David Bule
(12/2022) With the holiest of months approaching for most religions, it is only fitting to write about one of the most influential Lutheran leaders of the twentieth century, Richard (Dick) Towne Sutcliffe (1918-2008).
Although Dick was born in Columbia, Pennsylvania, he spent most of his formative years in Taneytown as his father, Reverend Alfred Sutcliffe, was the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church from 1928 until he died in 1945.
Dick attended Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania and Catawba College in North Carolina, though he never graduated. He began his professional career in Roanoke, Va., as a reporter and photographer.
In the 1950s, Sutcliffe moved to Massapequa, New York, to become an ecumenical radio producer for the United Lutheran Church in America. As the 1960s drew close, he was asked for advice on a new project. The "new project" was soon outlined as 1 million dollars (roughly 10.3 million dollars today) for a future children's religious television program. Sutcliffe's daughter said in his obituary, which appeared in the New York Times on May 25, 2008, "The Lutheran Church was interested in using this newfangled thing called television to reach people." This would have been a minister delivering brief sermonettes, "but my father said theology wasn't appropriate for television."
Soon after, Mr. Sutcliffe contacted Clokey Productions, Inc., headed by Gumby creators Art and Ruth Clokey, to create a new children's show: Davey and Goliath. Children's book author Nancy Moore wrote scripts in consultation with the church. Davey and Goliath was a stop-action animated show about a boy and his dog finding their way in a world of temptation.
The ULCA and Art Clokey teamed up to make the first Davey and Goliath episode in 1960, called "Lost in a Cave," which would be the first shown in syndication in 1961. In this premiere episode, the figures were entirely clay (with some latex/rubber clothing showing visible seams), and the scenery was also mostly clay. The early voices included Hal Smith (who did several voices, including Davey's father), Dick Beals (Davey's voice), and Ginny Tyler (the voices of Sally and Davey's mother). These three did many other voices as well.
After making "Lost in a Cave" in 1960, the Clokeys made "The Wild Goat," "Stranded on an Island," and "The Winner" in early 1961. The clay figures were now clothed in natural cloth, and more model buildings and trees were added, giving the episodes a more realistic appearance. In 1961, the series of these four episodes began airing free on local television stations nationwide, ranging from ABC, NBC, and CBS Network affiliates to independent stations. Occasionally, two or more stations in the same market aired the show several times. Many stations ran these episodes leading into network Saturday-morning lineups. Other stations ran them in religious Sunday morning lineups between other evangelists' programs. By 1964, the show was airing in over 90% of U.S. television markets.
In 1965, Davey and Goliath returned to television when a 30-minute Christmas special called "Christmas Lost and Found" was aired. The episode was more overtly religious and distanced itself from traditional Christmas figures such as Santa Claus and Rudolph, with spiritual Christmas songs included. Additionally, it was Dick Beals' last appearance as Davey's voice.
In 1967, three 30-minute holiday specials were aired: "Happy Easter" in March, "Halloween Who-Dun-It" in October, and "The New Year Promise" in December. By now, the background music was changed to an unknown music library, also used in the Gumby episodes produced during that time. Davey was closer to junior high-school age and was voiced by Norma MacMillan. "Happy Easter" confronted the death of a loved one, as Davey's beloved grandmother dies suddenly (off-camera) within hours of a fun-filled visit.
In 2001, Davey and Goliath appeared in a Mountain Dew soda commercial, and the royalties from this commercial financed the 2004 Christmas special Davey & Goliath's Christmas Snowboard Christmas. The holiday special addressed religious and racial diversity as Davey demonstrated his snowboarding expertise to two friends: Sam, a Jewish boy, and Yasmeen, a Muslim girl. During the show, they get caught in an avalanche and end up in a cave. Goliath goes for help while Davey and his new friends discover that they aren't all that different. The three children learn of each other's holiday celebrations: Jewish Hanukkah, Christian Christmas, and Eid al-Fitr.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the program was a staple on both religious and secular TV stations across the country on Saturday and Sunday mornings. In the 1980s, commercial stations began gradually dropping the series. Religious stations picked it up in many markets and ran it in their blocks of Christian children's
programs. By 1990, few commercial stations still aired the series.
The show continued to air on CatholicTV Network until late in 2009, on Tri-State. Christian Television until 2010 and can still be seen on a few local Christian Television stations.
On cable, the Odyssey Network ran the entire series commercial-free from 1992 until 1999. Since the network's rebranding as the Hallmark Channel in 2001, they have only aired a few of the holiday specials with several commercial breaks, including the Snowboard Christmas special made in 2004. In 2008, iTunes began offering episodes as free downloads. By December of that year, more than Twenty episodes had been made available. Nowadays, the episodes cost 99 cents each.
In addition to its high production values, crisp, unpredictable scripts, and profound lessons in godliness, the show was initially provided free to television stations across the country on Sunday mornings. Despite the small number of aired episodes, some parodied episodes appeared on "The Simpsons" and "MADtv."
In 1969, Dick and his wife moved to Texas, where he served as Director of University Relations for Southern Methodist University and Director of Communications for the Dallas Chamber of Commerce. When he retired in 1982, he returned to his investigative reporter roots and took on the avocation of the family genealogist. Going well beyond the role of the data collector, he wrote not only about the lives of many of his ancestors but also several hundred vignettes about memorable moments in his life and the lives of family and friends. During these years, he also volunteered at Baylor Hospital in Dallas.
On May 11, 2008, Richard (Dick) Towne Sutcliffe passed away shortly after celebrating his ninetieth birthday in Dallas, Texas, from complications following a stroke.
