The LA Times reports that Art Clokey, creator of the beloved character Gumby, died on Friday at the age of 88.
Born in Detroit, Clokey pioneered stop-motion clay animation, a technique he helped popularize with his series of shorts about Gumby and, later, the duo Davey and Goliath.
Originally debuting on The Howdy Doody Show, the adventures of Gumby and his pal Pokey captivated generations of children. The character underwent numerous resurgences over the decades, from bendable toy figurines to a feature film to a comic parody by Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live. Davey and Goliath, too, have ebbed and waned in the cultural consciousness. Originating as a series of inspirational shorts funded by the Lutheran Church, Davey and Goliath's gentle spiritual message became a favorite target of satirists, including several send-ups on The Simpsons.
Art Clokey came from a troubled childhood. Born Arthur Farrington, the young boy lost his father to an automobile accident shortly after his paretns divorced. His mother relocated to California, where the boy was abandoned and later adopted by Joseph Clokey, a composer and music instructor.
After serving in World War II, Clokey began training to become an Episcopal minister, but soon married and began pursuing his dream to make films. His experimental film Gumbasia, produced in 1953, subsequently became the basis for Clokey's stop-motion techniques and the Gumby series as a whole.
Comments