Art Clokey facts for kids

Art Clokey (born October 12, 1921 – died January 8, 2010) was an American animator. He became famous for making stop-motion clay animation popular. His first big work was a short film called Gumbasia in 1955. Art learned a lot from his professor, Slavko Vorkapich, at the University of Southern California. Later, he and his wife Ruth created the famous clay character, Gumby. Gumby and his horse, Pokey, quickly became TV stars. They first appeared on The Howdy Doody Show and then got their own series, The Adventures of Gumby.

Art Clokey's Early Life

Art Clokey was born Arthur Charles Farrington in Detroit, Michigan. When he was nine, his parents separated. He stayed with his father, Charles Farrington. After his father died in a car accident, Art went to live with his mother in California. However, his stepfather did not want to raise him, so Art was sent to a children's home.

When he was about 11 or 12, he was adopted by Joseph W. Clokey. Joseph Clokey was a classical music composer and organist. He taught music in Claremont, California. Joseph taught Art about painting, drawing, and filmmaking.

The name of Gumby came from Art's childhood. He used to play with a mix of clay and mud that he called "gumbo."

Creating Clay Animation

Before he made Gumby, Art Clokey tried out different ways to use clay animation. Many of these were short films for adults. His first film, Gumbasia, was made in 1953 and released in 1955. In this film, animated clay shapes seemed to dance to jazz music. Art named Gumbasia after Walt Disney's movie Fantasia.

In 1963, he created The Clay Peacock. This was a new version of the animated NBC logo that was popular at the time. Clokey's third short film was Mandala. He made it between 1974 and 1977, and it was released in 1977. He said it showed how human consciousness changes and grows. All three of these animations were later shown to the public as part of Gumby television collections.

Gumbasia caught the eye of Samuel G. Engel, who was in charge of the Motion Pictures Producers Association. He paid Art Clokey to make a short pilot for what became The Gumby Show in 1957. In 1995, Clokey worked with Dallas McKennon to create Gumby: The Movie, which was a full-length movie.

In the mid-1990s, Nickelodeon made a deal with Art Clokey to show every episode of Gumby. The show was very popular and was at the top of their ratings for more than three years.

Art Clokey's second most famous work was the Davey and Goliath cartoon.

Art Clokey's Later Years

Art Clokey passed away on January 8, 2010, at his home in Los Osos, California. He was 88 years old.

See also

In Spanish: Art Clokey para niños