![gumby-waving-driving](https://static.gumbyworld.com/gumbyworld.com/content/uploads/2011/10/gumby-waving-driving.jpg)
![gumby-family-friends](https://static.gumbyworld.com/gumbyworld.com/content/uploads/2011/10/gumby-family-friends.jpg)
![gumby-prickle-professor-kapp](https://static.gumbyworld.com/gumbyworld.com/content/uploads/2011/10/gumby-prickle-professor-kapp.jpg)
![gumby-frees-pokey-cage](https://static.gumbyworld.com/gumbyworld.com/content/uploads/2011/10/gumby-frees-pokey-cage.jpg)
![gumby-movie-clayboys](https://static.gumbyworld.com/gumbyworld.com/content/uploads/2011/10/gumby-movie-clayboys.jpg)
Professor Kapp has the Solution
The film Space Ball introduced one of Art Clokey’s most lovable characters, Professor Cap. With a shape like a brown fig topped by a halo of white hair over wide eyes, and a voice like Ed Gwynn, the professor was the ultimate doddering genius. In many episodes his only clothing is a Phi Beta Kappa key positioned to protect his modesty.
We asked Art where he got his idea for this character.
![gumby-professor-kapp-melting-clocks Professor Kapp with Dali melting clocks](https://static.gumbyworld.com/gumbyworld.com/content/uploads/2011/10/gumby-professor-kapp-melting-clocks.jpg)
![professor-kapp-shrink-a-dink Professor Kapp with Shrink-a-dink invention](https://static.gumbyworld.com/gumbyworld.com/content/uploads/2011/10/professor-kapp-shrink-a-dink.jpg)
“Yes, Professor Kapp! The only piece of clothing he has is a Phi Beta Kappa key. In the early episodes, I used my father’s gold Phi Beta Kappa key, which was just the right size for Kapp. But the idea for the character came from this teacher of music that was a friend of my father’s, and we were at a restaurant in Claremont, where Pomona College is located. My father was teaching there at Pomona College of Music, and I noticed this one guy. He always wore a vest and he had a Phi Beta Kappa key. That was his first thing he put on in the morning. I thought that was a good idea; a trademark for Professor Kapp.”