SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Art Clokey, whose iconic Gumby entertained generations of children, died Friday.

Gumby — the slender, green clay character partly modeled after Clokey’s father — was a fixture on television through the decades, starting with an appearance on the “Howdy Doody” show in 1956.

Clokey, who lived in Los Osos, Calif., was 89.

Despite Gumby’s positive demeanor, his origins stem from tragedy. When Clokey was 9, his father was killed in a car crash. He lived with his mother for a while, but when her second husband made her choose between him and her son, Clokey was sent to an orphanage. Fortunately, he was adopted by a good family. But Clokey wouldn’t forget his father, whose head shape — characterized by a cowlick hairdo — would later provide the inspiration for Gumby’s trademark lopsided head.

By the late ’50s, Gumby was off the air, but the Lutheran Church paid Clokey to develop another kids’ show — “Davey and Goliath” — to promote morality themes. Clokey and his wife used proceeds from that to fund more Gumby episodes, which would air again in the ’60s.

By that time, Gumby toys were already ubiquitous. But Clokey had mixed feelings about commercialization.

“I didn’t allow merchandising for seven years after it was on the air,” Clokey told the Tribune, “because I was very idealistic, and I didn’t want parents to think we were trying to exploit their children.”