Father figures: The 25 best TV dads of all time

Nothing came easy for Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill), starting with his drunken proposal to Peg (Katey Sagal) and ending with him as the father of two kids, Kelly and Bud (Christina Applegate and David Faustino), whom he could barely manage to support with a shoe store job that he repeatedly lost... only to inevitably get re-hired each time. The guy respected very few people, and in turn rarely received respect, but he managed to get by and taught his children not to expect handouts from anyone - especially himself. But hey, apparently it’s wasn’t all Al’s fault... wasn’t there something about his ancestor getting cursed by an obese witch?

Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) was a widower, a father, and a sheriff, meaning he not only kept his son Opie (Ron Howard) safe while working a full-time job, but he also kept the entire town of Mayberry, North Carolina safe and crime-free. They never even had a murder, right?

Despite being racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and someone who pretty much hated everyone different from him in any way (including his “dumb Pollack meathead” son-in-law, Mike, played by Rob Reiner), Archie Bunker still became an endearing character, mostly due to the brilliant acting of Carroll O’Connor and because Archie usually learned his lesson in the end. In fact, TV Guide ranked Archie Bunker No. 5 on its “50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time” list back in 1999, and Bravo named him No. 1 on a similar list in 2005.

Not only is “Bob’s Burgers” one of the funniest cartoons ever, but Bob Belcher (H. Jon Benjamin) is the perfect fatherly role model. He flips his lid once in a while thanks to the outlandish antics of his entire family, but Bob is nevertheless tolerant, supportive, loving, principled, and grounded — and that last trait is something the Belcher clan desperately needs to keep them all in check. He and Linda work their tails off in the restaurant, which isn’t just a job to Bob, it’s a dream. And if you couldn’t tell by his imaginative “burger of the day” creations, the Belcher patriarch will always be a dreamer at heart.

Forget the fact that “Family Matters” patriarch Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson) was the father to three biological children and an officer of the Chicago Police Department — he had to deal with the annoying antics of Steve Urkel for nine long seasons. Even a lot of the show’s fans couldn’t last that long. Give the man a medal.

The first iteration of “Roseanne” was the perfect representation of the average working-class family, and Dan Conner (John Goodman) was the perfect patriarch. He walked a fine line between loving and hating his family, while generally being fun, easy-going and relatable. 

The character also had to navigate being killed off in the final episode of the initial run of "Roseanne" in 1997, being resurrected in a reboot in 2018, and then having his wife killed off a year later, with the show spinning off to become "The Conners."

Being a single dad responsible for three little girls is a tough task. Of course, Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) had help from Uncle Joey (Dave Coulier) and Uncle Jesse (John Stamos), but sometimes that was more counterproductive than helpful. Plus, he had to deal with Kimmy constantly hanging around as well, while still maintaining a morning talk show gig and a house that was almost always spotless. Remember: “Clean is good, dirt is bad.”

That was a pretty packed place they had down at the Foster-Lambert household of “Step by Step,” but Frank Lambert (Patrick Duffy) always rolled with the punches, even though he often seemed like the only sane one living under that roof. Still, wasn’t it kind of sketchy that two parents with three kids each would meet, fall in love, and get married on vacation without telling their kids? Seems like it’s the kind of big, life-altering decision that needs to involve the whole family.

Redd Foxx was such a talented actor and comedian that he could excel in any role, including that of Fred Sanford on “Sanford and Son.” Although he complained a lot (and faked a lot of heart attacks), Fred actually had a sweet gig. He pawned most of the work off on his son, while constantly and simultaneously calling him a “dummy.” Maybe he was just a bitter old widower — or maybe, just maybe, he knew this was the perfect recipe for raising a responsible son. Then again, Lamont (Demond Wilson) really did make some poor decisions throughout the show’s six seasons, so maybe he really was a dummy.

It’s hard to find a father on TV who is as optimistic and fun-loving as Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne) of “The Munsters.” He had an enormous heart and not a mean bone in his body, which meant Dr. Victor Frankenstein clearly did a good job when gathering the parts to make him. Also, Herman clearly adored little Eddie (Butch Patrick), and never asked Lily (Yvonne De Carlo) any suspicious questions about the kid, even though he somehow ended up as a werewolf when Herman is a lab-created human and his wife is a vampire.

Homer is definitely not the perfect father. He’s a raging alcoholic, he wastes his family’s money on all sorts of silly adventures, and he’s been known to physically choke Bart on occasion. Still, Homer has been the sole provider (save for the episodes where Marge worked at the power plant, sold houses, made pretzels, etc.) for his family for 30 years, even though Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are somehow still only 10, 8 and 1 years old, respectively. And you can’t deny that it has been an entertaining three-plus decades.

 Howard Cunningham (Tom Bosley) laid out quite the life for himself and his family in a modest and respectable way. He joined the army, opened a hardware store, got married, had kids, and was constantly around to offer advice. In fact, Howard and Fonzie (Henry Winkler) are the only two characters who appeared in all 255 episodes of “Happy Days” during its 11-season run.

Plus, the guy had to deal with his oldest son Chuck randomly disappearing sometime in the second season — never to be seen, heard from, or talked about again.

If you need proof that Jason Seaver of “Growing Pains” (Alan Thicke) was one of the best TV dads in history, all you need to do is look at the outpouring of love from heartbroken fans across the world when Alan Thicke suddenly passed away at the age of 69 in 2016. We all miss you, Mr. Seaver!

All of the fathers on “Arrested Development” — George (Jeffrey Tambor), Oscar (also Tambor), Gob (Will Arnett), Tobias (David Cross), and Michael (Jason Bateman) — made terrible decisions, neglected their sons, and acted like total idiots. The difference with Michael, however, was that although he often failed, he was at least trying to be a good father and role model for George Michael... even if he couldn’t remember his son’s girlfriend’s name, sang a wildly inappropriate song with his niece, and constantly daydreamed about leaving everyone behind.

Mike Brady (Robert Reed) remained remarkably upbeat for a father who had to financially support three biological kids, three adopted kids, a wife, a housekeeper, and a dog (not to mention cousin Oliver for a brief period of time) — all on an architect’s salary. Mike made it look easy, however, and he and Carol (Florence Henderson) managed to keep their kids out of any major trouble while dishing out life lessons and just the right amount of discipline.

Peter Griffin is, without a doubt, the worst father on his list. He’s a drunk who rarely shows up to work, relentlessly demeans his daughter, neglects his sons, and generally only shows his wife respect at the end of episodes, after he has hopelessly and repeatedly fouled up a situation due to poor judgement and downright stupidity. Keep in mind, this is also a guy who has committed all kinds of fraud, constantly puts down his handicapped friend, lets his kids hang out with a number of obvious child predators, led a criminal hell-bent on revenge right to his son’s door, and accidentally killed his own father and numerous pets.

Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) of “Modern Family” walks a tightrope between being a “cool” dad who jokes around with his three kids, films funny viral videos, and makes constant puns, while also being unabashedly geeky and embarrassing other times. Still, he calmly and hilariously accepts all the hiccups of living in a large, modern-day family with tolerance, understanding, and an undying love for each of its members. He also literally walked a tightrope in the show’s third season. 

In the Banks household, “Uncle” Phil (James Avery) was the law. (Literally — remember, he was a judge.) Although Phil already had his hands full trying to raise four kids, he still opened his heart to his nephew, Will (Will Smith) after he got in one little fight and his mom got scared. Phil even ignored the fact that his wife Vivian was replaced halfway through the show’s six seasons. In the end, Philip Banks could pretty much put up with anything... except for Jazz (DJ Jazzy Jeff), who "Uncle Phil" literally threw out of the house on countless occasions.

Imagine losing your wife, employing a housekeeper for years to help out, losing her to illness too, and then being asked to care for her two sons. This is exactly what Phillip Drummond (Conrad Baines) did, which goes to show exactly how big his heart was. On top of the fact that he already had a daughter, Mr. Drummond’s new adoptive sons were a different race than him (a big deal back in the '70s), yet he still raised them as his own without compromising their heritage or unique identities.

Most parenting experts nowadays would agree that a father shouldn’t constantly call his son a “dumba**,” but those experts weren’t around in the ‘70s. Plus, Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith) toughened up a naive young Eric (Topher Grace) for the real world, taught him responsibility, and turned him into a good guy... even though Eric eventually ditched his family and friends and moved to Africa. Red is also a war vet, so you gotta respect him for that.

As a easygoing former hippie, Steven Keaton (Michael Gross) always seemed like he’d be a cool dad. After all, if he could put up with raising an ultra-conservative son (played, of course, by Michael J. Fox), he could probably put up with any of our youthful shenanigans as well.

Good thing the Taylors ended up with three boys, as patriarch Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) was the perfect person to turn them into men. Not that one has to subscribe to traditional male stereotypes, but the guy loved sports, could build cars from parts, and was able to fix anything. Heck, he even had a show about just that. Plus, although he could be authoritative, “The Tool Man” was aware that he didn’t always have all the answers and was willing to both ask for and receive advice. (Just think of the amount of trips he took to the backyard fence to consult his neighbor, Wilson.)

Due to the untimely passing of actress Diana Hyland during the show’s first season, the character of Tom Bradford (Dıck Van Patten) was at one point a single father to eight kids. Yikes! “Eight is Enough”? The show should have been called “Eight is Entirely Too Many and You All Know It.”

We’re still unsure who the boss really was, but we’re okay with saying it was tie between Angela Bower (Judith Light) and Tony Micelli (Tony Danza). They were both parents of one, they both had different but equally important responsibilities, and their different personalities created the perfect balance within the family and show. While Angela was the driven, breadwinning executive, Tony was the easy-going and spontaneous stay-at-home dad and housekeeper who was completely cool with this so-called “role reversal.”

Ward Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont) was your typical late ’50s/early ’60s dad: he worked, he acted as a good role model, and he dispensed advice to his two sons, Wally and Beaver, whenever necessary (which was usually at the end of most episodes). Not only was this expected of a father at the time, but it provided a solid, level-headed balance to the mischief sometimes undertaken by the boys.