MUMBAI: Television comic icon Bill Cosby whose father character Cliff Huxtable was a staple on American television for many years on The Cosby Show has been named the top TV dad of all time.

Home entertainment company Tivo which came out with the Personal Video Recorder
(PVR) conducted a survey in the US.

From Raymond Barone's kind but befuddled approach to parenting, to Homer Simpson's ubiquitous "Doh!" and throttling ways, TV dads are as different as the audiences who love and adore them. Tivo asked Americans to rank the top 25 past and present TV dads. Caring, involved and nostalgic dads ranked highest.

Still in the top 25, but closer to the end of the list, were TV dads who are infamous for being lewd, crude and tattooed. They included Homer Simpson in The Simpsons, Tony Soprano in the gangster saga The Sopranos and Ozzy Osbourne in MTV's reality show The Osbournes.

Meanwhile to celebrate Fathers Day Tivo will honour real-life American dads. The company has launched an interactive initiativ3e in the US Search for TiVo's Top Five Dads. This search is designed to find true role models -- dads who lead busy lives but manage to spend quality time with their families, even if it means missing their favourite sitcom or the big game.

Till 31 July nominations for the "Search for TiVo's Top Five Dads" will be accepted at www.tivo.com. TiVo real-life dad nominees can come from any walk of life. Entries should illustrate how the nominee lives life on a schedule, but always makes time for his family, how he deserves more time in his life for some fun and relaxation. The entries swhould also show how the nominees consistently give back to the community.

The top five real-life dads will win Ultimate Dad's Day Out packages. This will include their choice of a golf outing, fishing trip or tickets to a
professional athletic event, a day of lawn maintenance, a backyard cook-out for the family, and a TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder with a product lifetime service.