The Doodle today was in honour of Arthur ‘Art’ Clokey, an animator who was an innovator, promoter and great influence in the field of clay-animation.
Clokey first got noticed for the animation titled 'Gumbasia', a parody on the famous Disney animation 'Fantasia'. 'Gumbasia' landed Clokey funding for 'the Gumby Show', an animation about the adventures of Gumby and his horse Pokey. The show ran for some 35 years on television, with its popularity peaking in the late eighties and nineties.
The character of Gumby has become iconic and a part of American culture. Many animators, who later would work for Disney and Pixar, began their careers creating clay-animations for Gumby.
Clokey died in his sleep on January 8, 2010 due to a bladder infection.
The doodle appears as a 'G' block with five balls of clay beside it. Clicking each ball triggers a small animation featuring a popular character from the Gumby Show.
From the top they are -
1. Two 'Blockheads', one leaping into the other.
2. Prickle the yellow dinosaur
3. Goo the blue mermaid
4. Gumby himself, taking the honoured 'L' position
5. Pokey the horse, Gumby's sidekick
Text: Sify News Desk
