4. BILL COSBY

A cute kid can upstage even the funniest grown-up, so it's a measure of Cosby's talent that he surrounded himself with adorable children on screen. When The Cosby Show premiered in 1984, it rejuvenated the sitcom form with its groundbreaking portrayal of a happy, successful African-American family. For eight seasons, Cosby, as the jovial patriarch Dr. Cliff Huxtable, mined comic gold from the everyday life of a Brooklyn household. He spoke for dads everywhere — once getting big laughs simply by showing off his collection of hysterically bad Father's Day gifts.

Get This! The Cosby Show, season 1