Comments on: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

By: web directory

web directory — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:08:04 +0000

Frank Constanza with his characteristically loud, irascible, neurotic, abrasive and eccentric is my favorite

By: Jobs Kent

Jobs Kent — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:53:07 +0000

TV Fathers - one of the best Howard Cunningham

By: hoss and the leprechauns

hoss and the leprechauns — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:13:47 +0000

You have to include ol' Ben Cartwright.
Full of ageless wisdom.
Taught his booys to stand up for themselves,
not to be afraid of hard work.
To show respect for others.

Why can't more dads do that today?

By: Vassilis

Vassilis — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 05:37:07 +0000

Interesting…

By: Tom Watson

Tom Watson — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:57:32 +0000

What’s interesting to me is that Ralph Kramden, although not a father (he wished though, he wished!) was the model for so many sitcom/cartoon dads…

By: Lance Mannion

Lance Mannion — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 11:43:31 +0000

Richie Petrie’s job was to be heard of but seldom seen, a role-model for TV children more shows should have followed.

To add to the list of best TV dads:

John Schneider as Jonathan Kent on Smallville.

Since the 1970s some of the best fathers have been father-figures rather than actual fathers, surrogate dads to the rest of the cast.

Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Col. Potter on MASH
Dr Westphall on St Elsewhere, with Aushlander as a surrogate grandfather—Westphall was a good father to his teenage daughter and autistic son but most of his fathering was of Dr Morrison.
Adam Schiff on Law and Order.

After 1970 or so, the fathers in TV sitcoms all but disappeared. When they returned in the late 1980s they became the biggest babies on their shows.

Fathers have been largely absent from TV dramas on the main networks because the main characters are almost always intended to be sex symbols and the shows they’re in focus almost entirely on their heroic work lives.

There are more fathers on the premium channels and cable networks—WB, now the CB, had a bunch, but they’ve all been canceled now.

By: Tom Watson

Tom Watson — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:20:05 +0000

Nobody liked Richie Petrie, it’s true - he was more of a prop - like Little Rickey.

I’m not so sure about the others - they were real fathers, perhaps not good ones. Certainly, Fred Munster - although undead - was a fine father to Eddie.

By: Mudge

Mudge — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 18:21:56 +0000

Of your list, only Cliff Huxtable and Andy Taylor are true fathers. They spent time in the series actually raising their children. Neither father-child relationship was cutesy. The fathers had serious jobs. I enjoyed their roles as father, unlike the rest, where being a father was more of a foil (or he was a clown) or the offspring were disfunctional.

Did anyone actually like Richie Petrie?

By: Tony Alva

Tony Alva — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:46:27 +0000

Mike Brady…

By: Dan Leo

Dan Leo — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 09:04:27 +0000

Hey, let’s have a little love for the mighty Hank Hill of “King of the Hill”.

Oh, but Frank Costanza, definitely. I mean I have actually sat and watched the harmless “King Of Queens” only in the hopes of catching a few seconds of Jerry Stiller brilliance.

By: OutOfContext

OutOfContext — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 03:28:11 +0000

Here I go:
Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke Show)
Darren Stevens (Dick York-Bewitched)
James Evans (Good Times)
Dan Connor (Roseanne)
J R Ewing (Dallas)
Howard Cunningham (Happy Days)
Rocky Rockford (Rockford Files)
Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)
Burt Campbell (Soap)
Fred Ziffel (Green Acres)

I’m barbecuing for my Dad tomorrow as well. I never thought about it, but it must be a wide practice.