There have been a myriad of TV shows with stand-out fathers over the years, some married, some single. Following is a list of the most popular television Dads, based on their longevity on the air, in order.
Homer Simpson, TV Father in The Simpson’s (1989 – current)
Who’s at the top of the television fathers list? Homer Simpson (voiced by Dan Castellaneta)! While all the Simpson family members are uniquely memorable, almost everyone would agree that the main draw is Homer Simpson, as the patriarch of America’s favorite dysfunctional family. He married his high school sweetheart, Marge, works for the Springfield Nuclear Power and leans to the left politically. He is the stereotypical blue collar worker, who is crude, overweight and ignorant on worldly matters, but whose life is centered around his family. According to Wikipedia, The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, animated program, and primetime entertainment series receiving numerous awards. The family debuted on the Tracy Ulman Show in 1987; so technically, this iconic family hasn’t aged in 22 years! Homer’s “D’oh” has become American slang.
Ben Cartwright, TV Father in Bonanza (1959-1973)
Ben Cartwright (Lorne Green) was a rancher and three-time widower with three sons, each by a different wife. Bonanza was the second longest running TV series, and the longest running TV series about a single Father. The show was filmed in the Ponderosa Pines of Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Today, Ben Cartwright’s marital history would probably be suspect and two of the wives bodies would most likely be exhumed! The series was syndicated and is still being aired.
Hank Hill, TV Father on King of the Hill (1997-2009)
Hank (voiced by Mike Judge, the show’s creator) is a salesman working as an assistant manager of Strickland Propane in Arlen, Texas and a father to one son, Bobby. He is Methodist, takes care of his lawn on his riding mower, and is an avid Dallas Cowboys fan. His buddies are a group of unique characters and two are Hank’s friends from high school. Hank is the second ranking animated Dad only to Homer Simpson, and Wikipedia discloses that the show has become one of the highest rated series on FOX, and the second longest running animated American series behind the Simpsons. The show is being aired in syndication.
Steve Douglas, TV Father in My Three Sons (1960-1972)
My Three Sons premiered in black and white, with Steve Douglas (Fred MacMurray) as a widower who was an aeronautical engineer in fictional Midwest Bryant Park. Halfway through the series, he and his three sons moved to Los Angeles, California. Over the twelve years it aired, America watched the boys’ antics, their relationship with their father, and saw them become men who got married and had children. Dad Steve even became a step-dad when he remarried a women who had a child. Episodes are still being aired under different licenses.
Al Bundy, TV Father in Married with Children (1987-1997)
Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill) was the poster adult for the “kind of father not to be” in this antithesis to every other TV family show. He was the ultimate pessimist and made all the parental mistakes ever discussed on Dr. Phil! He hated his job as a shoe salesman, his neighbors, fat women, and even having sex with Peg, his wife. He loved the series’ fictional TV show, “Pyscho Dad”, humming its theme song regularly. He also liked scantily clad ladies and frequented nudie bars. He had foot odor, poor dental hygiene and dandruff. (Role model he wasn’t!) The show had a reputation for being controversial and offensive. Apparently that worked in its favor (much like a bad car accident) because in spite of raised eyebrows, America kept watching this dysfunctional family for ten yearsl Married with Children was syndicated and is still on the air.
Jed Clampett, TV Father in The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971)
Jed (Buddy Epsen) was a single dad in the Ozarks, who barely kept his family fed (as the theme song says). Then one day while hunting in his swamp, his shot missed the target and struck oil. He sold his swamp to OK Oil Company for $25 million, and moved the family to Beverly Hills. He and his naïve, hillbilly family muddled through living in a neighborhood with high-society neighbors and a money hungry banker for nine years on TV. The Beverly Hillbillies is in syndication and still being aired.
Danny (Bob Saget) as dad in Full House, brought to life the concept of “it takes a village to raise a child” after his wife is killed in an auto accident. He received parental help from his best friend, Joey, and brother-in-law, Jesse, to raise his three daughters. The youngest daughter was played by twins, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. The series was syndicated and is still on the air.
Tony Micelli, TV Father in Who’s the Boss (1984-1993)
Tony Micelli (Tony Danza), was an ex-baseball player and widower with one daughter, Samantha. In total role-reversal, Tony took a live-in job as a maid for a divorced advertising executive, Angela, who had one son. Tony and Angela skated around their attraction until the eighth season on the air, when they finally professed love to one another, but never married. Who’s the Boss was syndicated in the U.S. and translated versions are played internationally.
Ray Barone, TV Father in Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005)
Ray (Ray Romano) was a newspaper sportswriter and married father of one daughter and twin boys, living in Lynbrook, Long Island. Ray was a dad with a dry sense of humor and quick wit, who took a comedic point of view more than his wife, Debra, would like. Often he had to referee the situation between Debra and his peculiar parents, who live across the street. The humorous way Ray dealt with his marriage, children, parents and numbnut brother (who is a cop), really did make him a dad everyone couldn’t help but love! Everybody Loves Raymond is in syndication and being run daily.
Andy Taylor, TV Father in The Andy Griffith Show (1960 -1968)
Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) was Sheriff of Mayberry, a widower and father to one son, Opie (Ron Howard). Sheriff Andy’s biggest worries were moonshiners and Barney, his doofess deputy. The show was a slice of small town America, with a corner everything. Andy was considered a hottie by the ladies in town, and he played the field (albeit a small field) until the third season, when he narrowed it down to one girlfriend. Per Wikipedia, The Andy Griffith Show ended its run in top slot on the Nielson ratings in 1968. The series is in syndication and episodes can be watched on TVland.com.
Every year there will be new television fathers, but the new dads will have to work hard to get into this fraternity of TV’s favorite dads!
Resources:
Wikipedia – “The Simpsons”
Wikipedia – “King of the Hill”
Wikipedia – “My Three Sons”
Wikipedia – “Married With Children”
Wikipedia – “Full House”
Wikipedia – “Everybody Loves Raymond”
Wikipedia – “The Andy Griffith Show”
TV.com – “My Three Sons”
TV.com – “Married With Children”
TV.com – “The Beverly Hillbillies”
IMDb.com – “Bonanza”
TVguide.com – “Who’s the Boss, on ABC”
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