Arthur Clokey(bornArthur Charles Farrington;October 12, 1921 – January 8, 2010) was an American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter. He was pioneer in the popularization ofstop-motionclay animation,best known as the creator of the characterGumbyand the original voice of Gumby's sidekick, Pokey. Clokey's career began in 1953 with a film experiment calledGumbasia,which was influenced by his professor,Slavko Vorkapich,at theUniversity of Southern California.[2][3][4][5]Clokey and his wife Ruth subsequently came up with the clay character Gumby and his horse Pokey, who first appeared in theHowdy DoodyShowand later got their own seriesThe Adventures of Gumby,from which they became a familiar presence on American television. The characters enjoyed a renewal of interest in the 1980s when American actor and comedianEddie Murphyparodied Gumby in a skit onSaturday Night Live.
Art Clokey | |
|---|---|
 Clokey in 1967 | |
| Born | Arthur Charles Farrington October 12, 1921 Detroit,Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | January 8, 2010(aged 88) Los Osos, California,U.S. |
| Alma mater | Pomona College Miami University University of Southern CaliforniaThe Webb Schools |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1953–1995 |
| Notable work | Creator ofGumbyandDavey and Goliath |
| Spouses | Ruth Clokey
(m.1948;div.1966)Gloria Clokey
(m.1976; died 1998) |
| Children | 2 |
| Family | Joseph W. Clokey(father) |
| Awards | Inkpot Award(2006)[1] |
Clokey's second-most famous production is the duo ofDavey and Goliath,funded by theLutheran Church in America(now theEvangelical Lutheran Church in America).[6]
Clokey founded the company Premavision (which has manufacturing subsidiary, Prema Toy Company) around his Gumby and Pokey franchise.
Early life
editArthur Charles Farrington was born in Detroit on October 12, 1921. After his parents' divorce when he was about 8, he lived with his father; when Arthur was 9, his father was killed in an automobile accident. Rejoining his mother in California, the boy was banished by her new husband and placed in a children’s home. At about 11, young Arthur was adopted byJoseph Waddell Clokey,a well-known composer of sacred and secular music.[7]
AtWebb Schoolin Claremont, young Clokey came under the influence of teacher Ray Alf, who took students on expeditions digging for fossils and learning about the world around them. Clokey later studiedgeologyatPomona College,where his new father Joseph was an organist, before leaving in 1943 to join the military duringWorld War II.[8][9]He graduated from his father's alma mater,Miami University,in 1948.[10]
Clay animation
editArt Clokey also made a few highly experimental and visually inventive short clay animation films for adults, including his first student filmGumbasia(produced in 1953 and released in 1955), the visually richMandala(1977)—described by Clokey as a metaphor for evolving human consciousness—and the equally bizarreThe Clay Peacock(1959), an elaboration on the animatedNBClogo of the time.[11][12]Consisting of animated clay shapes contorting to a jazz score,Gumbasiaso intrigued Samuel G. Engel, then president of the Motion Pictures Producers Association, that he financed the pilot film for what became Clokey'sTheGumbyShow(1957). The titleGumbasiawas in homage to Walt Disney'sFantasia.
In 1987, Clokey provided the voice for the figure Pokey inArnold Leibovit's filmThe Puppetoon Movie,and voiced him thereafter.
The Clokeys are credited with the clay-animationtitle sequencesfor the 1965 beach moviesDr. Goldfoot and the Bikini MachineandHow to Stuff a Wild Bikini.His son, Joe Clokey, continued theDavey and Goliathcartoon in 2004. In March 2007,KQED-TVbroadcast the hour-long documentaryGumby Dharmaas part of theirTruly CAseries.[13]
In 1995, Clokey directed and co-wrote (with his second wife, Gloria)Gumby: The Movie,a feature film. The movie was not a success at the box office and was widely panned by critics, although it saw modest success on home media, going on to sell more than a million copies on home media, cementing itself as acult classic.[14]
Death and legacy
editClokey died in his sleep on January 8, 2010, at age 88, at his home inLos Osos, California,after suffering recurrent bladder infections.[15][16][17]
On October 13, 2011, a day after what would have been Clokey's 90th birthday,Googlepaid homage to his life and works with an interactivelogo doodlein the style of his clay animations, includingGumby,produced by Premavision Studios.[18]
Filmography
edit- Gumbasia(produced in 1953 and released in 1955) (animator, director, producer and writer)
- TheGumbyShow(1957–1968) as Pokey (voice; also animator, director, producer and writer)
- Davey and Goliath(1961–1964, 1971–1975) (director, producer and writer)
- The Clay Peacock(1975) (director, producer and camera operator)
- Mandala(1977) (director, producer and camera operator)
- The Puppetoon Movie(1987) as Pokey (voice)
- Gumby Adventures(1988) as Worm and Pokey (voice; also director, producer and head writer)
- Gumby: The Movie(1995) as Pokey, Prickle, and Gumbo (Gumby's Dad) (voice; also director, producer, script writer and animator)
References
edit- ^Inkpot Award
- ^Tim Lawson; Alisa Persons, eds. (2004).The magic behind the voices.University Press of Mississippi.p. 120.ISBN978-1-57806-696-4.
- ^TV personalities: biographical sketch book: Volume 3.St. Louis, Mo.: TV Personalities. 1957.OCLC2470684.
- ^"Hero Complex".Los Angeles Times.
- ^"Art Clokey dies at 88; creator of Gumby".Los Angeles Times.January 9, 2010.
- ^"Who Are Davey and Goliath?".Daveyandgoliath.org. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-08-29.Retrieved2011-10-11.
- ^Fox, Margalit (2010-01-11)."Art Clokey, Animator Who Created Gumby, Dies at 88".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2022-06-09.
- ^Felch, Jason (9 January 2010)."Art Clokey dies at 88; creator of Gumby".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved6 November2020.
- ^Gilbertsen, Christian (12 February 2010)."Arthur Clokey Dies: Pomona alumnus and creator of Gumby dies at 88".The Student Life.Retrieved29 July2020.
- ^Fox, Margalit (2010-01-11)."Art Clokey, Animator Who Created Gumby, Dies at 88".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2021-11-29.
- ^These films have recently become available for purchase by the public and are included in theRhinobox-set release of Gumby's television shorts.
- ^"Art Clokey's Clay Peacock".www.gumbyworld.com.
- ^"KQED | Public TV: Truly CA: Home: Gumby Dharma".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-03-21.Retrieved2007-03-26.
- ^Clokey, Joe (2017).Gumby Imagined: The Story of Art Clokey and his Creations.Dynamite.p. 228.ISBN9781524104344.
- ^Felch, Jason (January 9, 2010)."Art Clokey dies at 88; creator of Gumby".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedMay 20,2012.
- ^Fox, Margalit (January 11, 2010)."Art Clokey, Animator Who Created Gumby, Dies at 88".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 14 January 2010.RetrievedJanuary 11,2010.
- ^Pemberton, Patrick S."'Gumby' creator and Los Osos resident Art Clokey dies"ArchivedJanuary 10, 2010, at theWayback Machine,SanLuisObispo.com/The Tribune,January 8, 2010
- ^Art Clokey: How Gumby got his name,The Christian Science Monitor,retrieved 2010-10-12.
External links
edit
- PremavisionArchived2011-10-14 at theWayback Machine
- Art ClokeyArchived2011-10-05 at theWayback MachineArt Clokey's bio on Gumbyworld.com
- Art ClokeyatIMDb
- KQED Arts and Culture: Art ClokeyArchived2008-07-16 at theWayback Machine
- Art Clokey: Gumby 50th Anniversary ExhibitionArchived2011-10-14 at theWayback Machine
- Art ClokeyatThe Interviews: An Oral History of Television