So many times through the years my wife has questioned where I came from. She asks the question because in many ways I am nothing like my parents. My response is – I was raised in various TV families of the 1950s.
Those of us born in the early 1950s were members of the first generation where television was a big part of our lives. Unlike today where there are a gazillion networks and programs our television viewing was limited to the big three networks ABC, NBC, and CBS. Later in the 60s PBS was added along with various UHF stations. But in the 1950s TV was new, exciting and exploding!!
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My TV Families of the 1950s
So who were those families that raised me. Usually I tell my wife I was raised by Ward and June Cleaver of Leave it to Beaver or Jim Anderson of Father Knows Best. And well you can throw in any number of families from these shows…..
The Donna Reed Show
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett
The Danny Thomas Show
Bachelor Father
and even Lassie
It always seemed that in most cases these shows were all pretty much the same. There was a mother and father and any number of children, Typically, the children something happened that resulted in a discussion with their parents. That discussion would either result in a request for advice on how the child should handle a situation or an explanation of what they did wrong and their punishment!
I guess if I had to choose my favorite father it would be Ward Cleaver with Jim Anderson in second place. And that Mrs. Cleaver she always did where nice dresses and Eddie Haskell always made us aware of that!
Thinking about it, I guess throughout the last sixty years there have been other shows that have guided our children – shows like The Brady Bunch and Full House were the ones for my kids.
So here’s the question of the night – Who was your favorite TV parent??
Oh yeah, I really don’t think I was raised by TV families – I think Helen and Ed did a good job raising me! But maybe my TV fathers and mothers may have helped a little!
