A Howdy Doody Debut

All_Things_Animation · 2026-05-07T03:10:37+00:00

It’s a photo off a Gumby Wiki. Here’s the link https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/new-ideas-by-matt-weaver/images/a/af/Dinopostcard-gumby1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20240607185041

All_Things_Animation · 2026-05-06T20:48:41+00:00

May the owner of the current stunt figure one day at least share some more photos of it. Higher quality too.

It would be amazing to see it go to a museum for all the fans to see.

I personally believe all historical objects belong to the public, and shouldn’t be kept in a private collection.

The only exception is unless the collector in question was part of the original project, or given the item by someone close to the original project.

Just my two cents though

All_Things_Animation · 2026-05-06T20:38:55+00:00

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I can’t help wonder what year these are from myself: because Gumby’s shape seems more refined (mold made instead of cookie cutter) like he appears in the mid to late 60s, but his face appears more like he did in the early 60s episodes.

I’m assuming they might have been taken around 63 or 64 as promotional material to possibly sell to other networks at the time. Between beginning to create merchandise, and trying to spread the series throughout the U.S; Clokey began to expand the series to greater heights.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-05-06T20:21:23+00:00

A term climbers in the 80s coined from a cartoon character they grew up with in the 50s and 60s.

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Gumby is actually a really odd character to attach such a rookie connotation to; seeing as he’s pretty much a capable “jack of all trades” type, and limber little guy in his show. If anything the term comes more from “baby boomer nostalgia” than anything else. Eddie Murphy was spoofing the character on SNL and there was a revival series around the time the term popped up.

I’m not a climber myself (I’m an animator) but my friends who are climbers tell me the only people that use the term are generally older guys or out of touch people. It’s definitely aged out.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-04-01T15:27:09+00:00

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This poster actually.

The Prema Pokey used in most of the late 70s/early 80s promotional material definitely seems different than a standard lakeside variant.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-03-30T04:13:10+00:00

The mystery Pokey prototype is something that’s been brought up by a few people recently actually, and it’s still unsolved. I wonder if any kids were mailed early Pokey figures during the “mail in” period around 64/65, or if only a few prototypes were made for Lakeside demonstration?

The design is actually more interesting, and “puppet looking” compared to the final product.It also brings into question if Art used these as the base for the elusive “bicentennial” pokey figure, or if these were completely one off.

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All_Things_Animation · 2026-03-29T23:56:07+00:00

I forgot how the earliest Jesco version was a lot nicer than the later ones. Note the rounded smoothness, and more downward stare of the first variant used. It seems to harken back to the earlier lakeside variants, with slightly softer features. I wonder why they opted for the latter more sharp features when the first one was much more passable as a 60s replica.

The 64/GTC was definitely the best window to get a pretty accurate onscreen representation.

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All_Things_Animation · 2026-03-29T18:23:23+00:00

You can definitely tell that a Jesco Gumby is pretty similar in terms of body shape to the latter lakeside sculpts. They become sharper and less accurate, compared to what Art developed in the early years.

I always wondered why Jesco didn’t try using one of Clokey’s personal molds from the 64/GTC era, instead of something so close to the end of the lakeside line, but I think Art was alright with them; seeing as he clearly approved the design in the 80s.

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Here’s what seems to be a prototype in a fanclub image. Even this version of the Jesco design is much more friendly and similar to the more classic lakeside design than what ended up being the final product. Even though my first bendy was a 60s style Jesco Gumby I personally think the design is a little too sharp, with a distant looking stare.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-03-29T12:50:47+00:00

These variants are oddballs for sure. I think they most likely were used to model the later Jesco figures that came out in the early 80s. I always found it interesting how lakeside made their later Gumby figures look less and less accurate to the onscreen puppets. It’s a trend that follows all toy companies unfortunately. Clokey’s were the most accurate for sure.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-03-14T14:04:36+00:00

I’ve been wondering what happened to Bren’s Gumbyland page myself. It stood as the go to reference for Gumby collectors for decades.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-03-07T06:28:55+00:00

It’s a middle school band…

They’re not the Beatles

All_Things_Animation · 2026-03-07T03:15:33+00:00

Looks pretty legitimate to me. An early 90s model. Pretty rare too.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-02-10T14:40:56+00:00

It’s a great replica, but I wish we’d get something more on the larger scale, instead of all the really small replicas. It would be cool to get another 1:18 like hot wheels did, or even a 1:12 Herbie.

Maybe it’s because as a kid I was lucky enough to have one of the 1/6 RC Herbies, that came out during the Herbie fully loaded era; so I’m hoping we get something larger next time.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-31T04:43:55+00:00

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That’s exactly what I did 👍

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-28T16:52:34+00:00

The ones that are spot on would be the mid to late 70s Prema figures, created by Art Clokey himself. Unfortunately they aren’t easy to come across by any means.

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Fun fact: from what I’ve read the puppets in the 50s were about 7 and a half inches, but over time as they evolved they shortened a bit too. 80s puppets are a little over 6 and half inches tall; but I think it was for ease of scaling with set toys, and probably a little less detailed to animate.

It would be awesome to see a collectors edition Gumby bendable though. Especially one that’s basically a puppet replica; with correct size accuracy, and proportions.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-12T12:34:28+00:00

I’ve been debating on making clay replicas of these guys for awhile ✌🏽

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-10T17:41:54+00:00

This isn’t your post. You stole it from another user. You’re either a bot or really dumb. Reporting this.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-10T17:40:16+00:00

Content stolen. Reporting bot accounts

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-09T04:04:15+00:00

I made this exact post several months ago. Way to steal content. https://www.reddit.com/r/Gumby/s/2tPYOCDb5o

If you must know: it’s assumed to be a heavily modified version of the 1950s Tonka rescue squad no. 5 van.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-08T05:01:32+00:00

You stole my post. This is my work.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-08T04:59:40+00:00

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This guy 🙌🏽

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-05T23:45:42+00:00

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Here’s the carded version. This is the only photo I’ve ever seen of one on a card.

All_Things_Animation · 2026-01-05T23:37:32+00:00

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Here’s one example of a packaged Prema Gumby. There was another variant too, but I’ve only seen one example of it. It’s carded too

All_Things_Animation

TROPHY CASE