Do you remember those old Zenith TV's; the ones where the tube was only 25 inches, but was housed in a GIANT wood console that took up half the room, had the dials you had to turn by hand - which, consequently, turned us children into human remotes - and would kill a man if dropped or attempted to be moved?
The year was 1978. The place was Somerville, NJ - my grandparents' house on North Clark Ave. I was sitting on the floor in the living room, shrouded in what seemed like green astroturf, on which I was always skinning some extremity on a regular basis. Glued to the tube, I experienced Gumby for the first time. It was instant love. That this being could walk through walls and into books and their stories, was fascinating! To this day, some 30 + years later, I can still remember the song: "Gumby, doo doo doo doo doo doo, Gumby, doo doo doo doo doo doo..." Throughout the years of my childhood, I watched countless reruns of Gumby and Davey and Goliath. I still catch myself throwing references to my friends named Dave, "Hey Daaaaaavey," that get lost in the abyss. The show's severe religious undertones were lost on my 3 year-old noggin, but the animation was the lure.
Art Clokey, the mind and hands behind the iconic master of clay, died yesterday. It is a sad loss of a good-hearted and talented man. He had so much love for what he did, that he refused to allow merchandising of any kind for 7 years after the initial release of Gumby, for fear that the parents might feel exploited. That's a far cry from today's biz.
Anywho, without further ado, a small tribute to Mr. Clokey. Thank you for your contribution, Gumby's definitely a part of many of us!
No comments:
Post a Comment