One of the best things about having dish TV is that you’ve got access to so many programming choices that you’re almost never without a good show to watch. From classic networks like TV Land, which show you all of your favorite shows of the past, to the current stuff, dish TV gives you lots of choices. One of the common threads you’ll find in your favorite shows, of course, is a family – and that family almost always has a dad. In honor of the recent passing of Tom Bosley (a.k.a. Howard Cunningham of Happy Days) we’d like to take a moment today to celebrate the best TV dads of all time:
- Howard Cunningham. We’ll start out by honoring Tom, whose character was the father of Joanie and Richie. From his comfortable living room chair, this wizened hardware store owner offered sage advice, comfort and consolation.
- Fred Sanford. Many TV dads, for one reason or another, are single dads. Fred Sanford is the ultimate one. From his faux heart attacks to his get-rich-quick schemes, it’s a good thing that his son Lamont was always there to help.
- Sherrif Andy Taylor. Andy Griffith played perhaps the quintessential single dad in the Andy Griffith Show. We’re pretty sure that you’re going to walk around all day with that whistle theme song stuck in your head now.
- Cliff Huxtable. Always a classic, Bill Cosby’s TV dad persona expressed many of the frustrations and trials that parents go through as they watch their children come of age.
- Charles Ingalls. Now there was a real man. He built his own home with the sweat of his brow and the blood from his veins, yet he was tender enough to tuck in his little girls at night.
- Al Bundy. Arguably, this is a more realistic portrait of today’s dad than what Charles Ingalls was, but like Fred Sanford this dad had a seemingly-endless supply of schemes, all of which were doomed to failure.
- Steven Keaton. Family Ties was all about hippies trying to figure out the whole “responsible, wage-earning parent” thing, and none did it better than Alex Keaton’s dad.
Turn on your dish TV this week, and see if your favorite TV dad makes an appearance.