Season 4 · Episode 18 · First aired 18 December 2005
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz
Episode 18 of Family Guy season 4 (S04E18), the 68th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Danny Smith and directed by James Purdum. First broadcast on 18 December 2005.
Story
Peter's Catholic father Francis visits and insists Stewie be baptised. The church's holy water is contaminated, so Francis baptises Stewie with it himself; the baby falls ill and is quarantined in a sterile bubble. Lois tells Peter to work out his own beliefs. He tries Mormonism, leaves on learning it bars alcohol, preaches door-to-door as a Jehovah's Witness and is thrown out of a Hindu temple after tackling the guru. Peter then founds the First United Church of the Fonz, built on Happy Days, and draws a large congregation. Brian and Francis, for different reasons, join forces against it. Sherman Hemsley, Gavin MacLeod and Kirk Cameron arrive in turn to recruit worshippers to George Jefferson, Captain Stubing and Christianity, emptying the church. Lois consoles Peter, who returns to Christianity. Francis is last seen alone, clapping to Rock Around the Clock before a picture of the Fonz.
Production and reception
- Danny Smith, who has written every episode featuring Francis since "Holy Crap", wrote the episode; James Purdum directed. Wikipedia, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz
- The producers could not secure Henry Winkler or Garry Marshall as guests, so a scene about Madonna was written to fill the time. Wikipedia, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz
- A statue of the Fonz posed like Jesus on the cross was rejected by broadcasting standards, and a scene of the congregation singing the Happy Days theme was dropped because the rights could not be obtained. Wikipedia, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz
- Guest voices included Paula Abdul, Tom Bosley, Marion Ross, Sherman Hemsley and Charles Durning. Wikipedia, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz
- The episode was watched by 8.26 million viewers and placed 40th in its week; Ryan Budke of TV Squad reviewed it warmly, while the Parents Television Council named it worst of the week. Wikipedia, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz
Voices
| Voice | Characters |
|---|---|
| Seth MacFarlane | Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin |
| Alex Borstein | Lois Griffin, Nancy, Tiffany |
| Seth Green | Chris Griffin |
| Mila Kunis | Meg Griffin |
| Paula Abdul | Paula Abdul |
| Lori Alan | Diane Simmons |
| Tom Bosley | Howard Cunningham |
| Gary Cole | Bill Lumbergh, Priest |
| Chris Cox | Husband |
| Charles Durning | Francis Griffin |
Principal voice credits as recorded by IMDb, which lists up to ten credits per episode, so recurring characters can be missing here. Guest voices below come from Wikipedia and TVmaze.
Guest voices
- Paula Abdul as herself
- Tom Bosley as himself playing Howard Cunningham, Mr. Cunningham
- Gary Cole as Bill Lumbergh
- Charles Durning as Francis Griffin
- Sherman Hemsley as himself
- Phil LaMarr as Parishioner #2 / Doctor
- Sherry Romito as Joanie / Nancy / Young Wife, Joanie
- Marion Ross as herself playing Marion Cunningham, Mrs. Cunningham
- Amir Talai as Hindu Man / Wedding Priest
- Fred Tatasciore as Gavin MacLeod
- Sarah Utterback as Lindsay Lohan
- Wally Wingert
- Ralph Garman as Parishoner #1
Season 4: episode 18 of 30
- E1North by North Quahog
- E2Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High
- E3Blind Ambition
- E4Don't Make Me Over
- E5The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire
- E6Petarded
- E7Brian the Bachelor
- E88 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter
- E9Breaking Out Is Hard to Do
- E10Model Misbehavior
- E11Peter's Got Woods
- E12Perfect Castaway
- E13Jungle Love
- E14PTV
- E15Brian Goes Back to College
- E16The Courtship of Stewie's Father
- E17The Fat Guy Strangler
- E18The Father, the Son, and the Holy FonzYou are here
- E19Brian Sings and Swings
- E20Patriot Games
- E21I Take Thee Quagmire
- E22Sibling Rivalry
- E23Deep Throats
- E24Peterotica
- E25You May Now Kiss the... Uh... Guy Who Receives
- E26Petergeist
- E27The Griffin Family History
- E28Stewie B. Goode
- E29Bango Was His Name, Oh!
- E30Stu and Stewie's Excellent Adventure
SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 4 and the episode's article (CC BY-SA 4.0). Spotted an error? See corrections.
Provenance
Facts only- Sources
- Data refreshed
- 6 September 2026
- Verification
- Checked against Wikidata and IMDb: title, date, numbering and credits agree
- Licence
- Facts are not copyrightable. Source text on Wikipedia is CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikidata is CC0; IMDb data is used for verification under its non-commercial terms.
- Note
- The story summary and notes were written for this site from the sources listed, by Claude in Claude Code on 2026-09-08, awaiting editorial review. Facts only; no dialogue is reproduced. Voice credits: Information courtesy of IMDb (https://www.imdb.com). Used with permission. Guest cast data from TVmaze (https://www.tvmaze.com), CC BY-SA.