RiffTrax Forum
General Discussion => Television aka TV discussion => Topic started by: Compound on January 08, 2010, 11:19:46 PM
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Yeah, I thought about a cutesy title, but decided to play it straight instead.
Art Clokey, whose iconic Gumby entertained generations of children, died Friday morning.
Gumby – the slender, green clay character partly modeled after Clokey’s father – was a fixture on television through the decades, starting with an appearance on the “Howdy Doody” show in 1956. Through the years, the stop motion star made several comebacks, including a new show in the 80s, after a “Saturday Night Live” skit with actor Eddie Murphy made the character popular again. Throughout Gumby’s long run, Gumby toys – most notably, the bendable – have been a staple of toy stores everywhere.
Clokey, who lived in Los Osos, was 89.
Despite Gumby’s positive demeanor, his origins stem from tragedy. When Clokey was 9, his father was killed in a car crash. He lived with his mother for a while, but when her second husband made her choose between him and her son, Clokey was sent to an orphanage. Fortunately, he was adopted by a good family. But Clokey wouldn’t forget his father, whose head shape – characterized by a cowlick hairdo – would later provide the inspiration for Gumby’s trademark lopsided head.
After studying film at USC, Clokey taught at a private military school, where he tutored the son of Sam Engel, a 20th Century Fox producer. After Engel invited Clokey to the studio, Clokey told Engel about a 3 ˝-minute film he’d made called “Gumbasia,” featuring abstract clay objects changing shapes to jazz music.
“He said, ‘Art, we’ve got to go into business,’” Clokey told the Tribune in 2002. “I went back and experimented with clay to make a character, and I took into account the density of clay and figured out how the character would be shaped so it would be easy to animate and easy to duplicate.”
While Gumby’s head was modeled after Clokey’s late father, his walk was modeled after his infant daughter.
By the late 50s, Gumby was off the air, but the Lutheran Church paid Clokey to develop another kid’s show – “Dave and Goliath” – to promote morality themes. Clokey and is wife used proceeds from that to fund more Gumby episodes, which would air again in the 60s.
By that time, Gumby toys were already ubiquitous. But Clokey had mixed feelings about commercialization.
“I didn’t allow merchandising for seven years after it was on the air,” Clokey told the Tribune, “because I was very idealistic, and I didn’t want parents to think we were trying to exploit their children.”
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I rather like Davey and Goliath, it's a wee bit preachy but I still tend to enjoy the episodes.
Never seen a Gumby episode though.
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I rather like Davey and Goliath, it's a wee bit preachy but I still tend to enjoy the episodes.
Never seen a Gumby episode though.
I remember watching Gumby (e.g. Robot Rumpus from MST3K short fame and others), Davey and Goliath, Jot, etc. as a kid.
From a pretty traumatic childhood, he certainly made something out of himself.
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He lived with his mother for a while, but when her second husband made her choose between him and her son, Clokey was sent to an orphanage.
OMG!!! What a bastard!
Bless his heard and RIP
Never seen a Gumby episode though.
Not even Robot Rumpus?
http://www.youtube.com/v/3M4_XZ3FLHw&hl=en_US&fs=1
http://www.youtube.com/v/YRCWxQmIpR8&hl=en_US&fs=1
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Did they hang his head? . . . Sorry, I couldn't resist.
I like the fact that apparently he hated doing the David and Goliath episodes. I remember seeing a few when I was a kid and even then I knew they were shit.
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I rather like Davey and Goliath, it's a wee bit preachy but I still tend to enjoy the episodes.
Never seen a Gumby episode though.
If you like Davey & Goliath, you'll probably like Gumby as it's a very similar thing without the preachy parts.
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Did they hang his head? . . . Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Someone threw a wrench through him. :P
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I have not seen an episode in about 15 years but I liked D&G and G as a kid. He had a pretty sad childhood. That is just the saddest thing i can think of :speechless:
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I was a HUGE Gumby fan as a kid. I've probably seen every episode of Gumby, both new and old. Never got around to the movie, though. RIP, Mr. Clokey.
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I was a HUGE Gumby fan as a kid. I've probably seen every episode of Gumby, both new and old. Never got around to the movie, though. RIP, Mr. Clokey.
The movie is available on DVD if you'd like to see it. I think it was the last Gumby adventure that was made.
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Aw, that sucks!
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I just hope this doesn't lead to a bastardization movie revival with Will Smith voicing Gumby.
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http://www.youtube.com/v/aDEhtWAXrtE&hl=en_US&fs=1
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Interesting fun fact. The incredible Hulk's fisrt job in Hollywood was as a stunt double for Gumby.
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Interesting fun fact. The incredible Hulk's fisrt job in Hollywood was as a stunt double for Gumby.
Yeah, but he didn't last very long before he was fired. The first cut of Gumby's Robot Rumpus was a clay-bath! Well, much moreso than the final cut.
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yeah but one day on set he did meet bill Bixby and that paid off latter.