This week, America’s TV sitcoms lost surrogate parents and TV legends with the passing of Tom Bosley from “Happy Days” and Barbara Billingsley from “Leave it to Beaver.”
Both TV shows showcased family life in the 1950s well before Watergate, Vietnam, and other significant events of the 1960s and 1970s. The TV-show actors set trends that TV has followed for years.
Award-winning actor Tom Bosley passed this week after succumbing to a battle with lung cancer. He made a name for himself in numerous roles on Broadway. But, he became well-known and beloved for his portrayal as TV dad Richard Cunningham, affectionately known as Mr. C on “Happy Days” the 1950s-set ABC series that debuted in 1974.
The TV show role earned him an Emmy nomination and a top spot in TV Guide’s rank of the “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time.” He ranks at the top of the list along with Mike Brady (Robert Reed), Dr. Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby), and Ward Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont).
As the father of Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) and sister Joanie Cunningham (Erin Moran), Bosley portrayed a dad who took on a vital role as leader to neighbor kids and the community. Actors and fans alike came to appreciate him as not just a TV dad but also a father of the acting company too.
Likewise, Barbara Billingsley died this past week as well. She served as iconic mom on America’s favorite program “Leave it to Beaver” and in many ways her portrayal contributed to depiction of a devoted suburban mother of famed TV sons Wally (Tony Dow) and Beaver (Jerry Mathers). Some would argue that her role was extreme and confined because it typecast women in traditional maternal roles. Nonetheless, her role has served as a benchmark for television programming including other maternal roles in shows like “The Simpson’s” or “Married with Children.”
But most could not argue that Billingsley was a maternal figure on the set and off camera apparently as well. According to Irwyn Applebaum’s 1984 book the “The World According to Beaver,” she was “especially motherly in her attention to the children, displaying a genuine interest in their hobbies and school work that was very much in character with her role as June.”
Thank you, Mr. C and Mrs. Cleaver for leading a trend more than 40 years ago for TV dads and moms that remains even today.
-Dawn McCoy, author of Leadership Building Blocks: An Insider’s Guide to Success
