelist on What’s My Line? and appeared on several other TV game shows. During the 1980s Sales hosted a show on WNBC-AM in New York City.

He is survived by his wife, two sons and four grandchildren.