Bob Clampett created Gabby to be a sidekick for Porky Pig in the 1937 short "Porky's Badtime Story" (Clampett's first cartoon as director). The cartoon focuses on Porky and Gabby as roommates who are almost fired from their jobs for sleeping in and showing up late. They vow to get to sleep early that night, but various problems keep them awake all night. Series writer Cal Howard supplies Gabby's voice.
Gabby looks like Porky with a beard, horns, and scowl. The goat's chief characteristics are his irritibility and short temper, traits that make him a natural foil for the shy, easy-going Porky. The concept didn't play out as well as the animators would have liked, however; audiences felt that the goat's behavior was too offensive to be funny. Gabby only appeared in two more cartoons, "Porky and Gabby", where the title characters' campout is foiled by car trouble, and "Get Rich Porky", which has Porky and Gabby digging for oil. Both cartoons were produced in 1937.
"Porky's Badtime Story" was remade in 1944 as "Tick Tock Tuckered". Daffy Duck replaced Gabby as Porky's costar.