Waiting for Godot…Guffman…Gumby?!

Joe Clokey – son of Gumby creator Art Clokey and also an animator himself – with Gumby, who has a pair of eyes and a nose peeking out of his mouth! His ruse has been discovered!! (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

The Tribeca Film Festival red carpet coverage list distributed to journalists had a curious entry: “Gumby: The Movie” – yes, it came out in 1995, but was recently re-mastered and re-edited – and just one expected guest. That’s right, Gumby himself.

Since the list of “expected guests” for each entry usually contains a gaggle of actors, directors, friends of both and even a few souls who want to be classified under one or more of those categories, the idea of a spineless green stick figure appearing at a Tribeca Film Festival premiere was intriguing. Would Rocky and Bullwinkle crash the party? Could Eddie Murphy, who imitated the lovable Claymation character on “Saturday Night Live,” show up and make a Spicy confession? Or would, gasp, Gumby be a diva by being a no-show??

As the “Waiting for Gumby” non-existentialist insanity began, a public relations rep swore that Gumby was spotted dancing the night away at a festival-related party the very night before. Meanwhile, I jokingly wondered aloud to a fellow Meniscus Magazine scribe whether the red carpet would be substituted for green. Sure enough, minutes later, a green carpet was rolled out.

And a few more minutes later…the wait was over. To the tune of blaring rock music and the whir of a Mini Cooper convertible with the top down (sponsored by Zipcar – what would the Tribeca be without corporate sponsors?), Gumby raised his fists in triumph as the automobile cavalcade made its way to the Loews Village Cinemas in the East Village. The absurd spectacle continued when Gumby danced his way to the green carpet, posed for pictures with his re-masterer…er…, hugged a bunch of kids and signed autographs.

We at Meniscus don’t know what else to say, although we do have some photos from the event below.