Best 80's Sitcom Dad

The eighties were overrun with fathers of all types, from the dysfunctional Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) of Married With Children to the eccentric millionaire Edward Stranton III (Joel Higgins) of Silver Spoons. While Edward Stranton had good intentions, he had some growing up of his own to do.

On Who's the boss, you have widower, Tony Micelli, played by Tony Danza, who takes a job as a live-in maid in order to move his daughter out of Brooklyn and provide her with a better environment in which to grow up. A good Dad, but Tony without Angela (Judith Light) probably wouldn't have had the same impact, as they perfectly balance each other out.

There were plenty of other comedies with fathers we will never forget. Remember Family Ties, with former hippie, Steven Keaton (Michael Gross) who was always there to support his family no matter what? He may not have always understood his son, Alex (Michael J. Fox), but you never questioned how much Steven loved his children.

In Major Dad, Gerald McRaney plays Major McGillis who marries a journalist, and has to adjust to an instant family with three daughters. On Growing Pains, Alan Thicke plays psychologist, Dr. Jason Seaver, who moves his practice to his home office to be there for his kids when his wife returns to work.

Additional comedies with great dads include Diff'rent Strokes, Family Matters, and Boy Meets World.

There were also several non-traditional families that emerged in the 80's. In My Two Dads, for example, Nicole Bradford (Staci Keanan) moves in with her mom's former love interests when her mother dies. They never reveal which man, the straight laced Michael Taylor (Paul Reiser) or the artistic Joey Harris (Greg Evigan) is her biological father. And while the girls in Full House had Danny (Bob Saget), they also had a Joey (Dave Coulier) and a Jessie (John Stamos) to help them through their formative years.

Yet, I don't think anybody can argue that The Cosby Show had a profound effect on American television, and at the heart of it all, was the best dad of the 80's, Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. Were the Cosby kids perfect? Far from it! But, no matter what they did, they always knew that their parents would be there for them.

A great example of this was the episode in which after dealing with a pregnant teenage girl who was afraid to tell her parents, Cliff assembles the family and tells them that they should feel that they can come to him and Clair with anything and they won't get mad. The kids quickly demonstrate some interesting examples proving that their parents would indeed get mad, and Cliff and Claire concede that they may get angry, but that no matter what their kids do, nobody loves them more than their parents do.

How many times did Cliff utter the words to the effect, "We do this because we love you." ? Cliff Huxtable was a dad to us all, and Bill Cosby continues to be an advocate for children everywhere.

For more information, visit:

Cosby

Growing Pains

Full House

Family Ties

Silver Spoons

My Two Dads

Who's the Boss?

Married With Children

Eight is Enough

Major Dad