A couple of years ago we did a Ten On Tuesday topic on great TV moms in honor of Mother’s Day. I decided to include the dads this year, so our topic for this week is the 10 Best TV Dads. These are in my opinion, of course, and your mileage may vary.
Dale would make a fine TV dad, too.
- Charles Ingalls, Little House on the Prairie. I wanted him to be my dad. He was kind and understanding. And handsome, too.
- Andy Taylor, The Andy Griffith Show. Who had more compassion than this dad? No one, that’s who.
- Mike Brady, The Brady Bunch. The only steps in this house are the ones going upstairs. My favorite line ever from that show.
- Steven Keaton, Family Ties. Funny and smart and geeky, all rolled into one make for a great dad.
- Ward Cleaver, Leave It To Beaver. Serious and firm, a good disciplinarian, the kind of dad you’d want to have on your side. And he never fell for Eddie Haskell’s bull.
- Howard Cunningham, Happy Days. Cute and loyal and totally in love with Marion. Howard, are you getting frisky? Everybody wants a dad who loves their mom.
- John Walton, The Waltons. A dad of the depression, this guy would always make you feel safe.
- Jim Anderson, Father Knows Best. Similar to Ward Cleaver, strict and serious, with a soft spot for his girls.
- Zeek Braverman, Parenthood. This dad. Oh, this dad reminds me of Dale and how he is with our kids. Loving and dependable and a bit of a rebel. A dad who loves his kids and his grandkids and just wants to be surrounded by them always.
- Bill Davis, Family Affair. So, Bill was technically an uncle and the dynamics between him and Mr. French were a little avant garde but this guy became a great day under unusual circumstances. Buffy and Jody and Cissy couldn’t have done any better.
If you wrote a post about your favorite TV dads I hope you will add your link by clicking the button below. Go here to sign up for the weekly Ten on Tuesday email. And, as always, thanks for playing along!
We have some of the same TV Dads, but I had to Google to help me memory.
I loved Uncle Bill and Mr. French when I was a kid! I thought they were the coolest. . . Great list, Carole. (Maybe I could’ve come up with some TV dads after all . . . if I’d tried harder.) 🙂
Uncle Bill! He was great. And Parenthood, we’ve really got to get that party started. Great list Carole!
The dad in “The Middle” and the dad in “Switched at Birth.”
Oops – how could I have forgotten the all-time great TV dad, Cliff Huxtable. I’m so sorry he’s off the air, despite the (probably) unforgiveable things the actor playing him did.
I love that someone mentioned the dad on “The Middle”. He definitely seems more possible–that said I adored Andy Griffith!
I share many of the same favourites, but also had to Google to jog my memory 😛
Reading this list made me think of Laverne DiFazzio’s dad on Laverne and Shirley. A bit of a gruff, loud bear, but he lived his little girl. I’m visiting Italy now and swear I’ve run into his real life double a few times.
I forgot all about Steven Keaton…what a hilarious show. This was a fun post!
you included a few adjectives I wished I’d listed on my post (geeky! understanding). you also have a much better memory for TV than I do…and I enjoyed reliving a few of these dads!