Laughing Sal

I saw a pic of a Laughing Sal in front of the Coliseum at Cedar Point recently. Does anyone have any info on this? I know Cedar Point had one back in the 1950's but haven't seen one at the Point in decades...

A friend was shocked to see it in the arcade yesterday. I forgot to go check it out.

She could be the gal from Euclid Beach that still makes the rounds. I've met her before and if I could see a pic I could tell you.
Maybe she'll be a permanent fixture at CP and if so that would be awesome. I love me some Sal.

I doubt the Euclid Beach Boys would have sold their Laughing Sal to Cedar Point.

I just saw the Euclid Beach Laughin' Sal at the Western Reserve Historical Society not too long ago - they've got the old EB carousel, and had a bunch of memorabilia out in a huge display. They would not allow any photos of Sal, though - claiming copyright issues.

If you follow the park on Snapchat, they had Laughing Sal in their story today while previewing the Haunt.

As long as she doesn't replace the Zoltar machine in front of the Arcade, I'll be fine. I think of the movie "Big" everytime I see that machine at Cedar Point. I'm curious to know if this model of Sal might have come from Kennywood. I swear I saw a very similar looking model there last month. It doesn't look like the Euclid Beach model that I remember seeing pics of from my dad, but I could be wrong.

KW also has a laughing Sal (at their train station) although I'd doubt it was sold.

I remember Laughing Sal at Euclid Beach very well. I never knew that there was more than one, is it a production fun house piece that was made by one manufacturer?

Her name is actually Laffing Sal and she was made by PTC. There was also a man named Laffing Sam, but it was Sal that endured. Many parks had her as a ballyhoo figure in front of their fun house or Laff in the Dark. It's a miracle that any of these figures survive from the 30's, they were painted paper mache and horse hair heads, hands, and feet over a metal frame.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has a fine example that was originally at San Francisco's Playland. She was painstakingly restored, even down to a reproduction of the original costume.
Kennywood has many fun houses in their history and theirs may be an original they always had, right now she's at the train station.
I'm thinking Euclid Beach's Sal burned up in a fire that destroyed the Surprise House. I don't know where Cedar Point found this one, but from the photo she looks a little off. Something about her face doesn't seem right.

Josh, I had forgotten the Euclid Beach fellows... er, Boys had theirs at Western Reserve. I still need to make a trip up there to see that machine and visit with Sal.

Yes, you do. It's quite an amazing spread they have up there, and the carousel is beautifully restored. Some people don't like the glass enclosure, but I think it suits it very well

Ah yes, Laffing Sal. Hersheypark resurrected her as the fun house / ride theme for their new-for-2015 coaster, Laff Trakk. They have one at the entrance on loan from Skip Hicks of the Allen Theater of Annville, PA. Then, she's in cartoon form many times throughout the ride and queue. You even have the opportunity to go inside her laffin' mouth on the lift, because that's all something we want to do, right? Yikes!

I wonder if Monty Jasper and company found some things like this in addition to the flat rides they found during their world tour/search.

That Sal at Hershey looks like she got the bad weave. She doesn't move or laff?

Yeah, I think she got a head transplant too (can't remember if she was functioning or not when at Hershey a couple months ago). Speaking of which, I'm noticing all kinds of different faces, hairstyles, bodies, and clothes for Sal. I'd assume because of their age, most were refurbished at some point, and that probably accounts for most of the differences. But, I'm wondering if they were originally all identical, or if PTC manufactured different runs over the years...

I saw another Sal a few weeks ago, and it must have been Seabreeze in Rochester, NY. Oh, it looks like Wikipedia has a list of quite a few locations. Who wants to add Cedar Point? ;)

I don't think I've ever noticed one of these at SeaBreeze and we are there several times a month... Do you remember where in the park it was?

I've been to so many parks the last couple years, that they're starting to blend together honestly. It's very possible that I'm confusing Seabreeze for another park. Seabreeze is on that list, and I've seen several Sal's recently, so I thought that may have been one of my sightings.

Found some more good information here that goes through the history of Laffing Sal with plenty of pictures. You can even see the PTC advertisements that showcase Laffing Sal, Laffing Sam, and Blackie the Barker.

Ffej said:

Speaking of which, I'm noticing all kinds of different faces, hairstyles, bodies, and clothes for Sal. I'd assume because of their age, most were refurbished at some point, and that probably accounts for most of the differences. But, I'm wondering if they were originally all identical, or if PTC manufactured different runs over the years...

Since they were made from paper mâché, I doubt they were machine produced. They probably had certain features that were common (e.g. missing tooth), but it would not surprise at all that they were somewhat unique.

Canton Ohio? Nice! Very fitting to find a home in Sandusky.

I think we all know a real Laffing Sal. Large, loud, distinct laugh. Scary and familiar.

I saw her tonight in front of the arcade in the old Zoltar fortune machine spot. It definitely wasn't the version (at least the face) I've seen in the past, but good to see nonetheless. The park moved the Zoltar machine inside the arcade directly behind Sal. A crowd, even little ones, was gathered when I saw her.