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All-Time Terrible Soap Opera Fathers

Dorathy Gass

November 26, 2020

©Brian Lowe/jpistuios.com

Soap Opera Stars Who Are Seriously Undervalued

As the old saying goes, anyone can be a father, but it takes a special man to be a dad. These words ring true in everyday life, but also in the land of daytime soap operas. There are soap dads who have gone to jail for their offspring, given up on true love, and spent hordes of money spoiling their kids. Then, there are those soap dads who haven’t been the best role models for the children. The best of the terrible soap opera fathers are listed below!

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9. Frisco Jones – General Hospital

Frisco is certainly not a bad guy, and in a lot of ways, he is a true American hero. How many other dads on this list were willing to sacrifice a normal life in the name of super-spying to save the world? Still, he was never there for his daughters, Maxie and Georgie Jones, while they were growing up, and he left another man (Mac Scorpio) to raise them. Frisco didn’t even have the decency to show up to his own daughter’s funeral when Georgie passed on at a young age. He isn’t a terrible person, but he certainly won’t be winning the “Father of the Year” award anytime soon.

Outstanding Soap Opera Fathers

8. Peter August — General Hospital

There was a period of time in which Peter August tried to manage his devious impulses. But once he surrendered to the dark side, he really committed himself to evil; so much so that Maxie decided it was better to hide their newborn child, Louise, and pretend that the child had perished during delivery. When August learned that the child Brook Lynn was carrying around wasn’t “Bailey”, but actually Louise, he kidnapped the baby and took her on the run as a fugitive. Eventually, when Maxie offered up her freedom in exchange for Louise, August instantly took her up on the offer, leaving the baby in the snow. Way to show your true colors, dad!

Heroic Soap Opera Moments

7. Clyde Weston – Days of Our Lives

Drug dealer, abusive (both mentally and physically) to his children, and just an all-around scumbag, Clyde Weston didn’t bother trying to be a father-figure or role model for his kids, Ben and Jordan. They both tried to escape him, but in the end (and thanks to Kate Roberts), he found them in Salem. Once he was reunited with his estranged son and stepdaughter, Clyde added blackmail, murder and attempted murder to the horrible list of things this father committed. It’s no wonder Ben had such a dark chapter in his own life!

Soap Opera Actors Who Simply Cannot Be Recast

6. Colin Atkinson – Young and the Restless

Colin’s son, Cane, has done everything in his power to disassociate himself from dad. He turned to a humbler, less lucrative life and even pretended to be Phillip Chancellor to escape his father’s mob ties. It’s easy for Cane to be embarrassed by Colin’s action. Not only was he a mob boss, who constantly tried to lure his children into the family business, but he’s also a con man. In fact, Colin even planned to kill his son, just to save himself. Not a good dad at all!

Soap Opera Actresses Who Simply Cannot Be Recast

5. Tom Fisher — Young and the Restless

What would this list of terrible fathers be without Terrible Tom, as he was known? Tom Fisher was an abusive drunk who hit his wife (Gloria), locked his son (Kevin) in a closet and mentally tormented his step-son (Michael). Years later, when he returned to Genoa City to blackmail his estranged family, he was relentlessly unapologetic about his past actions. It should come as no surprise that Tom also had an alliance with Sheila Carter, who makes our Terrible Mothers list.

©Brian Lowe/jpistuios.com

Outrageous Soap Opera Secrets

4. Stavros Cassadine – General Hospital

With a mom like Helena, it’s no shocker that Stavros has landed on the terrible soap opera dads list. First off, he became a father to Nikolas [pictured] after brutally attacking his mother, Laura Spencer. Although he was frozen (thank to Helena) for most of Nikolas’ life, he wasn’t exactly the perfect father figure once he was thawed out. Stavros kidnapped Lulu, Nikolas’ half-sister, and held her hostage, trying desperately to procreate with her. When those attempts were thwarted, Stavros actually shot his own son.

Toxic Soap Opera Siblings

3. Victor Newman – Young and the Restless

Victor truly has a heart buried somewhere deep in his body, and he does have an extreme love for his children. However, his constant struggle to control every situation, not to mention his ongoing rivalry with the Abbotts (specifically Jack and Billy), leaves him on the terrible soap opera dads list. Trying to stop his daughter Victoria from marrying Billy (and becoming an Abbott herself), Victor had her arrested during her wedding. The two also had a terrible fight, and she lost her unborn child shortly afterward. He married Sharon, his son’s (Nick) wife and high school sweetheart twice. He wasn’t around while Adam was growing up; in fact, he tried to convince his mom Hope to terminate the baby to avoid the risk of the child becoming blind. Victor has also tried to frame Adam for murder. Thank goodness he has enough money to buy his own Father’s Day gift come June.

Toxic Soap Opera Friendships

2. Cesar Faison – General Hospital

Evil criminal and stalker, Cesar Faison spent years tormenting Anna Devane and her daughter, Robin, in the crazy hope that one day they could be a family. As it turns out, he actually had a family (daughter and girlfriend) the entire time. Not only did Cesar ignore his offspring, Britt Westbourne, in favor of Anna and Robin, he managed to convince Britt to steal Lulu and Dante’s embryo and pawn it off as Patrick’s child, who happened to be Robin’s husband. See a trend here?

Darkest Soap Opera Moments

1. Stefano DiMera – Days of Our Lives

It just makes sense that an all-time soap opera criminal would also be an all-time terrible father! Writing all of his ill deeds would require more space than there is to offer, but let’s review a few things that have landed Stefano on this list. First, he’s meddled in his children’s love lives and kept them from their true soul mates. He’s also pulled them into his crazy schemes against the Bradys, Blacks and Hortons. Then there’s the countless times he has kidnapped or hurt his children’s mothers. Probably the worst thing he did was being the root cause behind his daughter Lexie’s cancer. While he’s been an incredibly awesome bad guy for the show over the years, he’s been a terrible father, stepfather and adoptive father. In a lot of ways he’s an even worse grandfather, which has landed him on the top spot of this list.

Dorathy Gass

Dorathy Gass is an avid fan of daytime drama and has been watching Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and Young and the Restless for over two decades now. As a full-time freelance writer, she gets to combine her love of soap operas and writing through her Fame 10 articles. Also a mother of two busy girls and a mommy blogger, she's been published multiple times over in Huffington Post Parents and Scary Mommy.