Dick Sutcliffe, whose idea to use animated characters to teach religious principles resulted in the cartoon show “Davey and Goliath,” died May 11 in Dallas, where he lived. He was 90.
He died shortly after having a stroke, said his daughter, Judy Towne Sutcliffe.
“Davey and Goliath” was a stop-action animated show about a boy and his dog finding their way in a world of temptation, filmed by Art Clokey, the creator of Gumby, and his wife, Ruth Clokey Goodell, pioneers in Claymation.
In the late 1950s, Mr. Sutcliffe, a former newspaper reporter, was living in Massapequa, N.Y., and working for the United Lutheran Church in America as a producer when he was asked for his counsel on a show.
Using his younger child, Michael, as inspiration, his daughter said, “Dad asked himself, ‘What would I say to Mike about God? And how would I say it to him?’ And he came up with the idea of these little parables.”
One of the distinctions of “Davey and Goliath” was that a frequently appearing character, Davey’s best friend, Jonathan, was black.