The ’90s were truly the decade of the sitcom. Seemed like every show on TV at that time had 20 minute long episodes, revolved around some kind of usual-but-kind-of-unusual family that dealt with everyday problems in everyday situations, and had at least one character that was just there for comic relief. While they weren’t the deepest or best shows, they were rarely uninteresting and quite often very entertaining to watch.
And one especially powerful archetype of that time was the pater familias, the man of the house. Let’s take a look at some 90’s sitcom dads and see what they’ve been up to lately.
Ray Romano
Everybody loved Raymond in the ’90s, but we haven’t heard much from him since, apart from his voice work as Manny in the Ice Age series. He has a good excuse for keeping a low profile, though: as his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, the couple decided to use their wealth and influence to make sure other women can have access to the same care she did and will no longer have to worry whether their insurance will cover the costs or not.
John Goodman
Arguably the most successful actor on this list, it’s hard to imagine that this guy’s career started by being the dad in Roseanne. We now know him mostly from The Big Lebowski and his many other roles on the big screen. He’s a top-notch actor and I’m sure he’s gutted that the Roseanne reboot got canceled.
Patrick Duffy
The more “modern” version of the Brady Bunch, Step by Step, had one of the most iconic sitcom dads of the ’90s. Patrick Duffy played the loveable Frank Lambart and after the show ended he moved on to other tv projects like Dallas and The Bold and the Beautiful. He’s doesn’t have any negative feelings towards playing in a Step by Step reboot or sequel, but he does say the script would have to be good.
Reginald VelJohnson
We’ll always remember Family Matters for the legendary Steve Urkel, but let’s also take a moment to remember his father. After his stint on Family Matters, where he played a Chicago cop, he became the target of the infamous Hollywood typecasting and got a lot of offers to play a cop. Reginald, being a pragmatic fellow, said that as long as they paid him, he’d play a cop until the day he dies.
James Avery
Sadly, the great Uncle Phil is no longer among us. He didn’t really do much after his Fresh Prince gig, but due to complications from heart surgery in 2014, James Avery passed away. Alfonso Ribeiro, forever known as his on-screen son Carlton, said he’d miss his second father greatly.
Charles Shaugnessy
Don’t worry, you’re not alone if this name tells you absolutely nothing. Charles is of course the famous Maxwell Sheffield from The Nanny. While he hasn’t really known big successes since his Nanny days, he also doesn’t feel the need to revive or reboot the iconic show. As far as he’s concerned, The Nanny was about a nanny for three kids. Once the kids are grown up, there’s no need for a nanny. I wish Hollywood would remember those words whenever they try to reboot or remake something.
Ed O’Neill
This famous sitcom dad actually went and became a double famous sitcom dad! After being the legendary Al Bundy for 11 years in Married With Children, he went on to play Jay Pritchett in the sitcom of our current time: Modern Family. And let’s be honest, Al and Jay are kind of similar characters, aren’t they?
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