![]() Oddly, neither Andy Taylor nor Steve Douglas showed much interest in women. Douglas's father–in–law, "Bub" O'Casey, also pitched in at 837 Mill Street. My Three Sons's (1960–1972) widower Steve Douglas ( Fred MacMurray), a bland aeronautical engineer, struggled a bit more than Andy Taylor but still managed to make raising three boys look like a day at the park. It helped that his milquetoast son, Opie ( Ron Howard), didn't pose much of a threat to his authority, and Andy had Aunt Bee ( Frances Bavier) to manage the household responsibilities with a maternal touch. Though a little on the homespun side, Taylor handled fatherhood with a laid–back sense of humor. Mayberry, North Carolina's down–home Sheriff Andy Taylor, played by Andy Griffith in his eponymous rural comedy (1960–1968), was one of television's first single dads. However these fathers didn't go it alone most often they had reliable domestic help. There were a handful of shows with single dads-widowers, not divorcés, of course. Not all early sitcoms portrayed the "traditional" family. Wrinkles in the Fabric of the All–American Family The Beave's ever–patient, accountant father, Hugh Beaumont's Ward, was always on hand to offer words of wisdom and to make sure his son learned a valuable lesson from his miscues and more often than not, Ward learned a few lessons himself. While Ozzie and Harriet was not grounded in reality, Leave It to Beaver's (1957–1963) title character, played by Jerry Mathers, managed to get himself involved in some sort of minor calamity each episode. Ozzie's occupation, if he even had one, was never mentioned, so he had plenty of time to guide his sons through dating problems, career choices and marriage. In fact, Harriet rarely left the kitchen and Ozzie didn't venture much out of the yard. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966), television's longest–running sitcom, was decidedly low on adventures. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, Jim Anderson would always replace his jacket and tie with a cardigan and shift into problem–solving mode for his family.Įven more virtuous than the Andersons were the Nelsons: Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky, family members in real life, too. With sobriquets like that, it's obvious those kids didn't create too many ripples for dad. ![]() ![]() Father Knows Best (1954–1963) aptly portrayed the stereotypical family, with Robert Young playing insurance agent Jim Anderson, a loving husband and the doting father of three children with the nicknames Princess, Bud, and Kitten. Nineteen–fifties television mostly reflected the typical American family: man as breadwinner and woman as homemaker. In honor of Father's Day, here's a look at how television's patresfamilias have evolved since the 1950s. Who wants to watch on television how silly we look stressing over life's nagging exigencies? ![]() Nonetheless, most TV dads cope with the stress of parenthood all too easily and laugh off minor disasters, rarely yell at the kids, and never seem to run out of cash. NBC's short–lived Daddio featured a family in which the father quit his job to take care of the kids when the mother accepted a position as an attorney. Recently, programs have kept pace with the changing landscape of the post–feminism era-the dawn of the male gender revolution that has seen two million men staying at home with the kids and millions of divorced fathers seeking custody of their children. While 1950s television had men coming home from a day at the office to be greeted at the door with a peck on the cheek from an adoring wife and hugs from enamored children, recent network offerings have introduced single dads who juggle careers, laundry, and adolescent crises. Robert Reed as Mike Brady in The Brady Bunchįred MacMurray as Steve Douglas in My Three Sonsĭan Castellaneta as the voice of Homer Simpson in The Simpsonsĭear old dad has come a long way on the small screen, from television's early fathers who wore cardigans and dispensed advice to today's TV dads, who vacuum and make PB&J for the kids' lunches. Bill Cosby as Heathcliff Huxtable in The Cosby Show
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