A Classic Of The 90s
The 1990s were a golden age for the television sitcom. Generation X and Millennials grew up with comedic families on TV, and one of the most popular was the Taylors from the show Home Improvement. But it turns out that the antics behind the scenes were sometimes as entertaining as the show itself!
Stand-Up Origins
The premise for Home Improvement came from the stand-up comedy of star Tim Allen. Allen began his career in comedy in 1975. Many of the jokes on the show across its eight seasons came from Allen’s own experiences growing up.
A Shady Past
While still honing his comedic chops, Tim Allen had a side hustle: He was a dealer! After being stopped at a Michigan airport in possession of 650g of white powder, he spent just over two years behind bars.
Allen Holds Out
Before Home Improvement, Allen was offered lead roles in television adaptations of the films Turner and Hooch and Dead Poets Society. He turned these down, instead holding out for a show based on his stand-up routines.
Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock
The Premise
In Home Improvement, Tim Taylor, an accident-prone former tool salesman, hosts a home improvement show called “Tool Time”. Alongside his partner Jill and their three sons, he navigates comedic situations involving the family and his show, as well as sometimes addressing serious ideas and concerns.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
A Home In The Suburbs
The Taylor family lived in the suburbs of Detroit. Patriarch Tim and his wife Jill raised their three sons, Brad, Randy, and Mark, often solving their problems with the help of little-seen neighbor Wilson.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Cast
Tim Allen played father Tim Taylor, with Patricia Richardson playing his wife Jill. Mark Taylor was played by Taran Noah Smith, Randy Taylor was played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and Brad Taylor was played by Zachery Ty Bryan. Tim’s partner Al was portrayed by Richard Karn, and neighbor Wilson was played by Earl Hindman.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Two Jills
In the pilot of Home Improvement, the role of Jill Taylor was played by actor Frances Fisher. Although the pilot tested well with audiences, Fisher’s portrayal of Jill did not. The role was recast, with Patricia Richardson playing the Taylor matriarch for all eight seasons.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
A Bigger Family Than We Saw
Just months before filming, Jill actor Patricia Richardson gave birth to twins. To accommodate her needs, a nursery was built on set, and Richardson was dressed in baggy clothing to conceal her after-pregnancy build.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Messing Up His Lines
The actors playing Tim Taylor’s children were quite young when the show began. To help them feel okay about sometimes forgetting a line, or delivering the wrong one, Tim Allen would deliberately flub his lines. He wanted them to see that even the pros mess up now and again.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Grunt
One of Tim Taylor’s catchphrases on the show was his grunt. As the years went on, Tim Allen used the grunt less and less, as it was starting to cause damage to his throat.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
In Trouble With The Law–Again!
Tim Allen may not have been dealing illicit substances while playing Tim Taylor, but he did run afoul of the law again. In 1997, he failed a field sobriety test after being pulled over for reckless driving. Allen admitted his fault and entered a rehab clinic to find help with his drinking problems.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Stop! Tool Time!
The original title for Tim Taylor’s show within a show was “Hammer Time”. Unfortunately, around the time of the Home Improvement’s development, rapper M.C. Hammer had become famous for using the phrase “Stop! Hammer time!” in his hit single “U Can’t Touch This”. Taylor’s show was changed to “Tool Time” to avoid confusion.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The FBI Steps In
According to Taran Noah Smith’s mother, Candy Bennici, she was approached by the FBI during the first year of the show. Bennici was warned that the three actors playing the Taylor children were top targets of degenerates and that she should never leave her son alone in public!
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Taylor Children: Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Home Improvement turned actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas, or JTT, into a tween heartthrob. Despite all the fame and acclaim, Thomas left the show before its finale, citing a desire to have new and different experiences outside of television. His departure caused some bad blood between him and his TV dad, Tim Allen.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Al And The Law
Richard Karn secured an audition for Home Improvement by running afoul of the law. Karn was sent to traffic school due to a moving violation and found out about the show from an agent at the school.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Real-Life Handyman
Richard Karn’s role as Al was meant to be temporary, as it was assumed that Stephen Tobolowsky, who was originally cast, would return to the show. As a result, Karn kept his other job as an apartment manager, until Tobolowsky dropped out.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Taylor Children: Taran Noah Smith
Taran Noah Smith, the actor who played Mark Taylor, had a hard time with fame. The huge trust fund he had accrued during his time on the show caused problems between the actor and his family. He also had problems with substances and alcohol, but in 2016 he reconciled with his mother. The two wrote a book about the pitfalls of childhood stardom in Hollywood.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Wilson’s Face
Except for the series finale curtain call, Wilson actor Earl Hindman never showed his whole face. After every show, when the cast would bow and thank the audience, Hindman would bring a small picket fence with him to obscure his mouth and chin.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
A Cast Full Of Southpaws
According to a 1975 study on handedness, only 10.5% of male children are left-handed. Despite this low number, Tim Allen, Richard Karn, and Earl Hindman are all left-handed.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Taylor Children: Zachery Ty Bryan
Despite finding regular work on television, Zachery Ty Bryan, who played oldest sibling Brad, never quite matched the fame he had on Home Improvement. Bryan stepped away from acting after a disastrous 2009 SyFy movie in which he played the Norse god Thor.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Zachery Ty Bryan’s Bad Restaurant Experience
Bryan’s luck went from bad to worse as he lost a fortune to unscrupulous business partners in a restaurant venture. The partners siphoned a huge amount of money from the business, a restaurant named–probably to its detriment–“Big Wangs”.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Things Get Worse For Zachery Ty Bryan
Unfortunately, Bryan’s story gets even worse. In 2020, he was arrested for assaulting a woman with whom he was in a relationship. Bryan was held in jail overnight, released on bail, and ordered to have no further contact with the woman.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Lifeguard
Although her swimsuit-clad role on Baywatch and her infamously leaked private videos made her a household name, the iconic Pamela Anderson’s first big role was on Home Improvement. Anderson played Lisa, the original Tool Time Girl, in the show’s first two seasons.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
An Inappropriate…Tool?
According to Pamela Anderson, on the very first day of shooting for Home Improvement, Tim Allen was extremely inappropriate. Allen allegedly flashed Anderson and referenced having seen her in a naughty magazine. When the story was revealed in 2023, Allen completely denied the allegation.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Too-Talented Tool Time Girl
Pamela Anderson was not the only famous actor to audition for the role of Tool Time Girl. Award-winning actor Ashely Judd also auditioned for the role but was considered “too talented” by the producers.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Double Duty Audience
Home Improvement, like many sitcoms in the 90s, was filmed in front of a live studio audience. Within the show, Tim Taylor’s “Tool Time” was also supposed to be filmed in front of a live audience. The Home Improvement audience often doubled for the “Tool Time” audience, meaning there was a chance for audience members to appear on television!
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Michigan Pride
As the series took place in a suburb of Detroit, Tim Taylor was often seen wearing casual clothes with the logos of local schools. Some schools would send in clothes for the star to wear on screen, saving the costuming department some work!
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Home Improvement On-Site
Occasionally, Tim Taylor’s “Tool Time” would leave the studio and do a show from a construction site. Many of the real-life construction sites on the show were buildings in progress on the Walt Disney Studios lot.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Lost Episode
When Home Improvement became a syndicated show, producers commissioned a special episode that was made to promote the move to daily reruns. The episode “Tanks for the Memories” involved a tank race, and was the only episode that did not premiere in the show’s usual primetime spot.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Syndication Dispute
According to creators Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra, and David McFadzean, they were not consulted over some of the syndication sales that happened at the height of Home Improvement’s popularity. The three filed a lawsuit against Disney seeking compensation.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
He’s Number One!
In November 1994, Tim Allen had a #1 best-selling book, a #1 movie (The Santa Clause), and Home Improvement was #1 in the Neilsen ratings for the month!
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Home Improvement: The Video Game
The early 90s were a huge time for home video games as well as sitcoms. But the two didn’t often cross over. That is, until Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit, a video game (very) loosely based on the show. The 1994 game featured Tim Taylor tracking down stolen Binford Tools merchandise.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
A Very Special Guest Star
Home Improvement featured several guest stars, including the Beach Boys and legendary comedian Rodney Dangerfield. Among those who were courted but never made it onto the show was American politician Hillary Clinton. Despite plans being made, the cameo never happened.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
More Special Guest Stars
Award-winning actor Michelle Williams appeared on Home Improvement before her star turn on Dawson’s Creek. Former United States President Jimmy Carter also appeared in a videotaped segment, praising Tim and Jill for their involvement with Habitat for Humanity.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
The Ninth Season?
Home Improvement wrapped after eight seasons, but producers were interested in getting the cast to come back for another year. Richardson was offered $25 million and Allen an incredible $50 million, but both declined to return.
ABC, Home Improvement (1991-1999)
Toy Story Crossover
Buzz Lightyear is perhaps Tim Allen’s next best-known role. As a nod to Allen’s successful sitcom, the logo of Binford Tools, the brand promoted by Tim Taylor, is seen on a toolbox in the first Toy Story film.
Last Man Standing
Tim Allen returned to television with his show Last Man Standing. The actor sees the series as a “flip-flop” of Home Improvement. Rather than a family of four men and one woman, Last Man features Allen as the sole man in an all-woman household.
ABC, Last Man Standing (2011-2021)
A Standing Reunion
Despite some rumors of a Home Improvement reunion, some cast members have appeared on Allen’s new show. Richard Karn, Patricia Richardson, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas have all guest-starred on Last Man Standing. And, amazingly, Tim Taylor himself, after “Tool Time” is canceled, meets alter-ego Mike Baxter in one episode!
ABC, Last Man Standing (2011-2021)
Online Legacy
Since 2016, there have been at least two podcasts dedicated to Home Improvement. “Grunt Work” is an in-depth analysis of the show, episode by episode. “Home Impodcast” also did episode analyses, and featured interviews with cast members.
