Today being Father’s Day, after I wished both my father and husband a happy day, I started thinking about television dads. It seems that since television began, there have been television dads. There are the single dads – Bachelor Father’s Bentley Gregg (John Forsythe), Bonanza’s Ben Cartwright (Lorne Green), and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father’s Tom Corbett (Bill Bixby). Many people like Home Improvement’s Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (Tim Allen) and Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) of Make Room for Daddy. There are doctor dads – The Cosby Show’s Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) and Growing Pains’ Dr. Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke). On the set of Little House on the Prairie, many of the child actors were so close to Michael Landon (who starred as Charles Ingalls) that they thought of him as a second father.
I have quite a few favorite television dads. One of my favorites was Robert Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) of the Dick Van Dyke Show. He seemed so creative, I grew up thinking that being a comedy writer must have been the greatest job in the world. Add in the fact that he was a great dad and loving husband, who could ask for more?
One that many may not think of when they think of favorite television dads is Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) of All in the Family. Sure, Archie was loudmouthed, close-minded, bigoted, and racist, but deep down, you knew Archie loved Edith, Gloria, and yes, even “the Meathead” – Michael Stivic. And, over the years, we saw the Archie character soften and become more open-minded. We knew that despite all his flaws, he was capable of change.
My favorite of all television fathers is Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) of the Andy Griffith Show. Even though I do not watch it as much today as I used to (I never seem to be able to find it on television now), in my every day parenting, I often try to think of how Andy would have handled a situation. He seemed to have the magic knack of combining just the right amount of discipline with tremendous love and patience.
Who is your favorite television dad?