Classroom film producer Sid Davis dead at 90

Posted:
Oct 28, 2006

Sid Davis, the independent producer-director of dozens of mental hygiene and other educational films, died October 16 at his Palm Desert, California home.

Davis, 90, died of fast-advancing lung cancer.

His short works from the 1950s and 1960s were often derided in recent years as "classroom scare films," but they attained a semi-cult status on video and in festival screenings.

Several of his films were animated: Why Take Chances? (1952), Too Young to Burn (1954; about the dangers of fire) and The Cautious Twins (1960).

"Mr. Davis, a Hollywood stand-in who yearned to direct, found his niche making films about topics no one else would touch: date rape (Name Unknown, 1951), substance abuse (Keep Off the Grass, 1970), childhood death and injury (Live and Learn, 1951)," Ken Smith wrote in the New York Times in 2000.

"He prided himself on being able to make a film, from idea to master print, for only $1,000; such low budgets necessitated flat visuals, which Mr. Davis overlaid with often bombastic narration to convey the drama that the images could not."

A former John Wayne stand-in, Davis made his first film, the cautionary molester tale The Dangerous Stranger, in 1950; the Duke himself contributed $1,000 in seed money toward its production.

Born on April 1, 1916 in Chicago, Davis lived briefly in Connecticut. At age 4, the family moved to Hollywood, where he was "discovered" and worked in the movies as an extra, including in the silent Our Gang comedies.

During the following years, he was an extra in movies starring Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, John Carroll, Leif Ericksen, Raymond Burr, Maureen O'Hara and Fay Wray in King Kong at such studios as RKO, MGM and Universal.

Davis became Wayne's stand-in from 1941 to 1952. Two of his favorite films were Red River and Angel and the Badman.

While working at Universal in 1941, Davis met Norma Henkins, also a movie extra, and a stand-in for Loraine Day and Terry Moore. Six weeks later, they were married; their marriage lasted 55 years until Norma's death in 1996. They had one child, Jill, born on Catalina Island while he was stationed there in the Merchant Marines.

In 1951, Davis yearned to produce and direct films, and started his own production company, Sid Davis Productions. Wayne became his silent partner.

The movie was shown in schools to educate children on the dangers of contact with strangers. "Nobody had ever made a picture on that subject matter aimed at the children," family members stated in Davis' obituary.

The film was so successful that he continued making educational pictures on such topics as bicycle and car safety, and the dangers of drugs and venereal disease. Davis went on to make approximately 184 educational and mental health pictures, and a number of corporate training films.

His sole feature film was the cautionary V.D. (aka Damaged Goods; 1961). Its star, Charlotte Stewart, gained a measure of fame over a decade later as schoolteacher Miss Beadle in the family TV series Little House on the Prairie. Michael Bell, another actor in the production, has since provided voices in dozens of animated TV series and specials.

Davis was one of the founders and the first president of the Mt. San Jacinto Natural History Association, located in Palm Springs, California; he held the position for three years. The rangers named an unofficial trail after him, and the official Sid Davis Trail will be dedicated to him in 2011.

In 2000, Davis moved from Sherman Oaks to Palm Desert to be closer to longtime friends and to "his" mountain. He purchased a home in Sun City Palm Desert, with an unobstructed view of Mt. San Jacinto. There he met and fell in love with Shirley Friesen, a neighbor, who also enjoyed walking in the early morning. From then on, they were inseparable until his death.

Becoming a renowned mountain climber, he held the world record for climbing Mt. San Jacinto: 643 times, the last time in 1998 at age 82.

Davis' daughter Jill lives in Sun City and in Portland, Oregon. She appeared in at least three of her father's films: Live and Learn (1951), You're Growing Up (1956) and Alcohol Is Dynamite (1967). She can be contacted at davis.jill-comcast.net.

Sid Davis is also survived by grandson Steven, an acupuncturist practicing in the San Fernando Valley.

A memorial was held October 19 at the Atria Hacienda in Palm Desert. A private memorial for family and friends will be held November 12 at nephew David's home in Sherman Oaks.

The family would appreciate that any donations go to VNA Hospice at 42600 Cook Street, Suite 202, Palm Desert, CA 92211.