6/14/2006 10:48:00 AM Gumby’s 50th celebration coming to Hadlock
Joe Clokey, son of Gumby originator and claymation Pioneer Art Clokey, says the public has the opportunity to attend a 50th anniversary celebration of Gumby and his sidekick Pokey, July 15 at the Inn at Port Hadlock. – Photo by Steven J. Barry
For many people, the name “Gumby” conjures up childhood memories of being small and sitting in front of a television, wishing to have the ability to climb inside books or walk through mirrors to battle the evil Blockheads.
It’s a bit different for Joe Clokey, son of Gumby originator and claymation pioneer Art Clokey.
“My memory is always smelling clay,” he said. “Film and clay. Those smells bring me back to my childhood.”
He saw Gumby in production as a kid. In a way, he even helped out with some of the episodes produced in the 1960s: He remembers toys regularly disappearing from his cabinet as they were lost to the set.
Now, Clokey looks after Gumby, and he said the general public here will soon have the unique opportunity to get a taste of how Gumby and his sidekick Pokey are transformed from clay puppets into characters known and loved worldwide.
Gumby has turned 50, and the party is going to be at the Inn at Port Hadlock on July 15.
That’s a big deal. But perhaps an even bigger deal is that Art Clokey will be at the party. It will likely be his last public appearance.
“He’s had a few strokes in the past few years,” Joe Clokey said. “He’s really slowed down, so he doesn’t go anywhere anymore for events.”
Still, he’ll be on hand to meet Gumby fans at the Inn at Port Hadlock and at a special meet-and-greet event Friday, July 14. Tickets for that event are $25 each and are on sale at American Marine Bank inside Safeway.
Joe Clokey said the whole family would accompany his father to the celebration. They’re also bringing along a team of animators to demonstrate stop-motion animation for visitors.
“There was something magical that happened 50 years ago that my dad and mom tapped into, and that’s what this exhibit is going to be about,” he said.
Preceding the evening party is a film tribute to Gumby at the Rose Theatre, 1-2:30 p.m. July 15. Tickets will be on sale at the theater.
A big party
Remember the opening of the Art Mine at Inn at Port Hadlock? One of the biggest, coolest parties Jefferson County has ever seen, right? Well, this is supposed to be just as big as that, organizer Patrick Lauerman said.
“That’s the model that we’re using for this event,” he said.
Lauerman is Gumby’s licensing agent. He lives in Sequim and also represents The Three Stooges. He said that in addition to the animation exhibit, the party would feature a selection of pieces trucked in from a Gumby exhibit in New York, live music and wine tasting on the lawn.
Lauerman also said some of the money raised through a silent auction, tickets to the film event at the Rose and tickets for the meet-and-greet would go toward youth scholarships for students studying things dear to Art Clokey’s heart. Some of those, he said, would make Art pretty popular in Port Townsend.
“He’s a huge organic supporter and to this day a vegetarian,” Lauerman said. “And very much into environmental causes.”
Lauerman said numerous businesses and organizations in Jefferson and Clallam counties are sponsoring the event, among them American Marine Bank, Rotary clubs in Port Townsend and Sequim, the Port Townsend and Sequim offices of Windermere Realty, and Seven Cedars Casino.
Back in the limelight?
At many points since 1955, Gumby has attracted attention. He was a network television star in the 1950s, 1960s and 1980s. He starred in a 1995 movie and a 2005 video game, and he was the spokesperson for the Library of Congress in 1994 and 1995.
Still, it’s been a few years since Gumby has really been in the limelight.
Gumby has aged well. He has retained his looks and his personality, and he could soon regain his fame. Clokey said a new feature-length Gumby movie is in the works.
The film will require a team of top-tier animators – veterans in the business who have worked on films such as “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Clokey said computer effects might be used, at the most, for images such as snow. Otherwise, it will be done the old-fashioned way.
“As far as the sets and the puppets, they’ll all be real,” Clokey said. “The animation will be done the right way: traditional frame by frame.”
Clokey said there’s a certain imperfection to stop motion that makes it more enjoyable to watch.
“A human being doesn’t move perfectly,” he said. “There’s a certain chatter in stop motion that makes it charming and more real.”
Clokey said the movie would likely be finished in about two and a half years. He predicts it will do well in theaters.
“I think there’s a renaissance going on with stop motion right now,” he said.
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