Art Clokey, Davey and Goliath Producer,
Dies at 88
Art Clokey died in his home earlier this month on January 8th, 2010. He suffered from repeated bladder infections, and died in his sleep. Clokey created the iconic character Gumby along with his wife Ruth in the 1950's.
In the 1950's, The Lutheran Church in America wanted to produce television shows that would reach people with the message of God. Their original idea was to air small sermons, but Richard Towne Sutcliffe, who worked for the Lutheran Church, had a different idea. He had an idea for telling little parables. That idea would become the iconic show, Davey and Goliath. After the success of Gumby, Sutcliffe hired the Clokeys to do the animation for Davey and Goliath. Davey and Goliath first aired in 1960 on television, and still airs on television to this day. Sutcliffe died at 90 last year on May 11th, 2009 after suffering a stroke.
Sources: latimes.com, nytimes.com
Check out the opening to Davey and Goliath below:
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