Art Clokey dead.

We weren't a Gumby family at first. But we were always an SNL family. So the first Gumby I knew was Eddie's Murphy's version. A few years later, around fifth grade, I discovered the real Gumby show and I was hooked. The best was when he went to the moon. I still imagine the background music during those parts is what you'd actually hear on the moon.

It also seemed odd that such a happy-go-lucky guy like Gumby, would have "enemies" in his magical land. But G and Backwards J were always there, messing with the citizens of the otherwise utopian world. Or was it J and Backwards G?

I even got a Gumby T-shirt in Puerto Rico in a 3 for $10 deal. It had Gumby with a surfboard on the front. And on the back, the same shot seen from behind. And one of my good friends has a long Italian name starting with "Gamb," so he's always been "Gumby," meaning Clokey's favorite son has been, in a way, part of my life for decades.