It originally was a half-hour local St. Louis television program, debuting October 17, 1983, on KSDK (channel 5), and ran in syndication until May 22, 2002, with repeats running until September 6.
In August 1989, Sally moved into the Unitel facilities in Manhattan, also home to MTV and, later, Rush Limbaugh, whom Raphael did not like.
[5] Topics of the show varied widely, from the controversial and hard-hitting stories to more lighthearted fare such as hypnotists getting guests to do funny gags.
The episode received some backlash and neighborhood residents claimed that their issues with the guest were actually due to her failure to discipline her child.
[9] While only a select few markets picked up the full-hour Sally shows in the 1986–87 season, an increasing number of stations made the option over the next few years, especially as networks started to free up their daytime slots.
In October 2001, Raphael signed a multi-year deal with Studios USA Domestic TV to continue hosting the show.
[14] In 2017, Nosey, a free online streaming service offering video of daytime television shows, began making episodes of Sally available for viewing.
[23] Nick Sutton of Gummo fame was scouted by director Harmony Korine while watching the episode "My Child Died from Sniffing Paint" [24] Famous con man Steve Comisar appeared on Sally as a fraud prevention expert, under the name Brett Champion.