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Father’s Day Special: LIFE With Famous Dads and Their Daughters

2 minute read

Back in 1995, the singer-songwriter — and excellent cartoonist — Peter Blegvad released a song later made semi-famous when a cover version by Loudon Wainwright III was featured on the soundtrack for Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up. The song, “Daughter,” is as sweet and true as any song ever written by a parent to a child, and manages to capture in relatively few words the intense, tender, exasperating and, through it all, loving relationships that dads and daughters enjoy — or, at times, simply endure.

(Wainwright, interestingly, enough, is the father of Rufus Wainwright and the son of a longtime LIFE magazine writer and editor, Loudon Wainwright, Jr.)

Here, in a special Father’s Day gallery, LIFE.com applauds that unique familial bond with photos of famous fathers and their daughters — and, for a little variety, one famous daughter and her dad.

Blegvad’s lyrics to “Daughter,” meanwhile, are worth celebrating in their own right. See them below. You can also buy the song itself, or get the whole CD, Just Woke Up, on which “Daughter” originally appeared. Go. Now. Buy it.

“Daughter”

© 1995 Peter Blegvad

Everything she sees
she says she wants.
And everything she says she wants
I see she gets.

That’s my daughter in the water,
everything she owns I bought her,
Everything she owns.
That’s my daughter in the water,
Everything she knows I taught her.
Everything she knows.

Everything I say
She takes to heart.
And everything she takes,
She takes apart.

That’s my daughter in the water,
Every time she fell I caught her,
Every time she fell.
That’s my daughter in the water
I lost every time I fought her.
Yeah, I lost every time.

Every time she blinks
she strikes somebody blind,
And everything she thinks
Blows her tiny mind.

Happy Father’s Day, everyone.

[MORE: See the LIFE gallery, “LIFE With Famous Moms.”]

John Barrymore and daughter Diana, 1942.
John Barrymore and daughter Diana, 1942.Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Alfred Hitchcock and daughter Patricia, 1942.
Alfred Hitchcock and daughter Patricia, 1942.Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Orson Wells, Rita Hayworth and daughter Rebecca, 1945.
Orson Wells, Rita Hayworth and daughter Rebecca, 1945.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Michael Redgrave and daughter Lynn, 1946.
Michael Redgrave and daughter Lynn, 1946.Ian Smith—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gary Cooper and daughter Maria, 1949.
Gary Cooper and daughter Maria, 1949.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jackie and Rachel Robinson with their infant daughter, Sharon, Los Angeles, 1950.
Jackie and Rachel Robinson with their infant daughter, Sharon, Los Angeles, 1950.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Pablo Picasso and daughter Paloma, 1951.
Pablo Picasso and daughter Paloma, 1951.Dmitri Kessel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Harry Truman and daughter Margaret, 1952.
Harry Truman and daughter Margaret, 1952.George Skadding—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Desi Arnaz with daughter Lucie, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Jr., 1953.
Desi Arnaz with daughter Lucie, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Jr., 1953.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Richard Burton and daughter Kate, 1957.
Richard Burton and daughter Kate, 1957.Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy with daughter Caroline, 1958.
John F. Kennedy with daughter Caroline, 1958.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Dean Martin with daughter Gina Caroline, 1958.
Dean Martin with daughter Gina Caroline, 1958.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Tony Curtis with daughter Jamie Lee, 1959.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John Glenn with daughter Lyn, 1959.
John Glenn with daughter Lyn, 1959.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Henry Fonda with daughter Jane, 1960.
Henry Fonda with daughter Jane, 1960.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Ann-Margret with her father Gustav Olsson, 1961.
Ann-Margret with her father Gustav Olsson, 1961.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Burt Lancaster with daughter Sighle (pronounced Sheila), 1961.
Burt Lancaster with daughter Sighle (pronounced Sheila), 1961.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Al Hirschfeld with his daughter Nina, 1961.
Al Hirschfeld with his daughter Nina, 1961.Bob Gomel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Astronaut Scott Carpenter with daughter Candy, 1962.
Astronaut Scott Carpenter with daughter Candy, 1962.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John Mills with daughter Hayley, 1962.
John Mills with daughter Hayley, 1962.Ralph Crane—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Steve McQueen kisses his daughter Terry goodnight in 1963.
Steve McQueen kisses his daughter Terry goodnight in 1963. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Robert F. Kennedy with daughter Mary, 1963.
Robert F. Kennedy with daughter Mary, 1963.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Lyndon Johnson with daughters Lucy and Lynda, 1964.
Lyndon Johnson with daughters Lucy and Lynda, 1964.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton and daughter Hayley, 1965.
Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton and daughter Hayley, 1965.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra and daughter Nancy (with Yul Brynner), 1965.
Frank Sinatra and daughter Nancy (with Yul Brynner), 1965.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Charlie Chaplin and daughters Josephine and Victoria, 1966.
Charlie Chaplin with daughters Josephine and Victoria, 1966.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Charles M. Schulz and daughter Jill, 1967.
Charles M. Schulz and daughter Jill, 1967.Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Paul Newman with daughter Clea and wife Joanne Woodward, 1968.
Paul Newman with daughter Clea and wife Joanne Woodward, 1968.Mark Kauffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Robert Redford and daughter Shauna, 1969.
Robert Redford and daughter Shauna, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Dustin Hoffman with his daughter Karina, 1969.
Dustin Hoffman with his daughter Karina, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jack Nicholson and daughter Jennifer, 1969.
Jack Nicholson and daughter Jennifer, 1969.Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Donald Sutherland and daughter Rachel, 1970.
Donald Sutherland and daughter Rachel, 1970.Co Rentmeester—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Richard Nixon and daughter Patricia, 1971.
Richard Nixon and daughter Patricia, 1971.Walter Bennett—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Bill Clinton with daughter Chelsea and wife Hillary, 1993.
Bill Clinton with daughter Chelsea and wife Hillary, 1993.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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