Art Clokey, the creator of the iconic clay figure Gumby, has died in his sleep at his home in California aged 88.

He had battled repeated bladder infections.

Clokey invented Gumby, the green clay character, in the early 1950s.

He debuted on the The Howdy Doody Show and went on to become the star of his own show, The Adventures Of Gumby.

Gumby and Pokey, his horse friend, became popular figures in the 1960s.

They still remain favourites among many kids, adults and collectors around the world.

Clokey was born Arthur Farrington in Detroit in 1921, and grew up making mud figures on his grandparents' Michigan farm.

"He always had this in him," son Joseph Clokey said.

Another of Clokey's creations is the 1960s Christian television series Davey And Goliath.

Clokey had said he based Gumby's sloping head and hair on a picture of his father, who died in a car accident when the filmmaker was just eight years old.

Clokey was later adopted by music teacher and composer Joseph W Clokey, who taught him the arts and took his new son on adventures in Mexico and Canada.

Joseph Clokey told the LA Times that those journeys and Clokey's love of fossil hunting helped inspire Gumby's own adventures.

The lovable character saw renewed popularity in the 1980s after comedian Eddie Murphy mimicked Gumby as a gruff cigar-smoking character for Saturday Night Live.

- Reuters