Clay Martin Croker was the son of Marion Winchell Croker (1924-2004) and Ouida Thelma Martin (1925-2017). He showed talent for drawing at a very early age; no blank piece of paper stayed that way long. His first love was of dinosaurs, then Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman and eventually comic book characters.As a kid, Clay would recite Tex Avery and Chuck Jones cartoons verbatim - flawlessly providing all the accompanying voices.As a teen, he was the part of a unique group of artists and full-time dreamers in the metro Atlanta area. They spent late nights in graveyards making home movies or passing a sketchbook around, each contributing their own art to what they called "the strip." For employment, they took over the airbrush booth at Six Flags Over Georgia. (Think Caddyshack but with art!) Those friends are still working as artists, producers and musicians to this day.Clay's first animation gig was making the confederate soldiers carved on the side of Georgia's Stone Mountain gallop away, the big finish of the summer laser light show. He joked that many were happy to see them go.He animated many national TV commercials and then arguably made Cartoon Network's Adult Swim what it is today with the success of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Clay provided the animation as well as the voices for Zorak and Moltar. SG led to the Brak Show and Toonami, for which he provided voices and animation.Later, Clay animated Aqua Teen Hunger Force and had a heavy hand in the development of the main characters, Frylock, Master Shake and Meatwad. He also provided the voices for Dr. Weird, Steve, and various characters. For a brief stint, he hauled his collection of 8 and 16 mm vintage cartoons to the Plaza Theatre, Atlanta's most popular indie movie house, for the Bizarro Saturday Morning show.He became a fixture at various comic conventions and expos and was always humbled and flattered by the love and adoration of his fans.In his untimely death, Clay leaves behind not only a legacy not to soon be repeated, but also a vast collection of personal art, priceless movie memorabilia and a trail of brokenhearted friends and colleagues. He died at his home on September 17, 2016.
