Scroll through any list of the best TV shows of the early 90s and you’re almost certain to see it. Home improvement somewhere at the top of the list. Quite unexpectedly, the series that aired in 1991 garnered a stellar audience and quickly became a family favorite. It ran for eight seasons, comprising a total of 204 30-minute episodes. The show ended in 1999.
Originally created with the title Hammer Time, the show was one of the most-watched sitcoms in the United States and won over 40 awards and over 60 nominations. Stars like Pamela Anderson and comedian Tim Allen also owe their successful careers to the sitcom. For the first, it was his first television appearance and for the second, it marked the start of his acting career.
The show tells the story of Tim Taylor, his wife Jill and their three mischievous boys as they go through life’s trials and tribulations. Tim, who is the main character, is also a hardware enthusiast and TV show host. They’re also joined by two other main cast members: their odd neighbor and Tim’s trusty TV co-host.
So what has happened to the series’ ensemble cast since its release? Where are they now? Let’s find out.
Home Improvement Cast Members: Where Are They Now?
Tim Allen – Timothy Taylor
The story gives us the impression that Allen seized his own opportunity and seized it. Before his time in Home Improvement, Allen didn’t have an acting career. He was trying to make a living as a comedian. One of his frequent characters on his comedy sets was the reason he was featured on the TV show.
Allen’s character, Timothy Taylor, is the main character on the show. Taylor lives with his wife and three children in Detroit, Michigan. On the show, he is painted as the traditional American male who loves hardware and power tools. He is also a big fan of sports teams in Detroit. Taylor also hosts a TV show called “Tool Time”, where he is shown to be a disastrous, accident-prone handyman when handling his tools.
Since the curtain fell, Tim Allen has pursued a decent acting career. He was in films like For more or less rich (1997) ; Christmas with the Kranks (2004) ; Crazy on the Outside (2010) . He was also Santa Claus in The Santa Claus comedy film series and voice cast Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise. In 2011, he started playing the role of Mike Baxter in the sitcom Last Man Standing.
Patricia Richardson – Jillian Taylor
Patricia plays Jillian Taylor, the wife of Tim Allen’s character. Initially, she was reluctant to accept the role because she feared her character would be another pin-up TV mom, much like The Cosby Show Claire Huxtable. She only reconsidered her position when satisfied with the extent of the imperfections her role would require her to expose. This is seen in her twin personality on the show where Jill Taylor is the voice of reason in housekeeping and understanding fault, while interfering and showing examples of poor judgment, among other things.
Prior to the show, the actress was on other projects like You Better Be Careful (1980) ; The Cosby Show (1987) ; Quantum Leap (1989) ; and Lost Angels (1989) . Since the end of Home Improvement, she has been making films like Blond (2001) ; California Dream (2007) ; The Jensen Project (2010) ; and County Line (2017). His television appearances include Strong Medicine (2002-2005); and the west wing(2005-2006). She also joined her on-screen husband, Tim Allen, on the set of Last Man Standing for two episodes.
Zachery Ty Bryan – Bradley Michael “Brad” Taylor
Bradley Taylor is the firstborn in the Taylor household. He has the most in common with his father. Brad doesn’t excel at schoolwork, but he makes up for it with his athletic form and participation in sports, especially football. He also applies his physical attributes in other ways, such as bullying his brothers, especially Mark. His father Tim Taylor can communicate with him better than others because of their common interests. However, he is also the only family member to have gotten into trouble with the law for various reasons – from crashing a greenhouse to smuggling marijuana.
Zachery Ty Bryan didn’t have an acting career before on Home Improvement. He had already appeared in a few television channels and before being scouted by a talent agent in New York. This led to him joining the cast of the series. While on the show, Zachery made guest appearances on The Prince of Bel Air (1995); Big Foot: The Unforgettable Encounter (1995); and First Child (1996).
Since the end of the series, he has slowly transitioned from acting to producing. However, he made appearances on Promised Land (1997) ; Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2001) ; Smallville (2003) ; Veronica Mars (2005) ; and from Syfy THOR: Hammer of the Gods (2009). His production credits include Trunk (2008); Prowl (2010); Rogue River (2012); and the sorrowful tourist (2012).
Jonathan Taylor Thomas – Randall Williams “Randy” Taylor
Randy, like his older brother Brad, has a Malignant as well, but he uses it in a more cerebral way. Unlike Brad, Randall excelled in his studies. At the start of the series, he had a lot in common with Brad and Tim. But as the series progressed, it continued to evolve and began to care about things like the environment, the threat of organized religion, human rights, and the rights of people. animals. In the eighth season, Randall will leave for Costa Rica with his longtime girlfriend, Lauren.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ first television appearance was in 1990. Kevin Brady The Bradys. The 1990s show was a spinoff of the popular 1970s shows Brady’s Band. Besides his involvement in Home Improvement, he was also involved in perhaps the most successful animated film of the 90s, The Lion King (1994). The then 13-year-old played the character Simba. Jonathan joins the list of Home Improvement cast members who have appeared together on other shows. They include Smallville (2002, 2004) and Veronica Mars(2005). He also reprized the role of Randy on 7 episodes of The Last Man Standing from 2013 to 2016, joining his on-screen parents, Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson.
Taran Noah Smith – Marcus Jason “Mark” Taylor
Taran Noah Smith plays Mark Taylor, the youngest of the Taylor children. Mark looks nothing like his parents. He is sensitive, has an insufficient sense of humor, and displays a serious lack of mischievous talent. The latter, coupled with being the youngest and smallest of his siblings, often made him the target of Randy and Brad’s misdeeds. Mark is closer to his mother than the others and has almost nothing in common with his father and brothers. He goes through a phase of social disengagement throughout his adolescence.
As the series progresses, Mark’s talents shine through. He falls in love with music, cinema, martial arts and even trains as a culinary expert. Mark who eventually grows bigger than Brad and Randy developed a close relationship with Brad after Randy left for Costa Rica last season.
Taran says of his time on the show that the biggest lesson he learned while filming the show is that he didn’t want a life as an actor. Years later, he seems to have held firmly to that lesson. His last appearance in a film or TV movie was in 1999, when he voiced Rat Boy in the animated film. Batman Beyond. He had appeared on Ebbie four years prior.
Taran married a woman 16 years older than him in 2001. He was only 17 at the time. They remained married until their divorce in 2007.
Richard Karn – Albert “Al” Borland
Perhaps the reason Al Borland made so much sense alongside Tim Taylor on the show is that the two characters aren’t the same. Al is anti-social and doesn’t show much enthusiasm for anything. The one thing he knows more than anyone else on the show, including Tim, is how to use handyman tools. In the series, he is the very discreet sidekick of Tim Time ‘s show tool. It is also revealed that Tim earns significantly more for his handyman show.
Al is almost always seen wearing home-improved flannel as a tribute to his father who gave birth to him when he was almost 60 years old. He would eventually earn a living after inventing a board game based on the Tool Time Show, using Tim, their presenter Heidi, and himself as playable characters.
Karn who had previously appeared on a Super Bowl XIV commercial learned about Home Improvement while doing penance for a traffic violation in Los Angeles. He successfully won the role of Al Borland from Stephen Tobolowsky, who had already been given the job but was busy on another film set. He started as a guest, but was replaced by ABC after the series resumed.
Since then, Richard Karn has also worked as a host of game shows like Family Quarrel (2002 – 2006) and Bingo America (2008).
Earl Hindman – Wilson W. Wilson
Earl plays Wilson who is a neighbor of the Taylors on the show. He is a wise and well traveled man. In the show, his wisdom is put to full use, as he is always seen giving advice to Tim, Jill, or the boys. Wilson is generally a good person who likes to pay attention to his neighbors. His “neighborhood” attitude comes from the fact that as a child, his parents never let him communicate with them, let alone visit their neighbours. Wilson is well read and has a doctorate in cultural studies. Throughout the series, Wilson’s face is never fully seen. It has always been obscured by everything from the fence to the beard to the mask or painting. He finally shows his face in the final episode of the season finale.
Earl Hindman was already a TV and film regular before joining the Home Improvement cast. Earl was beginning his career in the 1960s Who Killed Mary? (1971); The Parallax View (1974) ; The work of the edge (1978) ; and Silverado (1985) . His longest television film was Ryan’s Hope. His wife Molly McGreevey joined him on the whole show. It ran for 13 years, premiering on ABC in 1975 and ending in 1989. He portrayed the character of Bob Reid on the show for 459 episodes.
Painfully, Home Improvement was his penultimate project as an actor before his passing. He died in December 2003 after being diagnosed with lung cancer earlier in the year due to his longtime obsessive smoking.
Debra “Debbe” Dunning – Heidi Keppert
Keppert is initially only seen around the Time” series. She is the presenter of the series and helps Tim and Al use their tools. She is also a capable hand as an electrician. Keppert was first only seen on the Tim and Al show. However, as her personal life intersected with Tim and Al’s, she became a series regular in the third season. In the seventh season, she upgraded to group rank. On the show, Heidi gave birth to Amy, her eldest daughter, while having marriage issues throughout the show.
Debbe Dunning wears many hats: actress, model, comedian, spokesperson, host and executive producer. His credits before his time on Home Improvement include Dangerous Curves (1988) and Married with Children (1990, 1991). Tales from the Crypt (1994); Leprechaun 4: In Space (1997); The spiral staircase (2000); Now You Know (2002); and Wicked Games (2006) are also among his works.