Uncle Klunk was the first new character to be introduced to the Rock-afire Explosion by Creative Engineering. His character was strange and described as an "abomination" in shows, although underneath it all he was the most sophisticated animatronic character produced by CEI at the time - with nearly twice the number of movements of any other character, he could actually pick up a telephone or a banana from a conveniently placed fruit basket.
Uncle (Clarence) Klunk was designed to be a wacky talk-show host. Klunk was originally voiced by Jeff "Claude" Howell - a musician, who was very involved with the band behind the Rock-afire Explosion, and previously sang backup vocals. Burt Wilson performed the voice of Klunk's bird "Click", his mother, and a few other voices. Together they recorded the initial Klunk shows which were roughly produced and filled with bad jokes and inside humor.
Jeff Howell's version of Klunk was dimwitted and, well, an abomination - something that was even advertised as such (with a special animated "Abomination" sign that would drop down behind his stage valance). Howell's Klunk had a very genuine feel - he really seemed like he was portraying himself rather than any specific character. With his trademark expression of "Koosh!" he would perform special segments such as "culture corner", "sports time", "the news", and "dear Uncle Klunk".
Uncle Klunk was met with mixed reactions - from both ShowBiz Pizza Place and by the customers. ShowBiz was a bit disappointed with the initial Klunk shows, and asked Creative to hire a "professional" company to write and produce the skits. The end result was a completely different version of Klunk that sounded eerily reminiscent of Disney's Goofy. His bird Click was also renamed to "Murray D. Bird", and given a thuggish Bronx-type personality. This incarnation of Klunk was billed by ShowBiz as the "funniest robot science ever made".
Klunk also appeared in a 3rd showtape titled Country Klunk, which was a variation of the Rock-afire's Country Night II tape. Once again Klunk was featured with a different voice, this time being performed by Shawn Fernandez. This tape variation allowed ShowBiz stores to have new material whether they featured Klunk or whether they still had Rolfe and Earl installed. For this particular tape, Klunk's outfit was updated to include a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and a southern-style string tie.
Ultimately, Uncle Klunk was a commercial failure. Revenues failed to increase in locations where Klunk was installed, and public response was unenthusiastic. The only other character to appear at ShowBiz in the early days was Santa Claus, which was merely a cosmetic change-out for Klunk. However in all fairness it should be noted that during Klunk's tenure at ShowBiz, the restaurant was facing a financially difficult time due in part to the collapse of the arcade industry. This prevented Klunk from being given a real chance, and put an end to any further development of his character - and the tough financial times put a halt on any future characters to come out of CEI's research and development department.