Editing Gumby (section)

===1953–1969: Origins===
Gumby was created by [[Art Clokey]] in the early 1950s after he finished film school at the [[University of Southern California]] (USC).<ref name="AC-LA" />

Clokey's first animated film was a 1953 three-minute student film titled ''[[Gumbasia]]'', a surreal montage of moving and expanding lumps of clay set to music in a parody of Disney's ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/trulyca/shorts/episode.jsp?essid=14527 |title=Gumbasia |publisher=KQED |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091230035650/http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/trulyca/shorts/episode.jsp?essid=14527 |archive-date=December 30, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Gumbasia'' was created in the "kinesthetic" style taught by Clokey's USC professor [[Slavko Vorkapich|Slavko Vorkapić]], described as "massaging of the eye cells". Much of Gumby's look and feel was inspired by this technique of camera movements and editing.

In 1955, Clokey showed ''Gumbasia'' to film producer Sam Engel, who encouraged him to develop his technique by animating figures into children's stories.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Studio – 1950s|url=http://www.premavision.com/studio/1950.htm|publisher=Premavision|access-date=February 27, 2015}}</ref> On January 29, 1955, Clokey produced and filmed the first pilot episode starring Gumby, titled "Adventures of Gumby: A Sample", which never aired.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hank|first1=Melissa|title=Gumby turns 60: Creator's son reflects on green guy's legacy|url=http://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/gumby-turns-60-creators-son-reflects-on-green-guys-legacy|website=Canada.com|publisher=[[Postmedia News]]|accessdate=March 3, 2015|date=January 28, 2015}}</ref>

The name "Gumby" was derived from the muddy clay found at Clokey's grandparents' farm that his family named "gumbo".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gaylord|first1=Chris|title=Art Clokey: How Gumby got his name|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2011/1012/Art-Clokey-How-Gumby-got-his-name|website=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|publisher=[[Christian Science Publishing Society]]|access-date=February 28, 2015|date=October 12, 2011}}</ref> Gumby's appearance was inspired by a suggestion from Clokey's wife Ruth (née Parkander) that Gumby be based on [[the Gingerbread Man]]. Clokey saw the color green as both racially neutral and a symbol of life.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Marchesi, Robina (Director) |year= 2006 |title=Gumby Dharma |medium=Documentary |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQVpRxUwi8U&t=4m16s| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/iQVpRxUwi8U| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Gumby's legs and feet were made wide to pragmatically ensure that the figure would stand erect during stop-motion filming. Gumby's slanted head was based on the hairstyle of Clokey's father, Charles Farrington, in an old photograph.<ref>{{cite web| first=A. | last=Schneider |url=https://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/gumby/index.html |title=Gumby, a segment of NPR's "Present at the Creation" series |publisher=NPR |date=March 25, 2002 |access-date=July 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Michael|title=Feat of Clay : Pop culture: Who would have thought a stretchy green blob could entertain generation after generation? Don't look now, but lovable Gumby is 40 years old.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-08-13-vw-23436-story.html|access-date=February 28, 2015|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 13, 1993}}</ref>

The pilot episode was seen by [[NBC]] executive Thomas Warren Sarnoff, who asked Clokey to make another one. The second episode, "Gumby on the Moon", became a hit when featured on ''[[Howdy Doody]]'', so Sarnoff ordered a series in 1955 titled ''The Gumby Show''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Art Clokey Interview|url=http://emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/art-clokey|website=Emmy TV Legends|publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation]]|access-date=February 27, 2015|date=July 19, 2001}}</ref> In 1955 and 1956, 25 11-minute episodes aired on NBC.<ref>{{cite web|title=Art Clokey|publisher=KQED Public Media for Northern California|url=http://www.kqed.org/arts/profile/index.jsp?essid=14526|access-date=February 6, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307131243/http://www.kqed.org/arts/profile/index.jsp?essid=14526|archive-date=March 7, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> In early episodes, Gumby's voice was provided by Ruth Eggleston, wife of the show's art director Al Eggleston, until 1957, when [[Dallas McKennon]] assumed the role.<ref name="Gumbyworld.com">{{cite web|title=Gumby's Name, Personality and Voice|url=http://www.gumbyworld.com/gumby-characters/gumby/gumbys-name-personality-voice|publisher=GumbyWorld.com/Premavision|access-date=June 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2009-07-18|title=Dallas McKennon dies at 89; voice actor gave voice to many animated characters|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-dallas-mckennon18-2009jul18-story.html|access-date=2021-08-23|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> Al Eggleston also invented Pokey, the little orange pony who was Gumby's best friend and was introduced during the earliest episodes.

Because of its variety format, ''The Gumby Show'' features Clokey's animations plus interviews and games. During this time, the show had two successive hosts, [[Bobby Nicholson|Robert Nicholson]] and [[Pinky Lee]].<ref name=TVP-Butler>{{cite web|last=Butler|first=Kevin S.|title=Gumby on TV|url=http://www.tvparty.com/lostgumby.html|access-date=April 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Woolery">{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series |date=1985 |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-1651-2 |pages=207–208}}</ref>

In 1959, ''The Gumby Show'' entered syndication, and more episodes were produced in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Perlmutter|first1=David|title=America Toons In: A History of Television Animation|date=March 18, 2014|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]]|page=104}}</ref> Production started in Hollywood and in 1960 moved to a larger studio in [[Glendora, California]], where it remained until production ended in 1969. During this time, Gumby was primarily voiced by [[Norma MacMillan]] and occasionally by [[Ginny Tyler]].<ref name="Gumbyworld.com"/><ref>{{cite news|date=June 1, 2012|title=Dick Beals, Actor Who Gave a Voice to Gumby and Speedy, Is Dead at 85|author=Dennis Hevesi|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/arts/television/dick-beals-85-who-gave-a-voice-to-gumby-dies-at-85.html}}</ref><ref name="McLaughlin">{{cite web|last=McLaughlin|first=Erin|title=Dick Beals, Voice of Speedy Alka-Seltzer, Gumby Is Dead|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/06/dick-beals-voice-of-speedy-alka-seltzer-gumby-is-dead/|publisher=ABC News|access-date=June 1, 2012}}</ref> The cartoon shorts introduced new characters, including a blue mermaid named Goo and a yellow dinosaur named Prickle.<ref name="Gumbyworld.com2"/>

Several sources claim that [[Dick Beals]] also voiced Gumby in the 1960s series.<ref name="McLaughlin"/><ref name=nyt>{{cite news | date = June 1, 2012 | title = Dick Beals, Actor Who Gave a Voice to Gumby and Speedy, Is Dead at 85 | author = Dennis Hevesi | work = [[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/arts/television/dick-beals-85-who-gave-a-voice-to-gumby-dies-at-85.html }}</ref><ref name="Gumbyworld.com"/> However, Beals refuted this claim in a 2001 interview.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dick Beals: He Fizzes But Never Pops|url=http://www.lumandabnersociety.org/DICK_BEALS.html|publisher=The National Lum and Abner Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806223549/http://www.lumandabnersociety.org/DICK_BEALS.html |access-date=May 19, 2019|archive-date=August 6, 2012 }}</ref>