Researching a thread for Rock Town Hall can lead a Townsperson down unexpected alleys and confront us with shocking revelations. The following piece is just such an example. Beware, HVB.
Sometime in the early ’80s, Townsman Sethro and I attended a midnight movie showing of about 30 consecutive episodes of the childhood classic claymation show from our youth, Gumby. It was perfect midnight movie programming! Each time one short episode ended and the Gumby theme restarted we reached new levels of glee! All we were missing was a big box of Quisp.
As soon as my first son reached television-viewing age and could make some sense of cartoons that preceded his generation, I wanted to turn him onto Gumby. I bought him a set of rubber Gumby, Pokey, Blockheads, et al figures, much like the ones I had as a boy. I searched in vain for a good collection of Gumby episodes on VHS or DVD. At the time, there was nothing available along the lines of that midnight movie showing that didn’t come with Amazon warnings along the lines of, “These poor-quality tapes are practically bootlegs.” I did see something legit called Gumby: The Movie. I didn’t take into account that it was made in 1985 and may not have had all the aesthetic qualities of the Gumby I grew up with, but it seemed worth a try for exposing my boy to this important show.
Mr. Mod, you missed an even more historic name in those endless credits. The late, great ‘Sneaky’ Pete Kleinow, pedal steel guitarist and original Flying Burrito Brother, was involved in this Gumby movie, both in the animation and, to a lesser extent, in the music. A little research shows that he was in the animation biz way before the Burritos, and he even worked — wait for it — on your beloved original Gumby TV series.
Wikipedia says:
“Kleinow was born in South Bend, Indiana. Before his musical career, he originally worked as a special effects artist and stop motion animator for movies and television, including the Gumby, Outer Limits, and Davey and Goliath series, as well as movies such as 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (starring Tony Randall and Barbara Eden) and The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm.”
A resume of his animation credits is available at http://www.sneakypetekleinow.com/.
I love the way Chaquico says, repeatedly:
“blahblahblah-our NUMBER ONE RECORD…
… (then adds, rushed, and practically under his breath):
“on smooth jazz radio…blahblahblah…”
Hobson’s choice: Craig Chaquico or Waddy Wachtel?
HVB
I noticed later, doing further research, that Sneaky Pete has some tie-in with Gumby, but I didn’t have time to click on the links that were in my periphery. Amazing!
Dear God, Mod! Next time feel free to spoil the surprise and not have me sit through that kind of bilge! It seems clear to me that the main thing missing in a lot of later Gumby things is the inherent twisted vision of that original dude. Or, at least he was sorely muted by more marketing-oriented minds. I used to have some old VHS Gumbys, and they included ones more primitive than any I had seen as a kid. Low-Fi. Did you ever see one where Gumby is rushed into the OR on a gurney, going under the lights in the hallway of the hospital, with dark patches in between, then on the operating table, he is given laughing gas and goes to the moon? It is just scary. The shapes are rough, the animation jerky, and the story, simply hallucino-freaky. No cutie-pie going into a book with a pal! Just your parents drugging you and cutting you open and a fearful trip to the moon. Gumby ‘the Movie” indeed! I will say one thing: those men do a superb job of vacuuming their studios and putting away their cables and things. They really inspire us little people. In fact, sometimes when I can’t quite bring myself to vacuum and clean up, I’ll listen to a little Number One Smooth Jazz instead, and while it’s on, I *feel* like I’m vacuuming!