While many of us are blessed with great dads, generations of kids were partly raised by their televisions, and thus by TV and movie dads. Stories set in San Francisco have a particularly iconic collection of televised pops, so celebrate Father's Day, we're toasting our picks for the 5 best fictional SF dads. Did your favorite make the list?
Danny Tanner, Full House: Widower Danny Tanner was such a classic TV dad, his character hosted a cheesy morning show called "Wake Up, San Francisco." The perky father of three was 100% devoted to his pastel-clad girls. He basically did nothing wrong during the entire run of Full House, always gave the best advice (and hugs) and was perfectly PG-rated in every way. He was a completely unrealistic TV dad, and we love him for it.
Daniel Hilliard, Mrs. Doubtfire: Pacific Heights dad Daniel Hilliard divorced his uptight ex-wife Miranda for obvious reasons, but he still couldn't stomach spending any time away from his kids. So he did what any fictional dad would do—dressed himself as an elderly British woman in order to trick his ex and nanny his own kids. Somehow, his double-life allowed him to parent perfectly. Where Hilliard had once thrown live-animal, rap music parties, Doubtfire prepared healthy meals and read the classics. The ruse couldn't last forever, but his parenting skills seemed to—and he got a sweet TV deal out of it, to boot.
Nash Bridges, Nash Bridges: There is no way Don Johnson would ever live in San Francisco because this is not a Don Johnson kind of town (Miami, he's all yours). However Nash Bridges—salty SFPD Inspector and charming, divorced dad—fits right in. Nash was always bailing his daughter Cassidy out of a jam, usually with his partner in tow, even after she joined the police department. Also, we love how Nash occasionally and begrudgingly let Cassidy fix him up on dates, which was both sweet and hilarious.
Canning Woo, The Joy Luck Club: If your heart didn't melt when June's father explained that June's mother never felt good enough to be her mom, you're pretty much dead inside. While not a main character in the SF-based book or movie, June's dad is certainly our favorite man in the film. His kind eyes, gentle revelations and ability to keep his late-wife's amazing past a secret are more than enough reason to include him on this list.
Gil Renard, The Fan: Yes, this post was written by a native San Franciscan. All natives know The Fan intimately, and if any of us ever saw Wesley Snipes in person, we would yell, "Hey Bob-bay!" Anyway, while Gil was a homicidal maniac, he was also a dad struggling to take his kid to a baseball game… and then totally abandoning said kid within the sightline of a busy-body Giants fan. Mental illness effects many families; Gil Renard was just trying to parent his slightly annoying son as best he could while maintaining his devotion to the world's greatest baseball team, the San Francisco Giants. Happy Father's Day, Gil!