Gumby and Pokey

Gumby is a dark green clay humanoid figure who was the subject of a 233-episode series of American television shows over a 35-year period. Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Early Episodes (1956-1967 Moon Trip (Part 1 Gumby on the Moon Trapped on the Moon Mirror Land Lost and Found Little Lost Pony The Blockheads Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic He was animated using stop motion clay animation. Stop motion (or frame-by-frame) animation is an Animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own Clay animation is one of many forms of Stop motion animation Each animated piece either character or background is "deformable"&mdashmade of a malleable substance The show also featured Pokey, a red clay pony, and Gumby's nemeses, the Blockheads. Pokey is a character from the Gumby television series created by Claymation artist Art Clokey. The Blockheads are clay animated characters in the Gumby Television series, created by Animator Art Clokey; they are a pair of humanoid

Origins of Gumby

Created by Art Clokey (in a small town called Millington, MI. Arthur C (Art Clokey (born Arthur Farrington October 12, 1921, Detroit Michigan) is a pioneer in the popularization of Stop motion Clay ), Gumby had its genesis in a 1955 theatrical short called Gumbasia, which was a surreal short of moving and expanding lumps of clay set to music, in a parody of Fantasia. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Fantasia is a 1940 Animated film produced by Walt Disney, and is the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. Gumby himself first appeared on the Howdy Doody show in 1956 and was given his own NBC series in 1957. Howdy Doody was a children's television program (with a decidedly frontier/western theme although other themes also colored the show The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Female performers (among them Norma MacMillan) supplied Gumby's voice during the initial episodes, as well as the child-like voice characterization provided by Dick Beals. Norma MacMillan (b 15 September 1921, Vancouver, British Columbia - d Richard "Dick" Beals (born March 16, 1927 in Detroit Michigan) is an American Voice actor. New episodes were added in 1962, by which time Dallas McKennon became the voice of Gumby, and 1966–67. Dallas R McKennon (born July 19, 1919) is an American actor sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, with extensive work as a Voice actor Besides Pokey, voiced by creator Art Clokey, and his dog Nopey (all the dog ever said was "No"), Gumby's friends included Prickle, a yellow dinosaur or dragon (there are stories that establish him as dragon, and some that establish him as dinosaur - he has been known to breathe fire); and Goo, a blue thumb-type mermaid who could fly. Prickle is one of the main characters from Art Clokey 's well-known Claymation Gumby. The dragon is a Legendary creature of which some interpretation or depiction appears in almost every culture worldwide Safety While not a difficult skill to learn initially it is the most dangerous of all the fire arts and not just due to the obvious risk of serious burns Gumby is a dark green Clay humanoid figure who was the subject of a 233-episode series of American Television which spanned over a 35-year period (Prickle and Goo together may be a reference to a well-known speech by philosopher Alan Watts, recently animated. Alan Wilson Watts ( January 6, 1915 &ndash November 16, 1973) was a British Philosopher, Writer, speaker and ) Other characters are Gumby's mother Gumba, Gumby's father Gumbo, his sister Minga, Denali (a mastodon), and Professor Kapp (sometimes spelled Kap). Mastodons or Mastodonts (from Greek μαστός and οδούς, meaning " Nipple tooth" are members of the extinct

Stations

Alphabetized by city.

• KCOP / Channel 13• Los Angeles, California
• WPIX / Channel 11• New York, New York

The Lorimar Years

Mr. KCOP-TV, channel 13 is a television station in Los Angeles California. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West WPIX, channel 11 is a television station in New York City. It has been owned by the Tribune Company since its inception and is currently an affiliate of the The City of New York Stuff gives Gumby all the goodies he can hold in "Grub Grabber Gumby. " Pigs is Pigs " is also a noted humor book by Ellis Parker Butler, which was made into a cartoon by Walt Disney Productions in 1954 "

By the 1980s, the original Gumby shorts had enjoyed a revival, both on television and home video. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or hired for home entertainment This led to a new incarnation of the series for television syndication by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1988 that included new characters such as Gumby's sister, Minga, Tilly the Chicken, and Denali the mastodon. In Broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast Radio shows and Television shows to multiple individual stations without going through Lorimar-Telepictures was a production and Television syndication firm established in 1986 with the merger of Lorimar and Telepictures until both TV divisions The chicken ( Gallus gallus, sometimes G gallus domesticus) is a domesticated Fowl which is traditionally believed to have descended from Mastodons or Mastodonts (from Greek μαστός and οδούς, meaning " Nipple tooth" are members of the extinct Dallas McKennon returned, but credited with Charles Farrington as the voice of Gumby in new adventures that would take Gumby and his pals beyond their toyland-type setting and establish themselves as a rock band. Dallas R McKennon (born July 19, 1919) is an American actor sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, with extensive work as a Voice actor Nopey had disappeared after the original series.

In addition to the new episodes, the classic 1950s and 1960s shorts were re-run as part of the series, but with newly recorded soundtracks (including new voices from the 1980s voice talent and synthesized musical scores to replace the old stock music composed by John Seely). The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969

Art Clokey reportedly gave many movie industry talents their first break in the business. A number of the clay animators who worked on the new series went on to work for Pixar, Disney and other studios. Pixar Animation Studios is a CGI animation production company based in Emeryville California.

The movie and beyond

Screen from Gumby vs. the Astrobots

In 1995, Clokey's production company produced an independently released theatrical film, Gumby I (aka Gumby: The Movie), marking the clay character's first feature-length adventure. Gumby The Movie is a 1995 Clay animation Feature film featuring the character Gumby. In it, the villainous Blockheads replace Gumby and his band with robots and kidnap their dog, Lowbelly. The movie featured in-joke homages to such sci-fi classics as Star Wars, The Terminator, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (originally released as Star Wars) is a 1977 Space opera The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction / Action film directed and co-written by James Cameron. 2001 A Space Odyssey is a 1968 Science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Kubrick and Arthur C In 1995, Cartoon Network aired re-runs of Gumby episodes. Episodes is the quarterly journal of the International Union of Geological Sciences, published in Beijing, China.

By the end of the decade, Gumby and Pokey had appeared in commercials for Cheerios cereal. Cheerios is a Brand of Breakfast cereal created on June 19, 1941 and marketed by the General Mills cereal company of

The Library of Congress had Gumby as a spokescharacter from 1994 to 1995, due to a common sequence in his shows where Gumby walks into a book, and then experiences the world inside the book as a tangible place. The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress

Although no new animated Gumby material is planned for the foreseeable future, most of the episodes (with a few exceptions) of the two series are available on home video and DVD. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is

In August 2005, the first video game featuring Gumby, Gumby vs. Other names In Arabic, the month is called أغسطسص ʾUġusṭuṣ or آب ʾĀb; usage varies from place to place and Events March 6 &mdash The television show 60 Minutes tackles issues within Video game controversy. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. the Astrobots, was released by Namco for the Game Boy Advance. is an amusement company based in Japan, best known overseas for Video games development The Game Boy Advance (often shortened to GBA) is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. In it, Gumby must rescue Pokey, Prickle and Goo after they are captured by the Blockheads and their cohorts, the Astrobots. The video game also featured music by Sevendust and Monster Magnet. Sevendust is an American Alternative metal band from Atlanta Georgia. Monster Magnet is an American Hard rock band Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded by Dave Wyndorf (vocals

Also in the summer of 2005, an event produced by TheDeepArchives/TDA Animation was held in New York. The exhibit featured props, storyboards and script pages from various Gumby shorts over the past 50 years, as well as toys and other memorabilia that had appeared during Gumby's "career," including a reproduction of [Eddie Murphy's Saturday Night Live Gumby costume. The centerpiece of the show was an actual complete set used in the production of a TV commercial for "Gumby vs. the Astrobots. "

In San Francisco, California, Studio Z held "Gumby's 50th Birthday Party" with Gumby creator Art Clokey. The bands Smash Mouth and Remoter played at the party, hosted by comedian Kevin Meaney. The party/comedy tribute was written by legendary comedy writer and stage director Martin Olson (Screen Actors Guild Awards, Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular etc. ) and Gumby's creative director and composer Robert F. Thompson. It was produced by Missing Link Media Ventures and Clokey Productions.

In 2006, The CENTER FOR PUPPETRY ARTS, Atlanta, GA, hosted the most comprehensive CLOKEY/GUMBY Exhibition to date. Entitled GUMBY: Art Clokey the first fifty years. Curated by writer/animator David Scheve, the exhibition featured over 100 puppets and many of the original sets from the 1980s Television series, as well as the 1990s Full Length Theatrical film. The exhibition ran from August 2006 until March of 2007. The Event can still be viewed on line at www. TDAExhibitions. com

Bob Burden wrote Gumby comic series with art by Rick Geary, colors by Steve Oliff and Lance Borde, edited by Mel Smith and published by Wildcard Ink. Bob Burden is an American comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of Flaming Carrot Comics and the Mystery Men. Rick Geary (b 1946 is an American Cartoonist and Illustrator. The first issue dated July 2006. It won an honor for Best Publication for a Younger Audience at the 2007 Eisner Awards. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Award is a prize given for creative achievement in American Comic books It is named in honor of the pioneering writer and artist Will Eisner

The Gumby images and toys are registered trademarks of Prema Toy Company. Premavision owns the distribution rights to the Gumby cartoons (having been recently reverted from previous distributor Warner Bros. Television), and has licensed the rights to Classic Media. Warner Bros Television is the television production and distribution arm of Warner Bros Classic Media Inc is an American Production company /distributor of family programming acquired in 2007 by UK-based rival Entertainment Rights.

On March 16, 2007, YouTube announced that all Gumby episodes would appear in their full-length form on its site, digitally remastered and with their original soundtracks. YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees This deal also extended to other video sites, including AOL. ^[1]

In March 2007, KQED broadcast an hour-long documentary "Gumby Dharma" as part of their Truly CA series.

A director's cut version of Gumby: The Movie was released on DVD in April 2008. A director's cut is a specially edited version of a Film, and less often TV series, Music video, commercials or Video games Gumby The Movie is a 1995 Clay animation Feature film featuring the character Gumby.

Toys and merchandise

Various Gumby merchandise has been produced over the years, the most prominent item being bendable figures. Several single packs and multi-figure sets by Jesco, as well as a 50th anniversary collection, have been made of the Gumby characters. Also included in the Gumby merchandise catalog are plush dolls, keychains, mugs, a 1988 Colorforms color foams set, a 1995 Trendmasters playset, and a Kubricks set by Medicom. Plush (from French fr ''peluche'' is a Textile having a cut nap or pile the same as Fustian or Velvet. A keychain or key chain is a small chain, usually made from Metal or Plastic, that connects a small item to a Keyring. A mug is a sturdily built type of cup often used for drinking hot beverages such as Coffee, Tea, or Hot chocolate. Colorforms, invented by Harry Kislevitz are toys produced by the Colorforms Corporation

Parodies and tributes

Eddie Murphy as Gumby and Joe Piscopo as Pokey

• Eddie Murphy played a parody of Gumby in occasional sketches on Saturday Night Live. Joseph Charles John "Joe" Piscopo (born June 17, 1951) is an American Comedian and Actor best known for his work on Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3 1961 is an Academy Award -nominated Golden Globe - Screen Actors Guild Award -winning American A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject Sketch comedy consists of a series of short Comedy scenes or vignettes called "sketches" commonly between one and ten minutes long Saturday Night Live ( SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American Sketch comedy / Variety show based in New York City The first appearance of Murphy's Gumby aired during the show's eighth season on December 11, 1982 in a sketch titled "Merry Christmas, Dammit!". Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Wearing a foam costume, Murphy's Gumby was played as an older borscht belt comedian who smoked a cigar and depicted an arrogant celebrity indignant at his waning fame. Borscht Belt is an informal term for the summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in Sullivan and Ulster Counties in Upstate New York which were A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented Tobacco which is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the smoker's mouth As a sign of his frustration, Murphy's character was frequently heard to exclaim "I'm Gumby, dammit!" when he felt disrespected by show business people.

• In the Real Ghostbusters episode "Station Identification" (airdate: Dec 9, 1987), Ray Stantz encounters a gigantic Rambo-esque character called "Gumbo," who comes out of a TV set in a ghost-run television station. This article is about the animated spin-off of the 1984 film Ghostbusters. Raymond "Ray" Stantz, is a fictional Scientist and member of the Ghostbusters appearing in the films Ghostbusters, "RAMBO" can refer to RAMBO Brooklyn, a neighborhood in New York City Robust Associations of Massive Baryonic Objects, a theoretical A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented Gumbo tells him "Yo, I'm looking for an orange horse. " to which Ray nervously replies "First one I see, you get it!" Gumbo then smirks and says "No bro, you get it!" and proceeds to fire a machine gun at him.

Gumbo fires at Ray Stantz in The Real Ghostbusters

• A Gumby sketch ("Robot Rumpus") was featured on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (The Screaming Skull), and was parodied in one of that episode's host segments, with Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo creating their own version of Gumby, decrying Gumby and Pokey's "mistreatment" (in their eyes) of the robots in the sketch. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American Cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced Crow T Robot is a Fictional character from the American Science fiction Comedy Television series Mystery Science Theater Tom Servo is a Fictional character from the American Science fiction Comedy Television show Mystery Science Theater When "Robot Rumpus" was aired on the show, it included the original soundtrack, complete with original voices and stock music.

• In the 1988 film Red Heat, Detective Art Ridzik (played by James Belushi) tells Captain Ivan Danko (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) that he looks "like Gumby" when Danko insists that he is undercover, despite wearing a green suit. Red Heat is a 1988 Buddy cop film directed by Walter Hill. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Moscow narc James Adam "Jim" Belushi (born June 15, 1954) is an American Actor, Comedian and Musician, the younger brother Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger ( German ˌaɐnɔlt aloʏs ˈʃvaɐtsənɛɡɐ born July 30 1947 is an Austrian American Bodybuilder, Actor Later in the film, after Danko has allowed a suspect to escape, Ridzik exclaims "Nice work, Gumby. "

Gumby in a Simpsons couch gag.

• The Simpsons (Episode GABF16) did a couch gag with Gumby. "The Girl Who Slept Too Little" is the second episode of The Simpsons ' seventeenth season. Six clay balls roll onto the couch and unfold into the family and Gumby.

• In the 2007 film Evan Almighty, God tells Evan "and when you were 10 years old, you were afraid of Gumby. Evan Almighty is a 2007 Comedy film, and sequel to the 2003 film Bruce Almighty. "

• The comic strip Liō by Mark Tatulli for 6 April 2008 featured the main character leading Pokey and Prickle in a search for the missing Gumby. A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a Comics artist Liō is a daily Comic strip created by Mark Tatulli and syndicated through Universal Press Syndicate. Mark Tatulli (born 1963 Mount Vernon New York) is a comic artist and film maker Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

• On Mad TV, he was spoofed in an episode of CLOPS, a parody of COPS. MADtv, is an American Sketch comedy television series based on the humor magazine Mad.

• On an episode of Futurama,Hermes mentioned Gumby when he said He's like Gumby and Hercules

combined! which Zoidberg then replies "Gumbercules? I love that guy!"

Gumby is also mentioned in an NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. Futurama is an Emmy Award -winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, and developed by Groening and Hercules is the Roman name for the Mythical Greek hero Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena. Maryl Reese mention Randall Cunningham as being Gumby,

See also

• Davey and Goliath, a 1960s stop-motion animated television series. Davey and Goliath was the title of a 1960s Stop-motion animated television series The programs were produced by the Lutheran Church in America (now a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). The Lutheran Church in America (LCA was a US Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987 The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago Illinois. The characters, although animated by Clokey, were created by Dick Sutcliffe.

References

External links

• The Gumby Show at the Internet Movie Database
• Gumbyworld.com
• Premavision/Clokey Productions
• [1]ArtClokey the First 50 Years
• Official 50th Birthday Party Gumby's MySpace