--- title: Father's Day: Pictures of JFK, Steve McQueen, Robert Redford and Other Famous Dads With Their Kids description: LIFE celebrates Father's Day with a gallery of famous dads and their kids — from JFK and Humphrey Bogart to Redford, McQueen, Donald Sutherland, Orson Welles, Tony Curtis (above) and more. canonical: https://time.com/3872170/fathers-day-special-life-with-famous-dads/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-04-02T19:23:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:47:35.472Z og:title: Father's Day: Pictures of JFK, Steve McQueen, Robert Redford and Other Famous Dads With Their Kids og:description: LIFE celebrates Father's Day with a gallery of famous dads and their kids — from JFK and Humphrey Bogart to Redford, McQueen, Donald Sutherland, Orson Welles, Tony Curtis (above) and more. og:url: https://time.com/3872170/fathers-day-special-life-with-famous-dads/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4a3212dabf36180/69884750e53aba5d4c4dcbc9/07_000484931.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Tony Curtis and daughter Jamie Lee Curtis in 1959 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Father's Day: Pictures of JFK, Steve McQueen, Robert Redford and Other Famous Dads With Their Kids twitter:description: LIFE celebrates Father's Day with a gallery of famous dads and their kids — from JFK and Humphrey Bogart to Redford, McQueen, Donald Sutherland, Orson Welles, Tony Curtis (above) and more. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4a3212dabf36180/69884750e53aba5d4c4dcbc9/07_000484931.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Father's Day Special: LIFE With Famous Dads by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 2, 2012 7:23 PM UTC  Tony Curtis smiles at his daughter, Jamie Lee, in 1959. Tony Curtis smiles at his daughter, Jamie Lee, in 1959.Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 2, 2012 7:23 PM UTC What does it mean to be a dad? Most fathers would probably cite the same qualities — and employ much the same language — if asked that very question. A dad _provides_, most would say. A dad protects. He tries to teach — often by example, if only because so many fathers still embrace that hoary old “strong, silent” stereotype, and so many dads find that _showing_ rather than _telling_ can frequently be a more eloquent method for imparting a lesson. (Or, at least, that’s what we like to tell ourselves when our kids just won’t freaking listen.) In fact, of all the familial “hoods” — motherhood, childhood, fatherhood — the latter has probably changed less, in fundamental ways, than the others over the last several generations. Motherhood is largely unrecognizable (in so many positive ways) from the institution of, say, the 1950s, while childhood sometimes seems to be redefined with each new alarmist magazine cover: _Our kids are too lazy! Our kids are too busy! Our kids are too coddled! Our kids are too stressed!_ But fatherhood? For the most part, today’s dads are still bumbling good-naturedly along, much as their fathers and their fathers’ fathers did — maybe a little more “enlightened,” more “sensitive,” more “attuned” than their old men, but generally working on the same basic principles: Raise good kids. Don’t spoil them. Help them stand up and, every once in a while, let them fall down. Love them, guide them — and then, as painful as it’s going to be, let them go. Here, on Father’s Day — [just as we did on Mother’s Day](http://life.time.com/culture/mothers-day-special-life-with-famous-moms/#1) — LIFE.com celebrates the holiday by taking a look at the rich and the famous. And, as we did on Mother’s Day, we’ll unabashedly offer up this disclaimer: the focus of the gallery is absolutely not meant to suggest that famous dads are more worthy of esteem than other dads. Instead, we’re publishing these portraits of famous dads with their kids, quite frankly, as a simple acknowledgement that, like most everybody else in the world, we’re fans. We’re fascinated by fame. And if a gallery featuring the likes of Steve McQueen, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Redford and other famous dads and their children isn’t quite the sober, reverential paean to fatherhood that people expect or want to see on the third Sunday in June … what can we say? Maybe next year we’ll do it differently. (But probably not.) Happy Father’s Day. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Orson Welles, wife Rita Hayworth and daughter Rebecca at home in 1945. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Kirk Douglas hugs his son Michael in 1949. Lisa Larsen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Humphrey Bogart and son Stephen in 1952. J.R. Eyerman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Charlton Heston lifts his two-month-old son, Fraser, who is portraying the baby Moses during filming of The Ten Commandments in 1955. George Silk—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Senator John F. Kennedy with daughter Caroline in 1958. Ed Clark—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Desi Arnaz cheers on the Dodgers while sitting next to his young son, Desi Jr., and child actor Richard Keith who played "Little Ricky" on I Love Lucy, 1958. Leonard McCombe—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Dean Martin with his son, Ricci, at home in 1958. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Vice President Richard Nixon and daughter Julie at a ballgame, 1958. Hank Walker—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Tony Curtis smiles at his daughter, Jamie Lee, in 1959. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Richard Burton and his future stepdaughter, Liz Taylor and Mike Todd's daughter Liza, in 1962. Paul Schutzer—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Steve McQueen kisses his daughter Terry goodnight in 1963. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Sammy Davis Jr. with his son Mark in 1964. Leonard McCombe—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Dustin Hoffman with his daughter Karina, 1969. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Jack Nicholson plays with his daughter, Jennifer, on the deck of his home overlooking Franklin Canyon, Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Donald Sutherland with his son, Kiefer, in 1970. Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Robert Redford and his son, David, in Utah in 1970. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3872170/fathers-day-special-life-with-famous-dads/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3872170/fathers-day-special-life-with-famous-dads/"},"headline":"Father's Day Special: LIFE With Famous Dads","datePublished":"2012-04-02T19:23:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:47:35.472Z","description":"LIFE celebrates Father's Day with a gallery of famous dads and their kids — from JFK and Humphrey Bogart to Redford, McQueen, Donald Sutherland, Orson Welles, Tony Curtis (above) and more.","url":"https://time.com/3872170/fathers-day-special-life-with-famous-dads/","keywords":["Newsfeed","John F. 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