Nope. Nope. Nope…

In 1967 and 1968, Ruth Parkander Clokey and her team (led by Pete Kleinow and Ray Peck) produced another 52 Gumby episodes. Pete (known as “Sneaky Pete” in the music recording world) Kleinow had been with Gumby since the early 60’s, and Ruth put him and Ray Peck in charge of writing the new episodes. Nopey the dog who can only bark “Nope” was Pete’s creation. From “Tricky Ball,” “Dopey Nopey” and “Haunted Hot Dog” to “Puppy Talk” and “Puppy Dog School,” this fun trait brought a clever humor to the series. And, of course, any parent of a young child gets a chuckle out of the constant NO… NO….NO (or in Nopey’s case “Nope.”) Kids of a certain age, testing their independence, love to say “NO.”  Nopey, Gumby’s first dog, had a lot of fun adventures with Gumby, Pokey, Prickle and Goo. Nopey even has his own fan clubs. Gumby had a second dog, and that was Lowbelly, who starred in the Gumby Movie.