Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Condolences


Sunday's New York Times reported the death of Dick Sutcliffe, 90, who died on May 11 in Dallas. Dick Sutcliffe is most known for having a great idea--using animated characters to teach religious principles . 

I grew up watching Mr. Sutcliffe's brainchild, "Davey and Goliath," on Sunday morning television.  I found it interesting to learn that Davey's best friend, Jonathan, was black and one of the first instances of an interracial friendship in a television series.  

According to the Times, in the late 1950's, Mr. Sutcliffe was living in Massapequa, NY, and working in New York City for the United Lutheran Church as a producer. "The Lutheran Church was interested in using this newfangled thing called television to reach folks," his daughter told the Times. They thought about having a pastor deliver brief sermonettes, but Mr. Sutcliffe said, "The theology is fine but it's not good for television." 

And so Davey and Goliath were born. Sutcliffe hired Art and Ruth Clokey, who were pioneers in the field of claymation, and Nancy Moore wrote most of the scripts.  

My hat's off to Mr. Sutcliffe. If you weren't lucky enough to grow up with Davey and Goliath, you can check them out at www.daveyandgoliath.org.  Or click here

~~Angie

2 comments:

Rachel Leigh Smith said...

I didn't grow up with Davey and Goliath as brand new, but TBN showed it on Saturday mornings when I was little. That and Gerber, and the Ink Blots were some of our favorites.

Suzanne said...

I *loved* Davey and Goliath! It was always a huge treat for me when that show was on. Still is :)