Chuck Heaton (born August 22, 1917 in Yonkers, New York-died February 7, 2008 in Westlake, Ohio) was the real life sportswriter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the character "Chuck Heaton" was based on. He is also actress Patricia Heaton's father. Starting out as a beat reporter, he worked there at the Plain Dealer for fifty years before his retirement in 1992. Afterwards he still worked as a free-lance writer and columnist, also as a beat reporter for ABC-TV afffilate WEWS-TV sports commentator for he NFL's Cleveland Browns, appearing on the station's Browns Town and Countdown to 99 weekly programs. As a beat writer he also covered stories for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, and MLB's Cleveland Indians over the years.
The Chuck Heaton character was mentioned in the Season 1 episode entitled "Recovering Pessimist".