TV 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 59 20 
2 58 21 
3 44 22 
4 44 24 
Jerry Whitaker How I Met Your Mother - Father of Barney Stinson
5 38 23 
6 41 27 
7 30 20 
8 29 19 
Marvin Eriksen How I Met Your Mother - Father of Marshall Eriksen
9 33 27 
Russell Huxtable The Cosby Show - Father of Cliff Huxtable
10 27 21 
Mickey Aldrin How I Met Your Mother - Father of Lily Aldrin
11 25 24 
Frank Dunphy Modern Family - Father of Phil Dunphy
12 23 25 
13 20 22 
William Barnett That '70s Show - Father of Steven Hyde
14 16 17 Obrien News Service added Howard Cunningham Happy Days
15 23 29 
Christopher Hayden Gilmore Girls - Father of Rory Gilmore
16 17 22 
Bob Day New Girl - Father of Jess Day
17 18 24 
18 15 22 
Jackson Hunt Castle - Father of Richard Castle
19 15 24 
20 14 23 
Milton Greene 30 Rock - Father of Jack Donaghy
21 15 25 
Ephraim Wanker Married... with Children - Father of Peg Bundy
22 14 24 
Joe Heffernan King of Queens - Father of Doug Heffernan
23 14 25 
Salvadore Petrillo The Golden Girls - Father of Dorothy Zbornak
24 12 22 
Ed Conner Roseanne - Father of Dan Conner
25 16 30 
26 12 24 
Henry Lewis ER - Father of Susan Lewis
27 13 26 
Harry Moon Frasier - Father of Daphne Moon
28 13 26 
George Truman Will & Grace - Father of Will Truman
29 12 26 
Nikolai Jakov Archer - Father of Sterling Archer (maybe)
30 12 26 
31 10 23 
Hank Summers Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Father of Buffy Summers
32 9 24 
Sam Petrie The Dick Van Dyke Show - Father of Rob Petrie
33 9 24 
Walter Bernard, Sr. The Office (U.S.) - Father of Andy Bernard
34 9 25 
Corbett Stackhouse True Blood - Father of Sookie Stackhouse
35 7 22 
Dick Lemon 30 Rock - Father of Liz Lemon
36 8 24 
Walt Miller New Girl - Father of Nick Miller
37 8 25 
Nat David Curb Your Enthusiasm - Father of Larry David
38 7 24 
Len Trexler Archer - Father of Sterling Archer (maybe)
39 7 24 
Tom Bradshaw The Carrie Diaries - Father of Carrie Bradshaw
40 8 26 
Herb Hartley The Bob Newhart Show - Father of Dr. Robert 'Bob' Hartley
41 9 28 
Johnny Boy Soprano The Sopranos - Father of Tony Soprano
42 6 22 
Mr. Pinkman Breaking Bad - Father of Jesse Pinkman
43 7 28 
Big Mike Heck Sr. The Middle - Father of Mike Heck
44 5 24 
Gobi Nadir Community - Father of Abed Nadir
45 5 27 
Larry Ludgate Parks and Recreation - Father of April Ludgate
46 5 27 
Cornelius Hawthorne Community - Father of Pierce Hawthorne
47 4 24 
William Winger Community - Father of Jeff Winger
48 4 26 
Luther McDonald It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Father of Mac
49 2 25 
Andrew Covington Felicity - Father of Ben Covington
