Did Father Really Know Best?

By Jeff Little

Dad, Daddy, Papa, Pa, DaDa, Father, Pop. We all had one. And Television had many.

Unlike today, the fathers of TV's yesteryear were undisputed rulers of the roosts and heads of their houses.

Revered and almost always in the right, television fathers of the past not only brought home the bacon, but usually brought a life lesson with it.

Whether teaching the American work ethic or doling out sagely advice on everything from dating to dog training,

Dad always had the answers (as provided by a staff of talented television writers).

But did Father really know best? If past television titles are any indication, he did.

Through 203 episodes, Robert Young played near-perfect parent Jim Anderson on television in a series titled (not surprisingly) Father Knows Best (1954-1962).

But in real life, the gifted actor suffered chronic bouts of depression and alcoholism until his death in 1988.

Another prime example came by way of the talented Fred MacMurray. Although leading an exemplary life off-camera, MacMurray played a television father who seemed somewhat detached in his parenting.

As the fictional Steve Douglas, MacMurray managed a career in aerospace engineering, effectively raised 3 sons and always seemed to have time for golf and a serious tobacco addiction.

In addition, throughout the run of My Three Sons (1960-1972) he never seemed to notice that the character named Bub (William Frawley) was actually Fred Mertz from I Love Lucy (1951-1957).

It makes you wonder what Steve Douglas was smoking in that pipe.

And what about Ozzie Nelson in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966)? He somehow supported his family for all those years without ever letting them (or the television audience) know what he actually did for a living.

Sounds suspicious, doesn't it?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright on television's Bonanza (1959-1973) was a great father. A great father who routinely shot people (but usually in self-defense).

As for Andy Taylor, the gunless sheriff and single parent of The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968), he was usually a great "Pa".

But he constantly displayed a major parenting flaw. Think about it. Would you let the lame-brained Barney Fife (Don Knotts) carry a firearm around your son?

We should all look to our real-life fathers for inspiration.

Maybe they couldn't solve all of life's problems in 30 minutes, but they sure did work like dogs so our families could afford televisions to watch all those fictional dads on.

Compared to real fathers, TV's versions do seem, in retrospect, somewhat lacking.

Gomez was a sex fiend (The Addams Family, 1964-1966), Herman was a "munster" (The Munsters, 1964-1966), Ricky Ricardo spent most of his time in nightclubs (I Love Lucy, 1951-1957).

Lucas McCain was heavily armed (The Rifleman, 1958-1963) and Jed Clampett was "out smokin' crawdads by the cement pond" (The Beverly Hillbillies, 1962-1971).

Not to mention George Jetson (The Jetsons, 1962-1963) and Fred Flintstone (The Flintstones, 1960-1966). THEY WERE CARTOON CHARACTERS!!!

So, did the typical television Father really know best? Well…

Go to Rewind the Fifties Home

Fred MacMurray

Andy and Barney hard at work

The Munsters