With the sad passing of Tom Bosley (Mr Cunningham from Happy Days) this week, there’s been a lot of talk about the plethora of paternal examples the televisual baby sitter has given us over the years. There’s been many.
It started with the perfect, altruistic Dads. Ward Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont) from Leave It To Beaver; Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) from The Andy Griffith Show; Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon) from Little House on the Prairie; Grandpa (Will Geer) & John Walton (Ralph Waite) from The Waltons; Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) from Bonanza; Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) from I Love Lucy; Dave Sullivan (Paul Cronin) from The Sullivans. All of them were strong, a little emotionally distant, disciplinary, & loving. Everything we were told a Dad should be. What was surprising was even in the 50’s & 60’s there were a couple of single Dads in the mix already, although they tended to find a wife by season 2. What surprised me the most was how few of the actors listed above I had to look up – perhaps that’s an indication of their impact on my early TV years?
Following these examples, we started to get the sitcom Dads, with Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham leading the way. Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) from Diff’rent Strokes; Mike Brady (Robert Reed) from The Brady Bunch; Gomez Addams (John Astin) from The Addams Family; Danny, Jesse, Joey (Bob Saget, John Stamos, Dave Coulier) from Full House; Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) from The Cosby Show; Stephen Keaton (Michael Gross) from Family Ties; Mork (Robin Williams) from Mork & Mindy. These Dads allowed us to laugh at them & with them, & in turn our own Dads. From daggy Cliff to bizarre Mork to reliable Mike this batch still could sort out the fights and teach us the lessons we needed to learn from the mistakes we’d made. Our 30 minute morals were being shaped and formed. No problem was too big for them to solve, no ending too sugary.
The knee-jerk reaction to these Dads was to show the gritty, real side of fatherhood. Dads with a mortgage and bills and problems kids couldn’t understand. Dads who had to do things they maybe didn’t like to help their family make it. Dan Connor (John Goodman) from Roseanne. Jim Robinson (Alan Dale) from Neighbours. Alf ‘flamin’ Stewart (Ray Meagher) from Home & Away. Jim Walsh (James Eckhouse) from Beverly Hills 90210. These Dads still tried to help, but they didn’t have all the answers all the time. Sometimes they weren’t even there.
Now, dysfunctional Dad (loveable or otherwise) are de rigeur. Homer (Dan Castellanetta) & Ned Flanders (Harry Shearer) from The Simpsons. Don Draper (John Hamm) from Mad Men (among others). Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill), Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell), Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) & Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) from Modern Family. Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) from The Sopranos. Frank Gallagher (David Threlfall) from Shameless. Dave Rafter (Erik Thomsen) from Packed To The Rafters. They make us laugh, cry & freak us out. They disappoint us the same as our own Dads & they surprise us with their insight to our problems they’d never understand. We haven’t quite come full circle but we’re as close as we’re gonna get.
Tom Bosley’s “Mr C” set the standard for the consummate TV Dads, and no one has surpassed him yet (or likely will). He was consistent, honest & direct. Every dad wanted to be like him; every kid wanted him as their dad. He wore a fez. Mr C was the one who tamed the Fonz. Everybody loved Mr C. Even Ralph Malph & Pottsie (did anyone else think it was weird when Richie left that Pottsie would still hang around with the Cunninghams? I think he had a thing for Mrs C. Creepy…)
Who are your favourite TV Dads? What makes them so special or memorable? Who have I missed?
Image Source: Smig.net
I’m tempted to mention Mr Kelly from Hey Dad! but that’s me being naughty.
Yes, that is you being naughty… 😉
Did you see the Catholic church has given Homer a ringing endorsement as a positive role model for good little catholics?
I think that maybe religion and satire don’t mix well.
Re homer Simpson: there is a difference between ‘the Catholic church’ and some journalist misinterpetting a book who works for the paper in Vatican city.
My boss thinks homer Simpson epitomizes every father in some way. Not sure I agree with him but I’m not really a simpsons fan.
I don’t think Ed O’Neill gets enough credit for his role as Al Bundy on Married with Children, he was like Archie Bunker of that generation. And what about Archie? He didn’t make the list – All in the Family was one of the most watched and best loved shows of all time. I remember vividly the episode where Edith Bunker died – my mother and grandmother were sobbing. That’s great TV – it stops time and you remember where you were and who you were with when you saw it.
Anyway, great piece – Charles Ingalls was my favorite TV dad, BTW. If you think about it, Michael Landon was involved in three great “Father” shows: Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven (where he worked for the Big G Himself).
Sean – Completely agree on Ed O’Neill’s role as Al Bundy – almost the complete antithesis to Howard Cunningham. Completely loving him as Jay in Modern Family. I didn’t want to mention Archie Bunker only because I wasn’t sure it got much traction in Australia (certainly I never learned of it until I moved out of home). All In The Family is up there with Good Times as cracking US Sitcoms with great paternal role models for one reason or another, and humour found in the commonalities of life.
Appreciate the support. Michael Landon anything was a favourite in our hose growing up – I can remember Little House on the Prairie & Highway to Heaven being Sunday television staples in my house as a kid growing up. Any show Landon was involved with had a strong moral intention & direct references to the Big G & the bible, and that sat well with my parents.
I loved Mr C he was a decent man, for the Fez, for the way he genuinely loved his kids and loved & was still bawdy with the Missus. I also loved Good Times, to a tiny white girl in a small coastal town in NSW “The Projects” seemed so exciting and colourful and an APARTMENT! Lordy how I wanted to live in an apartment block…. ahem I guess that I missed all the no money to pay the rent (but WHAT A THEME SONG!)
My favourite TV dad of all time hands down is Goodman as Dan Connor, the way he loved his perfectly imperfect family so fiercely rang true, loud and clear over all of the pranks and smart arsery. They way he bit his lip for her family & dealt with the failings within his own it was all done with humour & from such a place of goodness he was a dad that wanted to be a good dad. Roseanne in a lot of ways reminded me of my family, we were just missing the dad for a few years, luckily, he did turn up, and he even owned a bike shop too!
Right thats it am pulling out the dvds again 🙂