21 Most Iconic Classic TV Characters of All Time — Lucy, Archie Bunker, Hawkeye & More
You remember them, don’t you? These are the TV characters who made shows around which dinner hours were scheduled and bowling nights rearranged. Television-made men and women for whom dates were canceled and bedroom wall space was reserved … and make-believe moms and dads who made us feel much better about our own burned casseroles and dinky raises.
They’re the folks who made you laugh, made you mad, made you think — the 21 characters we think are the most unforgettable in television history. Our initial list was long, and not everyone could make the cut, so we agonized and argued and arrived at the list that follows, ranked in no specific order.
If we forgot your favorite or hailed someone you simply can’t stand, let us know in the comments.
Gilligan
Even before he embarked on the legendary “three-hour tour,” Bob Denver was much-loved as Maynard G. Krebs on The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis. But Denver became a television legend as “little buddy” to the Skipper in the classic Sherwood Schwartz sitcom Gilligan’s Island. Gilligan got into one misadventure after another, infuriating the Skipper, destroying the Professor’s inventions and annoying his fellow castaways while simply trying to be helpful. A modern-day Gilligan would probably be the first man voted off the island if this were an episode of Survivor. (Urban legend note: Gilligan’s first name was never revealed to be Willy on the long-lost pilot episode.)
Bob Hartley And Dick Loudon
What about Bob? Well, not much really … and that’s the point. Bob Newhart parlayed a milquetoast personality and killer comic timing into sitcom gold, shrewdly surrounding himself with oddball neighbors and quirky coworkers over whom he could puzzle in deliciously entertaining fashion. In each of his two classic sitcoms — The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart — Newhart was assigned unassuming occupations that kept him in contact with a revolving cast of eccentrics. Playing a psychologist and an innkeeper, respectively, Bob found the perfect scenarios in which to display his deadpan humor and hilariously reserved reactions to the absurdity of life and his fellow man. Through all of this, he won viewers’ hearts as the eye of the comic storms that continually brewed about him.
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) was a bold, opinionated, sarcastic and dedicated television reporter for a Washington, D.C.-based news program and one hell of an independent woman. The same personality that often got Murphy the big story also cost her more than her share of secretaries — many of whom didn’t last past the first day. Murphy’s talent for controversy even crossed over to the real world when she found herself pregnant out of wedlock and chose to raise the child on her own, leading to a discussion of poor “family values” led by then-Vice President Dan Quayle. One of the strongest female characters ever seen on television, Murphy remains a classic thanks to Bergen’s sure-handed performance and the show’s fearless writers.
Archie Bunker
The landmark series All In The Family would never make it in today’s politically correct society. No matter what the context, the show’s main character, Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), uttered such shockingly bigoted things that today’s network executives would have debated them right out of existence. But as we watched All In The Family, we knew we were supposed to flinch at Archie’s ideals, and that the shrewdly written character was meant to call attention to the absurdity of the outdated beliefs still held by many people in this country. In him, we saw just how ridiculous racism was, and over the course of the series, Archie took our place in situations that forced him — and us — to recognize the increasing diversity of America. But beyond all of the social impact of the character, Archie Bunker was also a very funny example of the everyman.
The Beaver (Theodore Cleaver)
When most of us think of the classic sitcoms of the 1950s and ’60s, the idyllic Cleaver household from Leave It To Beaver earns a spot near the top of the list. Jerry Mathers played young Theodore, with Tony Dow as older brother Wally, Barbara Billingsley as mother June, and Hugh Beaumont as father Ward. The G-rated predicaments in which the Beave and his pals found themselves may seem quaint and even prehistoric in these days of gangs and school shootings. Maybe the Cleavers did represent an innocence that may never have actually existed in this country, but you have to admit that you want to believe … and maybe go back to visit once in a while. (Urban legend note: Jerry Mathers did not die in Vietnam.)
Barney Fife
The Andy Griffith Show premiered in 1960 and ever after, small-town policemen would suffer the nickname “Barney Fife.” But thanks to Don Knotts‘ expressively “buggy” eyes and nervous manner that worked so perfectly in this character, Fife earns his spot as a television classic. Those distinctive traits would serve as Knotts’ trademark in other TV and movie roles.
Lucy Ricardo
As the wife of Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo (her real-life husband Desi Arnaz), Lucille Ball’s namesake sitcom character frequently found herself in hilariously confounding predicaments. Who can forget classic scenes such as Lucy stomping grapes in an Italian vineyard, or frantically trying to keep up with chocolates on a speeding assembly line, or promoting a health tonic with a high alcohol content, or desperately trying to get in on her husband’s act. Nowhere was the comic timing better or the hilarity more effortless, thanks to the brilliance of Lucille Ball. One for the record books: Lucy also was the first woman to be shown as and referred to as “pregnant” on television, and the birth of Little Ricky made television history.
Ralph Kramden
Bang! Zoom! Jackie Gleason was unforgettable as New York bus driver Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners. Straying from the suburban idyll seen in most sitcoms of its time, the Kramdens lived in a cramped city apartment, and Ralph was a true blue-collar worker who worked hard to make ends meet while occasionally finding the time to bowl with his buddies. Ralph certainly had his temper, and the series is filled with many classic rants, including his frequently offering wife Alice (Audrey Meadows) a one-way ticket to the moon. Many of the scrapes in which Ralph and wacky neighbor Ed Norton (Art Carney) found themselves have since become sitcom staples.
Hawkeye Pierce
Alan Alda‘s Dr. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce on the long-running phenomenon M*A*S*H was decidedly not your typical soldier … nor your typical television M.D. Hawkeye faced the horrific frontlines of the Korean War with a stethoscope in one hand and a martini in the other, and yet we never doubted his abilities. Along with the rest of the 4077th, he brought the realities of war into our living rooms each week, in a way that was both honest and accessible. Hawkeye is a key example of the brilliance of M*A*S*H, which extends to the rest of its stellar ensemble cast and superb writing.
J.R. Ewing
The quintessential “man you love to hate” in the king of the prime-time soap operas, J.R. (Larry Hagman) was the smarmy, snaky head of Dallas‘ Ewing Oil — a man who always sported that “everything’s OK” grin even as he was blackmailing a rival, cheating on his wife or taking over another company. It was no surprise that eventually someone would want to shoot him, and in the legendary cliffhanger episode of spring 1980, millions of viewers were left to spend the summer agonizing over “Who shot J.R.?” Sure, it’s standard soap fare to have a character who is the epitome of evil, but no one has ever come close to filling the pricey cowboy boots of J.R. Ewing.
Al Bundy
All the worst elements that women hate about men are bundled up and brought to life in the form of Chicago shoe salesman Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill) on Married … With Children, one of the first hits for the then-fledgling FOX network. Al took inexplicable pride in his status as slob and chauvinist, with a taste for beer and nudie joints. He seemed to resent the stability of his life after he got married, and he loved to relive his version of the glory years of high school. There was no foil to Al’s offensiveness — the whole Bundy family was icky, and the raunchiness and loose morals of the series spelled a truckload of outraged letters for the new network. But someone was watching — the series lasted an amazing 11 years, and Al remains the archetype of the all-American slob.
Fred Sanford
“It’s the big one, Elizabeth — I’m comin’ to join you!” With an unrivaled knack for over-the-top melodrama, elderly junkman Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) often claimed to be having the fatal heart attack that would reunite him with his departed wife … especially when it could get him out of a jam. But the other characters on Sanford And Son, including son Lamont (Demond Wilson), friend Grady (Whitman Mayo) and Fred’s feisty foe Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page), always knew he was faking it. That was part of the junkman’s charm — he was happy with the little business he had and didn’t want things to change much. Due in large part to Foxx’s perfection, Sanford And Son became another feather in the cap of producer Norman Lear (All In The Family).
Roseanne Connor
Also known as Roseanne Barr and Roseanne Arnold as she stormed down her rocky road to success, Roseanne was four-letter-perfect as the quintessential blue-collar, working-class mother on the groundbreaking series Roseanne — the rare realistic depiction of modern family life. Overweight, frumpy and just plain ornery, Roseanne was not afraid to tell it like it is. Her humor also masked the genuine fears she had for her family, with income and employment worries that mirrored those of average Americans. Sure, she could be incredibly annoying, but Roseanne finally offered us a refreshing alternative to those perfect sitcom mothers and their spit-polished families.
Kramer
Eventually, we found out that his first name was Cosmo. But Michael Richards‘ twitchy, lanky and lofty-haired Seinfeld character will live on in the annals of classic television as just plain Kramer. And as his hapless pal George Costanza once put it, Kramer’s “whole life is a fantasy camp.” Indeed, Jerry’s don’t-bother-to-knock neighbor somehow managed to have a supply of funds with no apparent job to support his hipster lifestyle and far-out money-making schemes. And he would often just happen to fall into some fabulous job, such as modeling for Calvin Klein, guest-starring on Murphy Brown or writing a coffee table book about … coffee tables.
Mr. Spock
We may open up a can of tribbles among Trekkers by choosing Spock over Captain Kirk (William Shatner) as our most memorable resident of the Enterprise, but we stand by our belief that Star Trek‘s Vulcan icon, played by Leonard Nimoy, had far more style than Kirk. Who can forget Spock’s unshakable calm in the face of the intergalactic chaos around him (not the least of which being his captain’s overacting), coupled with his wisdom, his often surprising and unexpected (even to him) humor, and, most of all, his ears? Spock surely will live long and prosper for as long as our televisions do.
Homer J. Simpson
From their humble beginnings on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpsons have transcended cartoon-character status to become genuine cultural icons. And their patriarch, Homer (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) is the proud and comically rendered poster boy for average dads worldwide — fathers who troop off to the same job for decades, say dumb things and who long ago lost their hair and their six-pack abs to the rigors of suburban life. And though Homer is often presented as a buffoon, when the credits roll, his fans know that he really does want the best for his happy family. Bonus points to Homer for his contributions to our modern vocabulary (how many times have you heard someone utter “Mmm …” while looking at something tasty, or exclaim “D’oh!” after really screwing up?).
Laura Petrie And Mary Richards
Mary Tyler Moore‘s comic acting made these two characters television classics. The entire cast of The Dick Van Dyke Show was worthy, but we can’t help but be partial to Laura Petrie. According to one of our staff members, “When I was young, I wanted to grow up to be a beautiful woman like she is, have a funny husband, make him spaghetti and dance around the house in my Capri pants. Heck, I still wanna grow up to do that!” And Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show was one of the first television portrayals of a single woman in her 30s living an independent life — her character was motivating and inspirational to many young women coming of age in the ’70s.
Felix Unger
Oh, he was obsessive! Tony Randall‘s sheer embodiment of Neil Simon’s neat-freak half of The Odd Couple was truly a television tour de force. He enjoyed some of the best lines and songs ever written for a TV character, and although he could irritate the hell out of the audience and his roommate Oscar Madison alike, there was still something endearing about him. Thanks to Felix, we know that when you assume, you make an ass out of “u” and “me,” and courtesy of the classic episode in which Felix and Oscar appear on Password, we learned that Aristophanes wrote a play called “The Birds.” And who can forget Felix’s trademark exasperated muttering, “Oscar, Oscar, Oscar …”?
The Fonz
In one of television’s most delicious ironies, soft-spoken, Yale-educated actor Henry Winkler slicked back his hair, donned a leather jacket and turned street tough Arthur Fonzarelli into a cultural phenomenon on Happy Days. The ultracool Fonz could make chicks flock to him with a snap of his fingers, and get the jukebox jumping with a quick thump of his fist. At times his coolness seemed superhuman, affording him the ability to jump his motorcycle over a line of cars, know just when and where Richie was in trouble, water-ski over sharks and survive romances with Pinky and Leather, those feisty Tuscadero girls. As the series evolved, so did The Fonz, eventually becoming a schoolteacher and co-owner of Arnold’s Drive-In, and even growing a beard. But he never lost that leather jacket or his way with the most memorable syllable in television history — “AAAAAYYYYY!”
George Jefferson
All In The Family also introduced us to George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley), who owned a successful dry-cleaning business, when he was Archie’s neighbor. He came into his own on The Jeffersons, in which he displayed many Bunkeresque behaviors of his own — a quick temper, strong and often bigoted opinions of people and events around him, and a snootiness that drove his family to distraction. George had a wise and levelheaded wife Louise (“Weezy,” played by Isabel Sanford) to keep him reined in and a mixed-marriage couple living nearby to confound him. But we think it was his famous rooster-in-the henhouse stride that gave George Jefferson unparalleled style.
Latka Gravas
Andy Kaufman expanded his “foreign man” comedy routine into this character on Taxi, and Latka quickly became the most popular guy on the show. We couldn’t quite discern the nationality of this kooky mechanic for the Sunshine Cab Company, and rarely could we even understand him — but he was still hilarious in a creepy-cuddly sort of way. Once in a while Latka would walk on the dark side, morphing into the sleazy but uproarious Vic Ferrari, a swinging playboy who was the exact opposite of lovable Latka. Eventually, Latka met his match in Simka (Carol Kane), a wacky lady from his homeland (whatever it was), who became the foreign man’s bride.
1970s Fall TV
September 2023
Take a trip back to the ’70s by looking at the TV Guide Magazine Fall Preview primetime lineups.
Buy This Issue