Sitcom Dads

Did you ever wonder what some of the TV sitcom dads did for a living? I’m talking about ones from my childhood and teens. Most of the action of the shows took place amongst a family setting, with little mention of Dad’s occupation. There were a few obvious exceptions. Everyone knew that Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) was a sheriff, and Darren Stevens (Dick York/Dick Sargent) was an ad man. And some did have reference to the job. I decided to do some sleuthing and this is what I found:

Henry Mitchell (Herbert Anderson) from “Dennis the Menace” was an engineer for the Trask Corp.

Jim Anderson (Robert Young) from “Father Knows Best” was an insurance agent.

Steven Douglas (Fred MacMurray) from “My Three Sons” was an aeronautical engineer. I do recall some episodes where he came home with some large rolled-up papers under his arm.

Ward Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont) from “Leave It To Beaver” had some kind of office job.

Mike Brady (Robert Reed) from “Brady Bunch” was an architect. And I remember some references to this job.

Martin Lane (William Schallert) from “The Patty Duke Show” was managing editor of a newspaper.

Bentley Gregg (John Forsythe) from “Bachelor Father” was an attorney.

Bill Davis (Brian Keith) from “Family Affair” was a civil engineer.

Don’t you feel smarter now? You’re welcome.