Created by Art Clokey, Gumby had its genesis in a 1955
theatrical short called "Gumbasia", which featured
similar claymation characters. Gumby himself first appeared
on the Howdy Doody show in 1956 and was given his own
NBC series in 1957. Female voice actors originally supplied
the voice of the title character during the initial episodes.
Newly produced episodes were added in 1962 (by which time
Dallas McKinnon became the voice of Gumby), and 1966-67.
Besides Pokey (voiced by creator Clokey), Gumby's pals
included Prickle (a yellow dinosaur), and Goo (a blue
thumb-type mermaid blob who could fly). The series went
dormant for many decades, but during all of this time
Gumby had developed an audience interested in classic
television animation. Soon, the marketing of Gumby had
exploded, as it became the most popular flexible toy on
the market, and later appearing in many forms, from cups
to ice cream bars.
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