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Head of the Swing Shift
Gumby creator Art Clokey dies at 88
Sat Jan 9, 4:15 pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Art Clokey, the creator of the iconic cartoonish
clay figure Gumby, died in his sleep on Friday at his home in Los Osos,
California, at age 88, after battling repeated bladder infections, his son
said.
Clokey, 88, invented the whimsical green clay character Gumby in the early
1950s that debuted on the "The Howdy Doody Show" and went on to become the
star of his own successful television show, "The Adventures of Gumby."
Bendable creation Gumby and Pokey, his horse friend, became popular
figures in the 1960s, and still remain favorites among many kids, adults
and collectors around the world.
Clokey was born Arthur Farrington in Detroit in October 1921 and grew up
making mud figures on his grandparents' Michigan farm, the Los Angeles
Times said, citing his son Joseph. "He always had this in him," Joseph
told the Times.
Gumby was the outcome of an 1953 experimental clay animation film by
Clokey called "Gumbasia." Clokey also created and produced the Christian
TV series "Davey and Goliath" in the 1960s.
Clokey has said he based Gumby's sloping head and hair on a picture of his
father, who died in a car accident when the filmmaker was 8 years old.
Clokey was later adopted by music teacher and composer Joseph W. Clokey,
who taught him the arts and took his new son on adventures in Mexico and
Canada.
Joseph Clokey told the Times that those journeys and Clokey's love of
fossil hunting helped inspire Gumby's own adventures.
The lovable character saw renewed popularity in the 1980s after comedian
Eddie Murphy mimicked Gumby as a gruff cigar-smoking character for
"Saturday Night Live."
Sat Jan 9, 4:15 pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Art Clokey, the creator of the iconic cartoonish
clay figure Gumby, died in his sleep on Friday at his home in Los Osos,
California, at age 88, after battling repeated bladder infections, his son
said.
Clokey, 88, invented the whimsical green clay character Gumby in the early
1950s that debuted on the "The Howdy Doody Show" and went on to become the
star of his own successful television show, "The Adventures of Gumby."
Bendable creation Gumby and Pokey, his horse friend, became popular
figures in the 1960s, and still remain favorites among many kids, adults
and collectors around the world.
Clokey was born Arthur Farrington in Detroit in October 1921 and grew up
making mud figures on his grandparents' Michigan farm, the Los Angeles
Times said, citing his son Joseph. "He always had this in him," Joseph
told the Times.
Gumby was the outcome of an 1953 experimental clay animation film by
Clokey called "Gumbasia." Clokey also created and produced the Christian
TV series "Davey and Goliath" in the 1960s.
Clokey has said he based Gumby's sloping head and hair on a picture of his
father, who died in a car accident when the filmmaker was 8 years old.
Clokey was later adopted by music teacher and composer Joseph W. Clokey,
who taught him the arts and took his new son on adventures in Mexico and
Canada.
Joseph Clokey told the Times that those journeys and Clokey's love of
fossil hunting helped inspire Gumby's own adventures.
The lovable character saw renewed popularity in the 1980s after comedian
Eddie Murphy mimicked Gumby as a gruff cigar-smoking character for
"Saturday Night Live."