Gumby

Isn't it ironic?
One of the first things I saw today when I turned on the computer was that Art Clokey, 88, died Friday.
Friday. The same day we bought Lee his first Gumby and Pokey.
Clokey, an animator, was the creator of the bendable dolls Gumby (1955) and his friend horse, Pokey.
Gumby grew out of a student project Clokey produced at the University of Southern California in the early 1950s called "Gumbasia."
I played with Gumby and Pokey in the 1960s. I watched the TV show.
In fact last night I went into detail with my husband about how I used to play with Gumby and Pokey - on my grandparents' cypress knee lamp (similar to the one shown here), which also was popular in the 1960s.

I loved that lamp, and Gumby and Pokey.
Gumby's TV debut was on "The Howdy Doody Show" in 1956. That year he appeared in his own NBC Saturday morning TV series, The Gumby Show.
Eddie Murphy revived Gumby's popularity in the 1980s on Saturday Night Live, which is where David said he first became acquainted with the clayboy.
Lee's Gumby and Pokey were purchased for $4.99 each at Cracker Barrel.