HAPPY BIRTHDAY ART CLOKEY
Arthur "Art" Clokey (October 12, 1921 - January 8, 2010) was a pioneer in the popularization of stop motion clay animation.It all began with an experiment in1955 called Gumbasia,influenced by his professor, Slavko Vorkapich, at the University of Southern California.From the Gumbasia project, Art Clokey and his wife Ruth invented Gumby. Since then Gumby and his horse Pokey have been a familiar presence on television, appearing in several series beginning with the "Howdy Doody Show" and later "The Adventures of Gumby".
The characters enjoyed a renewal of interest in the 1980s when American actor and comedian Eddie Murphy parodied Gumby in a skit on Saturday Night Live. In 1990 "Gumby: The Movie" was released, sparking even more interest.Clokey's second most famous production is the duo of "Davey and Goliath", funded by the Lutheran Church in America.In honor for his contribution to clay animation Google doodle of October 12,2011 was based on his animated clay characters.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, on October 12, 1921. His birthname was Arthur C. Farrington. When Clokey was nine years old, his parents divorced and he stayed with his father, Charles Farrington. After his father died in a car accident, he went to live with his mother in California, but his stepfather had no interest in raising another man's son, and so Arthur was sent to an orphanage.
When he was 12, he was adopted by Joseph W. Clokey, a classical music composer and organist who taught music at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He schooled Arthur in painting, drawing, and film making while also taking him on journeys to Canada and Mexico. The aesthetic environment later became the home of Clokey's most famous character, Gumby, whose name derives from his childhood experiences during summer visits to his grandfather's farm, when he enjoyed playing with the clay and mud mixture called "gumbo".
Art Clokey died in his sleep on January 8, 2010, at age 88, at his home in Los Osos, California after suffering from a recurrent bladder infection.
Born : Arthur Charles Farrington
Died : Los Osos, California, USA, January 8, 2010
Occupation : Animator and Director
Known for : Creator of Gumby
