You’ll always be our gal, Sal.

Philadelphia’s favorite cowgirl and afternoon TV kid show legend really is from the Wild West (Kansas City), and her legal name really is Sally Starr. A country music radio performer from the age of 12, Sally branched out into TV in 1950 as the host of Philadelphia’s Popeye Theater, and with a hearty “All righty roony!” treated an entire generation of Delaware Valley baby boomers to 21 years of Popeye and The Three Stooges, as well as visits from (among many others) Dick Clark, Jerry Lewis, Colonel Sanders and Chief Halftown, and showbiz cowboys Roy Rogers, Chuck Connors and Gene Autry.

Sally appealed to our sweet tooth, introducing us to the wonders of Hires Root Beer, Dunkin’ Donuts (she opened Philadelphia’s first franchise) and Bosco Chocolate Syrup. She sweetened lives in more important ways too, with countless hours of charity work and public appearances for the benefit of hospitalized and disabled children.

In 1965 Sally earned a role (as did TV kid show hosts from several other cities) in The Three Stooges’ final feature movie The Outlaws Is Coming. It was the Stooges’ way of thanking the kid show hosts for reviving their popularity during the 1950s and 1960s. Co-starring in the movie was a young actor named Adam West, who would take the country by storm as TV’s Batman the following year.

When a 1987 fire destroyed Sally’s uninsured Florida home and most of her worldly possessions, many loyal Philadelphia fans came to her financial rescue. Now well into her 80s and still looking great, “Our Gal Sal” is back in the saddle and back in the Philadelphia area, where she makes regular public appearances and spreads the wholesome message she made famous: “Love, Luck and Lollipops"!

	LIBERTY BELLE: “Is this what you call wholesome? Those kids should have been outside playing, and instead they were glued to their TVs and goosed up on root beer, donuts and chocolate syrup, while a gun-waving cowgirl fed them non-stop violence – Popeye beating on Brutus, and the Three Stooges beating on each other!”
	SON OF SWOOP: “You’re missing the point, Lib. Sally Starr is a wholesome person who taught wholesome values and lived them too. She was like a second mother to me, and to tens of thousands of other kids throughout the Delaware Valley. I can honestly credit her for helping me to become the person I am today.”
	OZZARD OF WHIZ: “But SOS, you’re a worthless piece of human garbage today. Don’t go blaming that on a nice lady like Sally Starr.”

 

         

 

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