fictional characters The Greatest Guest Star Dads in TV History
List Rules Recurring or guest star TV fathers of main characters, though they are not part of the primary cast
List of the greatest guest star dads in TV history, recurring or one-time appearances. These guest star TV dads range from cold and distant to loving to overbearing, but they’ve all done one important thing: made great TV shows even better. Guest star TV fathers might only show up once or they might be recurring characters -- either way, they’re TV dads who will be remembered as part of TV history. After all, who can forget Frank Costanza or Jack Geller?
Perhaps the insight they give is one reason the best TV guest star dads are so memorable. Characters’ actions become easier to understand when viewers occasionally see their interactions with their fathers. Take Kurt Hummel, for instance. When he sometimes struggles with the ramifications of his sexual orientation, viewers understand why -- his father struggles with the same issues. Even one-time guest star dad appearances are enough to explain a character’s quirks or issues, especially when that character has struggled with the absence of his or her father throughout the TV series.
Of course, not all guest star dad appearances are so serious. Guest star television fathers can be comic relief, pure and simple. They show up, drive their offspring crazy and make viewers laugh, then vanish for a while. Many of them act as caricatures of real-world fathers, doing typical dad things, like arguing over who’ll pay the check or spoiling the grandchildren without permission. Guest star TV dads also perform not-so-normal acts -- like Mac’s father on “It’s Always Sunny,” who wanted his son to smuggle drugs into prison.
Whatever the reason viewers love TV guest star dads, this is a list of the very best. These are the ones who’ve made viewers laugh, or maybe cry, and although they don’t show up often, they’re welcome when they do. 1 55 18 
2 56 19 
3 41 19 
4 42 21 
Jerry Whitaker How I Met Your Mother - Father of Barney Stinson
5 40 24 
6 36 21 
7 30 16 
8 26 18 
Mickey Aldrin How I Met Your Mother - Father of Lily Aldrin
9 26 18 
Marvin Eriksen How I Met Your Mother - Father of Marshall Eriksen
10 31 25 
Russell Huxtable The Cosby Show - Father of Cliff Huxtable
11 20 19 
William Barnett That '70s Show - Father of Steven Hyde
12 16 15 
Obrien News Service added Howard Cunningham Happy Days
13 22 23 
Frank Dunphy Modern Family - Father of Phil Dunphy
14 22 23 
15 18 22 
16 21 28 
Christopher Hayden Gilmore Girls - Father of Rory Gilmore
17 16 21 
Bob Day New Girl - Father of Jess Day
18 15 20 
Jackson Hunt Castle - Father of Richard Castle
19 14 22 
Joe Heffernan King of Queens - Father of Doug Heffernan
20 13 21 
Milton Greene 30 Rock - Father of Jack Donaghy
21 14 23 
Ephraim Wanker Married... with Children - Father of Peg Bundy
22 14 23 
Salvadore Petrillo The Golden Girls - Father of Dorothy Zbornak
23 14 23 
24 11 20 
Ed Conner Roseanne - Father of Dan Conner
25 13 24 
George Truman Will & Grace - Father of Will Truman
26 13 24 
Harry Moon Frasier - Father of Daphne Moon
27 11 22 
Henry Lewis ER - Father of Susan Lewis
28 12 24 
Nikolai Jakov Archer - Father of Sterling Archer (maybe)
29 15 29 
30 11 24 
31 9 22 
Sam Petrie The Dick Van Dyke Show - Father of Rob Petrie
32 9 22 
Hank Summers Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Father of Buffy Summers
33 7 20 
Dick Lemon 30 Rock - Father of Liz Lemon
34 8 22 
Walt Miller New Girl - Father of Nick Miller
35 8 23 
Walter Bernard, Sr. The Office (U.S.) - Father of Andy Bernard
36 6 20 
Mr. Pinkman Breaking Bad - Father of Jesse Pinkman
37 7 22 
Len Trexler Archer - Father of Sterling Archer (maybe)
38 7 22 
Tom Bradshaw The Carrie Diaries - Father of Carrie Bradshaw
39 8 24 
Herb Hartley The Bob Newhart Show - Father of Dr. Robert 'Bob' Hartley
40 8 24 
Corbett Stackhouse True Blood - Father of Sookie Stackhouse
41 9 26 
Johnny Boy Soprano The Sopranos - Father of Tony Soprano
42 7 23 
Nat David Curb Your Enthusiasm - Father of Larry David
43 7 26 
Big Mike Heck Sr. The Middle - Father of Mike Heck
44 5 22 
Gobi Nadir Community - Father of Abed Nadir
45 5 25 
Larry Ludgate Parks and Recreation - Father of April Ludgate
46 5 25 
Cornelius Hawthorne Community - Father of Pierce Hawthorne
47 4 22 
William Winger Community - Father of Jeff Winger
48 3 24 
Luther McDonald It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Father of Mac
49 2 23 
Andrew Covington Felicity - Father of Ben Covington
