#1 TV Dad of All Time

[No Count Pup]

The consensus choice for best TV dad used to be Heathcliff Huxtable. But Bill Cosby has knocked Dr. Huxtable off that perch.

This leaves one question: Who's the new #1 TV dad of all time?

My pick is Tim Taylor. He was a dedicated husband and family man on the hit sitcom Home Improvement. Despite his clumsy disposition the Toolman provided for his family a safe, loving environment. Tim Taylor pulled off wit and warmth in equal measure, a rare quality among sitcom fathers.

Who do you believe is the greatest TV dad of all time?

(Below is a fun clip of the Taylors)

[youtube]D3tFZYi_sG4[/youtube]

 

[jmt225]

Jack Arnold from The Wonder Years.

[YOUTUBE]BArqrHFTxNs[/YOUTUBE]

Yeah, he wasn't the most cuddly dad, but he was the most real. And he did love his family, more than anything. The guy embodied the blue collar American father from the 60's and 70's and you just couldn't help but to love and believe in his character.

 

[TheICChampion]

Well I gotta pick Al Bundy for the simple reason that no matter what or no matter how much it seemed he hated his kids or wife, when push came to shove he always had their back or defended them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfC0Rr3mhZU

 

[Mitch Henessey]

James Avery as Phillip Banks or Uncle Phil.

Avery's performances were impressive, because he did a wonderful job of balancing the comical and over the top tirades, the running joke with tossing Jazz out of the front door, and his more serious moments as a father for Carlton and a father figure for Will.

If we're talking about serious stuff for Will, a few moments that stick out are the lecture for Will's biological father. It's from the famous episode, where Will breaks down into tears after his father walks out on him, and afterwards Uncle Phil is there as a shoulder to lean on.

Another one is from an older episode (I think), where Will takes a job as a waiter at a restaurant (if you need a visual, he's dressed up as a pirate with a fake parrot on his shoulder), because he refuses to accept any handouts from Uncle Phil. And I'm paraphrasing here, but I remember Avery saying something along the lines of "just because I open certain doors for you, it doesn't make you any less of a man to walk through them."

 

[Boring]

I don't get the question. The Cosby Show was about Bill Cosby, was there any other even comedic performer on the show, it was his comedy everyone elses drama that he worked off of. Does the character have to be the star of the show and father figure to be considered the best or can he be a supporting role and still be the best?

I'll go with Homer Simpson. Incomparable longevity.

There's also Archie Bunker from All In The Family, a show that seems to get overlooked a lot. In another 10 years or so, I'm sure this debate will include names like Rick Grimes, Dexter, Eddard Stark, Tony Soprano etc etc so I really don't know who to pick or what the parameters even are.

My favorite tv dad is Vince McMahon.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

I came into this thread thinking of Al Bundy, but after giving it some more thought it's become clear to me that I'd rather the #1 TV Dad award not go to one of a thousand dysfunctional fathers. No no. There's one guy who has been head and shoulders above the rest ever since the days of black and white television. A guy that never called his wife names or insulted his children. And he did this while still being hilarious.

That's right. I'm talking about Gomez Addams.

His and Morticia's love was unconditional. Borderline murderous at times. He had such a raw humor to him that made us relate...relate to a damn BDSM carny. Dude was slick and he kept everything in check with all of the madness around him.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Give me Ben Cartwright of "Bonanza."

The guy had four sons by four different women, kept a Chinese man as a housekeeper ("Clean this shit up, Hop Sing!"), maintained his womanizing ways by subtly impressing gals with his wealth and taking 'em back to the Ponderosa for a little prairie lovin'.....then turned 'em loose after the gal got too serious about him. ("I'm afraid it just ain't gonna work out between us, ma'am.")

Then, he dared to lecture his sons on morality.......and we wondered how they became five megalomaniacs, living bachelor lives on the largest piece of property in Nevada, counting their money and simultaneously taking in cattle and women (a-ropin' & a-gropin')?

 

[Poop Master Flex]

My favorite TV dad is Randy Marsh but the #1 TV dad in my eyes is Archie Bunker from All in the Family. He wasn't the nicest dad or husband, bigotry was a big part of who he was and the way he treated his daughters husband was pretty horrid even though it was comedy gold every time he did treat Mike poorly ("you are a meat head! Dead from the neck up"). At the end of the day though Archie was a good man and it was his flaws that made him such a classic character. He wasn't perfect and he didn't always have the right advice but he tried his best. His views and attitude towards issues often made for great TV like the time he was arrested trying to save Mike at a riot and when Mike bails him out Archie gets thrown back in for making fun of the Polish.

Archie just had the perfect character, he was extremely flawed but he was still someone you liked and he was as entertaining as anyone I've ever seen on a TV screen.

 

[nightmare]

Red Forman.

The guy had a good balance between strong family provider & smart mouthed wit. Sure he may not be the obvious choice, but c'mon dumbass- he worked his tail off for his family, put up with the shenanigans of a handful of teenagers & dealt out some of the best lines in That 70's Show. The show would not have been half as good with someone besides Kurtwood Smith in that role.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When you're generally talking about the quintessential TV dad, probably the first one that automatically springs to mind for me is Andy Griffith playing as Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. It was set in one of those small towns that are so quaint, so clean, so easy going and so trouble free that they could only be found on television. Ol' Andy ALWAYS had time for Opie, he was always there to answer questions as best as he possibly could, plus the guy gets points for being a single dad and always putting Opie first instead of shackin' up with some broad. I did like that Andy was always a pretty down to earth kinda guy and that he came off as one of the more realistic TV dads, which was helped because the show was never over the top or anything. The fact that he seemed like he'd be easy to talk to was a nice touch as well.

Personally, when it comes to humor, I think The Andy Griffith Show is massively overrated, but there's no denying the show's place in TV history and its impact.

 

[L@RISANO]

Spoiler

Used to watch 7th Heaven, back in the day.
Stephen Collins played Rev. Eric Camden, and I thought he came off as a great dad on the show, and given they had quite a few kids, his character really came off as perfect for such a role.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

From disfunctional ones Al Bundy is obvious choice, though we are forgetting maybe most famous dad in history of TV series.

Its not the part Bryan Cranston will mostly be remembered because of his work on "Breaking Bad" but its damn good one as he was fairly good father of 5 boys.

As for Tim Allen, I didnt watched too much of "Home Improvement" but did see his work on "Last Man Standing". He is a damn good dad there.

 

[Dagger Dias]

One of my favorites was Alan Matthews from Boy Meets World. He did a good job of trying to be there for his family as well as their friends, most notably acting as a father figure for Cory's best friend Shawn Hunter. Other moments that really stand out are when Cory is newlywed and keeps trying to get his parents to let him and Topanga live with them or fix things around the house, but Alan instead does the right thing and pushes Cory to figure things out on his own. He was also funnier than most TV Dads, especially in the earlier seasons.

 

[No Count Pup]

One of my favorites was Alan Matthews from Boy Meets World. He did a good job of trying to be there for his family as well as their friends, most notably acting as a father figure for Cory's best friend Shawn Hunter. Other moments that really stand out are when Cory is newlywed and keeps trying to get his parents to let him and Topanga live with them or fix things around the house, but Alan instead does the right thing and pushes Cory to figure things out on his own. He was also funnier than most TV Dads, especially in the earlier seasons.

Lots of great dads in this thread. I particularly agree with the Alan Matthews answer. He was the classic Ol' Reliable, the kind of guy you could always count on.

Alan knew how to talk to his kids. He convinced Eric to come home rather than remain in the diner town. He counseled Shawn to act more responsibly in "Family Trees." Alan was the family's rock during Joshua's early days. On just about any time of crisis or tension Alan knew what to say. Rather than oppose Amy, he appealed to their shared history to side with Topanga in "Long Ride to Pittsburgh." When Alan wanted to watch the late baseball game with Cory, it led to a poor test grade the next day. Alan approached Feeny in search of clemency, but to no avail. What followed later in the episode was a beautiful conversation on fatherhood between the two men. Alan concluded that he didn't need to watch late games with Cory because he would always be there in the morning to tell him what happened.

What I especially enjoyed was when Alan taught Cory that “average” was okay. It showed that character was the most important measure of a person.

Alan’s biography was one to emulate. He was a soldier, a boxer, a grocer, and an entrepreneur. His efforts went towards building a life for his family. Like his father, Cory left behind what was familiar and comfortable to begin anew for the good of his future family. I think Alan’s example was a quiet influence over Cory, Eric, and Shawn in the series finale. They decided to explore the world as young adults much like Alan did.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

No love for John Walton, Snr? The patriarch in 'The Waltons' who works hard in a lumber mill, doing some small scale farming and hunting to provide for his family. When you look at the father figures in recent times (for example, Al Bundy and Homer Simpson) the concept of the respected, hard working, example setting family head does appear to have diminished over the years.

Just as an asides, are the American members of the site aware that 'All In The Family' was based on a classic British sitcom called 'Til Death Us Do Part' and no-one this side of the pond would ever consider that ignorant, crude, racist, homophobic, conservative patriarch (as played by the late great Warren Mitchell) a decent person never mind the '#1 TV Dad Of All Time'. [A further fun note about 'TDUDP' is that the 'leftie' layabout son-in-law was played by Anthony Booth whose daughter Cherie married former Labour Party Leader and British Prime Minister, Tony Blair]

 

[Papa Pillman]

Used to watch 7th Heaven, back in the day.
Stephen Collins played Rev. Eric Camden, and I thought he came off as a great dad on the show, and given they had quite a few kids, his character really came off as perfect for such a role.

I think if the OP's point is that Bill Cosby's compromised reputation has ruined the memory of "Cliff Huxtable"; then Stephen Collins's admitted sexual abuse of an underage girl disqualifies him in much the same manner.



As for a name that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned yet:

John Goodman's "Dan Conner" from Roseanne is another of the perfect examples of the lower-middle class, hard working Dad/Husband who would do anything for his family.

Goodman's character was the best part of the show, and he played the type of dad that anyone would be happy to have as their own, for hundreds of reasons.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights.

While he only has 1 grown-up daughter to heed his warnings and advice (his youngest daughter is just a baby/toddler throughout), he also has an entire squad of football players to try to keep in check.

The Taylors' are one of the biggest factors in the success of Friday Night Lights and also a huge reason people would say, "But it's not JUST about football" as they are a couple who are absolutely devoted to each other but can still be on opposing sides of arguments and respect the other. Tammi Taylor is the main parent who talks to their daughter Julie and they have some superb moments together but Eric can also pitch in with help and advice when needed, especially when it comes to her dating boys - “Alright, listen up. I’m supposed to give you some fatherly and wise advice at this time in your life. Listen up, if you’re wondering if a boy’s thinking about you, he’s not. He’s thinking about sex, or he’s hungry: those are the only two options.”

His commitment to the boys in his team goes beyond normal coaching duties as he acts as a surrogate father for several players over the course of the series - troubled QB Matt Saracen whose dad fights in Iraq and is distant when he comes home being the main one.
This clip isn't the best quality but was the only one I could find that perfectly encapsulates Eric's hard and soft sides and his knowledge of when each is required.