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Consider the differences between the Seventies Single Dad shows and the shows of the preceding two decades. The classic focus of TV Single Dad shows had been directed on the relationship between Dad and his kids. This decade concentrated more on the career activities of the Dad (and in some cases, the children!), without much emphasis on the struggling developmental relationships with the children.
Nanny & The Professor ABC 1970-71 DAD: Professor Howard Everett (Richard Long) / Widower DAD'S JOB: Math Professor KIDS: Hal (David Doremus) (12), Butch (Trent Lehman) (8), Prudence (Kim Richards) (5) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead a few years. Unknown cause. STAND-IN "MOM": Phoebe Figalilly - "Nanny" Nanny & The Professor represented a "last hurrah" for Sixties-style TV Single Dads; in fact, it barely made it into the Seventies. The story was a thinly-veiled ripoff of Disney's Mary Poppins, with the added spin of a Single Dad in the mix.
Getting Together ABC 1971-1972 DAD: Bobby Conway (Bobby Sherman) / Single older brother DAD'S JOB: Songwriter KIDS: Jennifer Conway (Susan Neher) (12) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead - so is Dad. STAND-IN "MOM": Rita (Pat Carroll) / Landlady A spin-off of another single-parent show (The Partridge Family), this "vehicle" for teen heartthrob Bobby Sherman put him as guardian of his 12-year-old sister, Jennifer. Unlike its successful parent series, Getting Together came apart after 3 months. There was a small hit song to come out of this series: "Jennifer," which climbed the charts around Thanksgiving, 1971.
DAD: Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx) / Widower DAD'S JOB: Junk Dealer KIDS: Lamont (Demond Wilson) (almost 30) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead a few years. Unknown cause. STAND-IN "MOM": none Fred Sanford pushed the limits of role reversal in the TV Single Dad framework. Fred's world was basically financed by his son, Lamont. Lamont had no love for the situation he found himself in (caring for his incompetent Dad), but he realized his "duty" to Fred and continued operating the family junk business, no matter how difficult it was dealing with his father. This kind of child-guidance reversal of roles wasn't matched by any other TV Single Dads' show. In fact, the only show it comes near is the relationship between the niece Penny and her uncle in the animated series "Inspector Gadget" in 1982.
DAD: Moses Pray (Christopher Connelly) / Widower(?) DAD'S JOB: Con Man KIDS: Addie Pray (Jodie Foster) (8) WHERE'S MOM?: Missing - Dead maybe. STAND-IN "MOM": none From the movie of the same name. Dad was a con man who sold Bibles in depression-era Kansas. Addie was his world-wise 13-year-old daughter who was actually a lot tougher than Dad. Mostly operating outside the law, they did show subtle affection for each other.
DAD: Captain Merrill Stubing (Gavin MacLeod) / Divorced DAD'S JOB: Your Ship's Captain (according to the credits) KIDS: Vicki Stubing (Jill Whelen)(10) WHERE'S MOM?: Showgirl girlfriend - left when daughter was a baby. STAND-IN "MOM": none Vicki, the near-invisible daughter on Captain Stubing's Love Boat, was a throw-away, forgettable character. No probing episode focused on the relationship between Vicki and her dad was ever aired. Then again, when was any episode of this show "serious" ? For an astounding view of the Love Boat, see what Rick Portes has created on The Un-official Love Boat Home Page Want to know something icky? On the last season of Love Boat, Captain Stubing married Emily Haywood - played by that ultimate mom, Marion Ross. Fortunately the series ended before Stubing was hit by the Mike Brady Rule and disqualified. Update: Alert Viewer Dave Leifer has some insights on the captain's wife: Merril Stubing's first wife was Stacey Stubing played by Actress Bonnie Franklin. He was married but she wasn't the mother of his daughter...go figure. I guess even the righteous Captain fooled around a little! A snap of the Uncle Charley Memorial Dish Towel to Dave Leifer for the info. Thanks, Dave!
The Texas Wheelers ABC 1974-75 DAD: Zack Wheeler (Jack Elam) / Widower DAD'S JOB: Layabout KIDS: Truckie (Gary Busey) (24), Doobie (Mark Hamill) (16), Boo (Karen Obediear) (12), T.J. (Tony Becker) (10) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead for a while STAND-IN "MOM": Unknown Wow. Mark Hamill and Gary Busey in a SITCOM - with Jack Elam as a dad! This show was ripe with interactions between the kids and their no-account dad. Picture Fred Sanford with 4 kids, and that's the comedy level. A flap of the William Demarest Memorial Dish Towel to Ellen Vance (vance1640@aol.com) for reminding me of this funny little show. Thanks, Ellen!
DAD: Joe Vitale (Richard Castellano) / Widower DAD'S JOB: Factory Worker KIDS: Mark (Barry Miller), Nick (Jimmy Baio) (teenagers) WHERE'S MOM?: Recently dead. STAND-IN "MOM": Estelle (Bobbi Jordan) / next-door neighbor The man who said "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes" in The Godfather played a sheet metal worker raising two kids without the benefit of a Foreign-Born Domestic like Hop Sing or Mr. French.
The Cop and the Kid NBC 1975-76 DAD: Frank Murphy (Charles Durning) / Single DAD'S JOB: Police officer KIDS: Lucas Adams (Tierre Turner) (11) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead STAND-IN "MOM": Brigid Murphy (Patsy Kelly) - Frank's mom. One of the Things Wrong with the Seventies was the "Chico & the Man Syndrome" -- the shows where white foster parents raise minority "street-wise" kids. This show was typical of the syndrome. Frank Murphy was a cop who collapsed from an asthma attack while trying to arrest Street-Wise Lucas. So, Street-Wise Lucas blackmailed Frank into adopting him. Nothing really groundbreaking with this show. Both cop and kid disappeared after four months on the air.
DAD: Sam Hayden (Cliff DeYoung) / widower DAD'S JOB: Composer/Singer/Odd Jobs KIDS: Jill (Elizabeth Cheshire) (5) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead STAND-IN "MOM": Nora (Meg Foster) / neighbor Getting Together returns. How about a one-man Partridge Family, with Dad taking the Shirley Jones role, and the one kid doesn't sing? Okay, that's stretching a bit. Dad is raising his stepdaughter, left to him by his late wife, and is not following accepted norms of raising kids. Being in a rock-and-roll band, for example, is frowned on by Sam's neighbors. Anyway, this tedious little show only lasted eight weeks, so don't even worry about it.
DAD'S JOB: Cop KIDS: Ellen (Dina Ousley) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead - accident STAND-IN "MOM": None Kind of a west coast Kojak. Lt. Bronko was a tough special-cases cop who fought The Man in Ocean City, California. Meanwhile, he was also The Dad to his wheelchair-bound daughter, who was disabled in the same car accident that killed his wife. All the typical cop show standard plots were in tow - Want to guess how many times Ellen's life was in danger?
DAD: Pete Karras (Alex Rocco) / widower DAD'S JOB: Photographer KIDS: John (Vincent Van Patten) (16), Endy (Leif Garrett) (15) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead STAND-IN "MOM": None Let's try analogies on this one -- picture Jonny Quest without Race Bannon; make Dr. Quest a freelance photographer; give him a Winnebago instead of a jet; and make Hadji blonde. Another of the many "Dad takes kids on the road with him" dramas. This one went neck-and-neck with Sunshine and was cancelled the same month. Vincent Van Patten and Leif Garrett - how blonde is THAT?
DAD: Taro Takahashi -- Mr. T DAD'S JOB: Inventor KIDS: Sachi (June Angela )(10), Aki (Eugene Profanato) (8) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead - unknown circumstances STAND-IN "MOM": Tina Kelly No, silly, the OTHER Mr. T! Yet another twist: how about if the rest of the family was foreign-born, but the live-in domestic wasn't? Lots of cultural clashes marked this simple-minded comedy.
DAD: Abraham Rodriguez (Hector Elizondo)/ widower DAD'S JOB: Building Handyman KIDS: "Junior"(Anthony Perez)/14, Luis (Dennis Vasquez)/10 WHERE'S MOM?: Dead STAND-IN "MOM": Lupe (Edith Diaz) / Neighbor Based on the 1969 movie starring Alan Arkin, Popi followed tenement living for the widowed superintendent and how he kept his boys out of trouble. Strange how this show was the mid-season replacement for the cancelled TV Single Dad show Joe and Sons.
The Tony Randall Show ABC 1976-1977, CBS 1977-1978 
DAD: Judge Walter Franklin (Tony Randall DAD'S JOB: Judge KIDS: Roberta "Bobby" Franklin (Devon Scott '76-'77, Penny Peyser '77-'78) (18), Oliver Wendell Franklin (Brad Savage) (11) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead for past two years STAND-IN "MOM": Mrs. McClellan (Rachel Roberts) / housekeeper How did I miss *this* one? This show, about a widowed Philadelphia judge and his two kids, was CLASSIC in terms of TV Single Dad templates. You've got the wacky housekeeper, the precocious kids, the one-episode girlfriends, and even Uncle Tonoose (Hans Conried) as Grandpa. A large tilt of the Bruce Wayne Memorial Brass Shakespeare Head to Lynne Torgersen (bellefouche@webtv.net) for pointing out this missing gem. Thanks Lynne!
Nancy Drew Mysteries ABC 1977-78 DAD: Carson Drew (William Schallert) / Widower DAD'S JOB: Criminal Lawyer KIDS: Nancy WHERE'S MOM?: Dead for quite some time STAND-IN "MOM": Bess (Ruth Cox) Nancy Drew wasn't that much different from another child of a Single Dad, Ellery Queen (Ellery's show doesn't count, however,since he didn't live with his father). The plots revolved around Nancy, a paralegal research assistant of her dad's firm, sleuthing cases, winding up at the wrong end of a gun, and having her dad bail her out on a few occasions.
The Hardy Boys Mysteries ABC 1977-79 DAD: Fenton Hardy (Edmund Gilbert) / widower DAD'S JOB: Private Investigator KIDS: Joe Hardy (Shaun Cassidy), Frank Hardy (Parker Stevenson) (teens) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead for some time STAND-IN "MOM": Aunt Gertrude (Edith Atwater) / Aunt Just as Xena has Hercules, so Nancy Drew had The Hardy Boys. Like Nancy Drew, the boys had a father deeply involved in police work. The boys seemed to have little to no supervision, though, as they always seemed to be jetting off to Peru or Paris or Timbuktu to solve a case. Apparently these two shows didn't support enough of an audience by themselves, so the shows were blended into one big show at the end of 1978 as The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.
DAD: Evan Thorpe (Rod Taylor) / Widower DAD'S JOB: Wagon Train Pioneer Guy KIDS: Andrew Thorpe (Andrew Stevens) (17), William Thorpe (Tony Becker) (12), Rachel Thorpe (Gina Marie Smika) (10) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead. STAND-IN "MOM": Margaret Devlin (Darleen Carr) / Girlfriend Perhaps this is another motif buried in TV Single Dad shows: the idea of the Single Dad taking the Jed Clampett route: "moving away from thar" and heading West. Evan Thorpe packed up his family and headed to Oregon with a wagon train. They were only on the trail for a month when the show got cancelled, though. Too bad.
How the West Was Won ABC 1978-1979 DAD: Zeb Macahan (James Arness) / Single DAD'S JOB: Pioneer Homesteader KIDS: Luke (Bruce Boxleitner), Laura (Kathryn Holcomb), Josh (William Kirby Cullen), Jessie (Vicki Schreck) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead. STAND-IN "MOM": Molly Culhane (Fionnula Flanagan) / Aunt Sure, The Oregon Trail didn't work AT ALL, but would that stop a network from building a GIGANTIC series starring TV icon James Arness in the lead TV Single Dad role? Zeb Macahan, homesteading pioneer guy, wound up with custody of his brother's kids after the brother went back East to fight in the Civil War The kids had all kinds of problems: Luke, for example, was on the lam from the law, due to his being wanted for killing a few guys in self-defense.
DAD: Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) / Widower DAD'S JOB: Corporation President KIDS: Kimberly Drummond (Dana Plato), Arnold Jackson (Gary Coleman), Willis Jackson (Todd Bridges) WHERE'S MOM?: Drummond adopted dying maid's kids / Kimberly's mom died. STAND-IN "MOM": Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae) The source of most "troubled child actor" stories. Based on the outcome of their growing up, maybe Conrad Bain could qualify as the worst Single TV Dad; even worse than Dr. Quest or Flipper's Porter Ricks!
DAD: Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan) / Unknown Marital Status DAD'S JOB: Some kind of river explorer KIDS: Will (15), Holly (11) WHERE'S MOM?: Unknown - back on normal Earth, somewhere STAND-IN "MOM": Unknown A Sid & Marty Krofft show. Dad wound up stranded in a time vortex that dropped Dad and the two kids into a dinosaur-type world. In the last (3rd) season, Dad disappeared to the normal Earth and was replaced by his brother, "Uncle Jack" (Ron Harper)
DAD #1: Commander Adama (Lorne Greene) / Widower DAD #1'S JOB: Defending refugees fleeing the Cylon tyranny KIDS OF DAD #1: Apollo (20-something), Athena (20-something) WHERE'S MOM #1 ?: Dead from Cylon attack STAND-IN "MOM #1": none DAD #2: Captain Apollo (Richard Hatch) / Widower DAD #2'S JOB: Defending refugees fleeing the Cylon tyranny KIDS OF DAD #2: Boxey (8) WHERE'S MOM #2 ?: Dead from Cylon attack, Apollo's stepson STAND-IN "MOM #2": Possibly Aunt Athena, or Cassiopea, Apollo's sidekick's girlfriend. Alert Viewers sometimes wonder if Lorne Greene was the first actor to portray two TV Single Dads, but that honor goes to John Forsythe, of Bachelor Father and To Rome With Love fame, a decade earlier. This does seem to be the first show to have two TV Single Dads on the same series, though. A tip of the Sky King Memorial Stetson to 'OM' for the clue-by-four about Boxey's Stand-In Mom suspects. Thanks, OM!
DAD: Uncle Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle) DAD'S JOB: Old Coot, and retired Moonshine Runner KIDS: Bo (John Schneider), Luke (Tom Wopat), Daisy (Catherine Bach), Coy (Byron Cherry), Vance (Christopher Mayer) (all supposedly in their 20's) WHERE'S MOM?: Who knows? The cousins and nephews of Jesse Duke are why there's so many West Virginia jokes. STAND-IN "MOM": none Update: Alert Viewer Johnathan Carter writes in with news about the Duke orphans - "I don't know if it was ever mentioned on
the series, but I believe the E! True Hollywood Story on The Dukes of Hazzard explained exactly how the Duke cousins ended up with Uncle Jesse. Apparently, all of
Jesse's brothers and/or sisters and their spouses -- the parents of Bo, Luke, and Daisy (and maybe Coy and Vance) -- were killed in a car accident (big car!),
so Jesse, the last remaining sibling, took in their children. That's what I heard, but as I said, I don't know if it was ever mentioned on the show." A tap on the Lt. Worf Memorial Communicator Pin to "CMH412@aol.com" for the information about Uncle Jesse's previous career. Thanks! ...and a wave of the Mrs. Livingston Memorial Feather Duster to Jonathan Carter for the insight on the Dukes' parental demise. Thanks!
DAD: Barrett Fears (John Dehner) DAD'S JOB: Pineapple Rancher KIDS: Mitch Fears (early 20's) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead, maybe STAND-IN "MOM": none This was Dallas in the Aloha State. But the plot more closely resembled the Jack Klugman show You Again, where this successful conservative dad winds up with a radically different son. The show didn't last long enough to worry about. Sidenote: Veteran actor John Dehner makes his second appearance in the Single TV Dad arena. Go check out his role in Baileys of Balboa, a 60's TV Single Dad show.
DAD: Larry Alder DAD'S JOB: Radio Host KIDS: Diane(Donna Wilkes, then Krista Errickson) (16), Ruthie (Kim Richards) (13) WHERE'S MOM?: Divorced - played (occasionally) by Shelley Fabares STAND-IN "MOM": Leona Wilson (Ruth Brown) The third series in the downward, post-M*A*S*H spiral of McLean Stevenson, it wasn't much different than Frasier with two little girls at home. NBC tried propping up the ratings of this saggy show with crossover cast appearances from another TV Single Dad show: Diff'rent Strokes. The storyline was that Larry was an Army buddy of Strokes's Phil Drummond. Wacky hijinks, unfortunately, did not ensue. Kim Richards was in her second role as the TV Single Daughter of a TV Single Dad. Her first role was in Nanny & the Professor. It's interesting to note that Shelley Fabares plays the ex-wife of a TV Single Dad -- In the Nineties, she would play a character who marries a TV Single Dad; namely, the title character on Coach!
Operation:Runaway! NBC 1978-79 DAD: David McKay (Robert Reed) / Single DAD'S JOB: Psychologist KIDS: Mark Johnson (Michael Biehn), Susan Donovan (Ruth Cox) (teens) WHERE'S MOM?: Unclear where the whereabouts of birth parents were. STAND-IN "MOM": Karen Wingate (Karen Machon) / Girlfriend of David's Kinda like a dead serious version of Bachelor Father. David McKay was a psychologist who counselled teen runaways, and he apparently liked to take his work home with him. Mark and Susan were two runaways who became his Youthful Wards, a la Dick Grayson. This whole premise didn't seem to work out, so in the last half of the series run NBC dumped David McKay. Too late -- the series cratered after a month with the revamped show.
The Mackenzies of Paradise Cove CBS 1979 DAD: Cuda Weber (Clu Gulager) / Single DAD'S JOB: Fishing Boat Operator KIDS: Timothy Mackenzie (Keith Mitchell) (7), Michael (Sean Marshall) (12), Bridget (Lory Walsh) (17), Kevin (Shawn Stevens) (17). WHERE'S MOM?: Drowned. So did Dad. STAND-IN "MOM": Unknown I never saw this show, but based on the writeups I've seen, it's not too much different from the 80's show Father Murphy. A bunch of kids, not wanting to be split up after their parents drown in a boating accident, convince a tour boat operator to pose as their "uncle." Not exactly sure if this show was a comedy or a drama. If you've seen this show, please e-mail me with your thoughts. Thanks!
Big Shamus, Little Shamus CBS 1979 DAD: Arnie Sutter (Brian Dennehy) / Unknown Marital Status DAD'S JOB: House Detective KIDS: Max Sutter (Doug McKeon) (13) WHERE'S MOM?: Unknown STAND-IN "MOM": Unknown Two episodes. That's how long this absolute stinker of a show lasted. Arnie Sutter was a hotel detective in the gambling resort of Atlantic City. I don't know about how or why he was a single dad, and apparently no one else cared. Can you imagine a show so bad it didn't make it to Columbus Day? Sheesh.
Archie Bunker's Place CBS 1979-83 DAD: Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) / Widower DAD'S JOB: Bartender KIDS: Stephanie (11) (Danielle Brisebois) WHERE'S MOM?: Edith died. Edith's niece abandoned by dad. STAND-IN "MOM": Mrs. Canby (Barbara Meek) Coming out of the ragged edges of the monumental All in the Family, this show pieced together life after Mike and Gloria Stivic moved away and Archie had managed a saloon. At the end of the first season, Edith died, and Archie was left to raise Stephanie, the abandoned niece of Edith's. Archie hired a housekeeper, Mrs. Canby, and started back on the dating scene after a 25-year hiatus.
DAD: Gov. Gene Gatling (James Noble) / Widower DAD'S JOB: Governor KIDS: Katie (Missy Gold)(11) WHERE'S MOM?: Dead - went to a costume party dressed as a sugar cube and was attacked by a horse. STAND-IN "MOM": Benson (Robert Guillaume) One link to think about and then just put it out of your mind: Benson worked with a stuffy assistant of the Single Dad/Governor, played by Rene Auberjonois. Twenty years later, Captain Benjamin Sisko would have a stuffy assistant named Odo, played by the same Rene Auberjonois. Go figure. Update 12 May 1999: Okay, so I asked Mr. Auberjonois how come he's been in so many proximities of Single Dads. Here's his response: JIM-
Geeze! I have no idea why I've been in the thrall of Single Dads. Coincidence would be my guess.
Best- René Auberjonois A snap of the Uncle Charley Memorial Dish Towel to Michael Duclos (duclos@mindspring.com) for the info on the late Mrs. Gatling. Thanks, Michael! |
All this is copyright © 2008 Jim O'Kane www.TVDads.com
