Creator of 180 classroom films dead at 90

Sid Davis, who cautioned teens about running with scissors, underage drinking, and syphilis, died October 16 of lung cancer at a home for seniors in Palm Desert. An unsuccessful lecture to his 5-year-old daughter on avoiding strangers led the movie set stand-in to begin producing the short films. Cowboy movie legend John Wayne, who used Davis as a stand-in, lent Davis the money to start his own production company. Davis produced more than 180 films from the 1950s into the early 1970s with names like The Dangerous Stranger, You Can't Stop on a Dime, Girls Beware, The Bottle and the Throttle, and Skipper Learns a Lesson (about a racist dog) that were shown in classrooms across the country. Many of the films were produced for around $1,000 and starred famliy and friends. Davis was 90.

Sources: Associated Press, IMDB, Prelinger Collection