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By Mary Braswell

Each week Albany Herald researcher Mary Braswell looks for interesting events, places and people from the past. You can contact her at (229) 888-9371 or [email protected]. Follow @ABH_MBraswell on Twitter.

In the early decades of television, most fathers played major roles in the family unit, from disciplinarian to baseball coach. Here is a look back at just a few of those men, on television and in real life.

WARD CLEAVER

—Ward, portrayed by Hugh Beaumont, was the husband of June and father to two sons, Wally and Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver.

— When “Leave it to Beaver” started in 1957, Wally was 13 and Beaver was seven (almost eight). Numerous characters were involved in the episodes, but each and every one ended with Ward giving moral instruction, sometimes in the form of a lecture, to one or both of his sons.

— Ward did what was expected of fathers at the time. He went to work (in a suit and tie) in the morning, returned home before supper, did minor household repairs, played golf on Saturday and took the family to church on Sunday.

— Although never seen smoking, in early episodes a package of cigarettes was detectable in Ward’s shirt pocket. He also owned a pipe, which Wally and Beaver once filled with coffee grounds and smoked.

— Ward was a college graduate and a World War II veteran, having served in the Seabees.

— In real life, Hugh Beaumont was married only once (divorced after 33 years) and the father of two sons and one daughter.

BEN CARTWRIGHT

— The father of three grown boys, Ben Cartwright, portrayed by Lorne Greene, mentored and guided Adam, Hoss and Little Joe into manhood.

— Ben was the married three times and had a son with each wife. All three wives were deceased before the show began its 431-episode run of “Bonanza” (September 1959 to Jan. 16, 1973).

— The family home, the Ponderosa, included some 600,000 acres. While certainly important to the program, it was the family and its troubles and joys that dominated the scripts week to week.

— Social issues were addressed frequentl,y including environmental use and abuse, illegitimate children, domestic violence, bigotry, race and ethical bias, the disabled, and anti-war sentiment . These topics were very delicate for television at the time, but great topics for teaching right and wrong.

— In real life, Lorne Greene’s first wife died and his second marriage ended in divorce. He was the father of two sons and one daughter.

LUCAS MCCAIN

— “The Rifleman” (1958-63) was a series set in New Mexico after the Civil War in which Lucas McCain was a Union Army veteran. Lucas’ wife had died in a smallpox outbreak, which left him to raise their son alone.

— Portrayed by athlete-turned-actor Chuck Connors, Lucas was lightning fast with his rifle, but used it only as a last resort. Most of his time was spent on chores and teaching his son, Mark, the important lessons of life.

— Lucas never remarried during the series, though he was for a time smitten by a hotel owner in the last season.

— Tolerance was a major issue with Lucas as he taught Mark just what that meant in several episodes. Once he defended a Chinese immigrant. Another time he hired a Confederate veteran to work on the ranch. Addressing the topic of African Americans, Sammy Davis Jr. appeared in an episode.

— In real life, Chuck Connors was married and divorced three times and the father of four sons.

CHARLES INGALLS

—Based loosely on the “Little House on the Prairie” series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the father, Charles Ingalls, was portrayed by Michael Landon on the TV series named for the books from September 1974 until May 1982.

— Charles and wife, Caroline, were parents to four daughters. In later seasons, they adopted two boys and another girl.

— Predominantly a drama, the show touched on subjects such as morphine addiction, leukemia, child abuse and even rape. There were lessons about kindness, honesty, perseverance and more, all the while teaching the youngsters, mostly by their father, to become upright citizens.

— In real life, Michael Landon was married three times and divorced twice. He was the father of nine children, three of whom were adopted.

ANDY TAYLOR

— Portrayed by Andy Griffith, Andy Taylor was the widowed sheriff of Mayberry, N.C. He raised his son, Opie, with the help of his Aunt Bee.

— Opie (Ron Howard) was 6 years old when the series began. The youngster tested his father’s parenting skills episode after episode. Andy used common sense and gentleness in parenting, as well as in law enforcement, subtly turning the tide in the direction it needed to go. Andy was not, however, afraid to be stern when a situation called for it.

— The original Andy and Opie father-and-son duo entertained TV audiences for eight seasons (249 episodes).

— In real life, Andy Griffith had three wives. He was divorced twice and was still married to his third wife at the time of his death. Griffith was the father of one son and one daughter, both adopted.

OTHER NOTABLE TV DADS

—Archer Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) — “All in the Family” (1971-79)

— Jim Anderson (Robert Young) — “Father Knows Best” (1954-60)

— John Walton Sr. (Robert Waite) — “The Waltons” (1972-81)

— Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) — “The Cosby Show” (1984-92)

— Tom Corbett (Bill Bixby) — “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” (1969-72)

— Steve Douglas (Fred MacMurray) — “My Three Sons” (1960-72)

— Howard Cunningham (Tom Bosely) — “Happy Days” (1974-84)

— Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) — “Full House” (1987-95)

— Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill) — “Married…with Children” (1987-97)

— Dan Conner (John Goodman) — “Roseanne” (1988-97)

QUIK QUIZ ANSWER: (a) Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain). In real life, Conrad Bain was married to the same woman from 1945 until her death in 2009. The couple parented two sons and one daughter.

Which of the following TV dads had only one wife in real life?

a) Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) from “Different Strokes” (1978-1985).

b) Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) from “Home Improvement” (1991-1999).

c) Alex Stone (Carl Betz) from “Donna Reed” (1958-1966)

d) Bill Davis (Brian Keith) from “Family Affair” (1966-1971)

Answer at the end of the column.