The Top 10 Uncles 
in TV Comedy History

Uncle Tonoose - Make Room For Daddy
TVís first eccentric uncle of note, Tonoose was always good for a few laughs whenever he dropped by for a visit on this sitcom starring Danny Thomas. Although such records werenít kept prior to 1968, it is widely accepted that had they been, Uncle Tonoose would be the hands down leader in the category of "most spit takes caused." Hans Conried, the actor that portrayed Uncle Tonoose, also appeared as Wrongway Feldman on Gilliganís Island, starred in the film The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T and provided the voice of Snidely Whiplash in the Duddley Doright cartoons.

Uncle Joe - Petticoat Junction
When it comes to the role of the lazy uncle, no one played the part better than Edgar Buchanan as Uncle Joe Carson on the sitcoms Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. If Uncle Joe had put as much effort into getting a job done as he did avoiding it, he probably could have turned the Shady Rest into a ten story vacation resort. But no such luck. Whatever energy Uncle Joe saved up from dodging a chore, he used to scam freebies off Sam Drucker at the general store.

Uncle Bill - Family Affair
Hereís a twist - an uncle whoís the responsible member of the family! Brian Keith starred as Bill Davis, a highly paid consulting engineer during the day and a swinging ladies man by night. Hot Dang, you might think, but all of a sudden heís got a teenage girl and a couple of little red headed rugtrats running around his snazzy Manhattan bachelor pad. Well, with the help of Mr. French, who was probably tired of all the hanky panky anyway, Uncle Bill became the head of the household and showed American TV viewers that any problem could be solved if you just rubbed your face long enough.

Uncle Martin - My Favorite Martian
Technically, Ray Walstonís character was an uncle in name only and not a real blood relation of Tim OíHara, a newspaper reporter played by TV legend Bill Bixby. You see, Uncle Martin was really a martian, who crash landed his space ship on Earth and fortunately was discovered by the nice guy reporter instead of some sleazy hack from the tabloids. Until he could get his space ship repaired and return home, the alien had to pass himself off as Timís uncle, which wasnít easy since the landlady downstairs was making nice with a nosey police detective. In addition to being the only uncle on this list from another planet, Uncle Martin had retractable antennae in his head, making him the only TV uncle who could pick up VHF.

Uncle Roy - Saturday Night Live
Okay, how could a perverted uncle who likes to snap pictures of his niecesí panty clad bottoms be considered funny? Somehow Buck Henry manages to make comedy out of a situation that should be very uncomfortable. I guess thereís an underlying sense that he will never hurt the girls, heís just having some well intentioned fun.

Uncle Charlie - My Three Sons
When father-in-law Bub OíCasey (William Frawley) left the Douglas household as itís grumpy old live-in house keeper, someone had to come in and pick up the slack. That someone was Bubís brother Charlie, a crusty old ex-sailor who had a heart of gold. You just had to work your way through some calluses to get to it. Yeah, Uncle Charlie loved his nephews, and something tells me that whenever a Douglas boy turned 18, he was the one that took ëem out, got ëem drunk and set ëem up with their first cheap hooker.

Uncle Arthur - Bewitched
Most families have an uncle whoís a cutup, but how many have one whose head can suddenly appear in the oven or refrigerator? Famed center square Paul Lynde starred as Samatha Stephensí favorite uncle, a warlock who was happier conjuring up a laugh than a spell. He drove Endora and Darrin crazy, but he made the rest of us insane with laughter. And something tells me he may have been one of the few people who actually preferred the second Darrin over the original.

Uncle Leo - Seinfeld
Len Lesser is the unknown actor responsible for the portrayal of Jerryís offbeat Uncle Leo, a man with his own sense of reality. This is a man who could pontificate endlessly on the dumb luck of finding a perfectly good watch in the trash or drill you without mercy over being slighted. Heís the kind of uncle you love, you just donít wanna be around him much.

Uncle Al the Kiddies Pal - Laugh In
Sometimes a performer comes along who is so unfunny that heís hilarious. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Alan Seuss. Of course, his Uncle Al character isnít anyoneís uncle, heís a parody of a bad TV kiddies show host. All of the tired old clichÈs are in full force in this wacky takeoff: Heís doesnít like kids, he drinks and so on. It shouldnít work. But it does, because it doesnít. Donít ask me to explain. If I have to, then youíll never get it.

 

Uncle Jessie - Dukes of Hazzard (not the one from Full House)
If youíre a couple of good old boys like Bo and Luke Duke with no visible means of support, you gotta have someplace to stay and not pay rent. Thank goodness for Denver Pyle as Uncle Jessie, a much older good old boy with no visible means of support himself, but at least with a nice roof over his head. Sure, there was the farm, but who the heck was workiní it? Well, at least what Uncle Jessie lacked in finance, he more than made up in common sense and good old country values. Thankfully, they all had Cousin Daiseyís tip money to live on.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Uncle Ned - Family Ties
How many TV uncles go on to win two Academy Awards for Best Actor? Tom Hanks played Alex Keatonís wacky uncle not once but twice before he hit it big on the silver screen as a dying gay lawyer and a simpleton far wiser than his IQ. As Uncle Ned, he settled on running from the FBI and becoming a funny alcoholic.

Napoleon Solo - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Not really anybodyís uncle, just Robert Vaughn as some guy trying to save the world from a nasty international crime syndicate and pick up some hoochie along the way. And isnít that what being an uncle is all about? Doing good things for others and having some fun in the process.

Weíre So Sorry, Uncle Albert...
But you havenít made the list because you were only an uncle in a Paul McCartney song and not one on television. But Iím sure there are some other favorite TV uncles that didnít get a mention for one reason or another. Heck, and I use that word sincerely, maybe I just plain overlooked them. (You never know!) This is your chance to correct a possible faux pas. E-mail me or go to the Lip Service page and post a message. That way the millions of LakinLand readers will be privy to your disgust and the world will be a better place for it.