Art Clokey (1921-2010)

Gumby shed a few clay tears yesterday when he learned that his “father” – creator Art Clokey (born Arthur Farrington) – had died at the age of 88.

The inspiration for Gumby, the green clay icon of the ‘50s, came when Mr. Clokey was a child visiting his grandfather’s farm, where he made play animals out of the clayey mud he found there, which people called “gumbo.” He patterned Gumby’s hairstyle after his father’s.

Since 1955, Gumby has been an intermittent star – beginning with his appearance in Mr. Clokey’s “Gumbasia,” then in his own TV series, “The Gumby Show.”

His popularity resurfaced in the ‘80s when Eddie Murphy began imitating the clay icon on Saturday Night Live. When Murphy started sporting the famous Gumby swooping cowlick hairdo, toy sales went through the roof and at last, Mr. Clokey started seeing some serious financial returns from his creation.

I remember seeing Gumby and his pony companion Pokey for the first time when we got our television set sometime in the late ‘50s. To me, he was always a little weird, not very smooth in his movements, and definitely low, low-tech compared to current animations.

But y’know, I kinda loved the li’l critter. Mr. Clokey’s going to find a lot of fans up there.