What The Cast Of Home Improvement Looks Like Today
Millions of households tuned in each week to watch the antics of Tim Taylor and the rest of the cast of Home Improvement. If you grew up in the '90s, you probably had posters of one of the Taylor boys—or the Tool Time girls—up on your bedroom wall. And who could ever forget the show's theme song or Tim's trademark grunts? It's hard to believe, but it's been over 25 years since the show first aired. Let's take a look back at the characters that made this show such a success, and find out what the actors who played them are up to today.
Tim Allen - Tim Taylor
As the patriarch of the Taylor family, Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor (played by Tim Allen) has to juggle the responsibilities of being a dad and also the star of his own television show, Tool Time. Accident-prone and often cracking jokes at the worst of times, Tim frequently made predicaments worse with his know-it-all attitude and his tendency to act impulsively.
After making a name for himself as a stand-up comedian, Tim Allen got his first big break when he was cast as the leading man in Home Improvement. The show was an instant hit, propelling him to superstardom during its eight-season run. Allen would go on to land major movie roles in the Santa Clause and Toy Story franchises, as well as appear on many other television shows over the years.
In recent years, Allen starred in the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing from 2011-2017, where he was able to reunite with his Home Improvement co-stars Patricia Richardson and Jonathan Taylor Thomas when they guest-starred on the show. He'll also return to the voice part of Buzz Lightyear for Toy Story 4 in 2019. In addition to his acting career, Allen has never given up on stand-up. According to his website, he has several tour dates scheduled around the country for 2017.
Patricia Richardson - Jill Taylor
As Tim's wife and the mother to their three boys, Jill (Patricia Richardson) often finds herself in the position of being the cooler and more intellectual side of any argument with Tim. Because Jill grew up with nothing but sisters, she also struggles to deal with the difficulties of raising three sons.
Following her role on Home Improvement, Patricia Richardson went on to star in the medical drama Strong Medicine until 2005. She also had a recurring role on The West Wing as campaign manager Sheila Brooks. More recently, Richardson appeared in the crime drama County Line, alongside Jeff Fahey and Tom Wopat. Of all the Home Improvement stars, Richardson looks the most like her on-screen persona. Jill always had a trademark haircut with bangs—a haircut Richardson still sports an updated version of today.
Zachery Ty Bryan - Brad Taylor
Of all the Taylor boys, eldest son Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan) was the most like their father. Brad and Tim are frequently seen bonding while working on Tim's ongoing hot rod project car in the garage, although Brad is definitely much more athletic than his clumsy father. Brad and middle brother Randy were also close, and often could be found pulling pranks on their youngest sibling, Mark.
Although Home Improvement was his first major role, Bryan didn't give up on Hollywood when the series ended; he's also appeared in shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Boston Public, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Smallville, and he ended an eight-year acting hiatus when he appeared in the 2017 film Adi Shankar's Gods and Secrets. Although he practically grew up onscreen in a household of boys, real life has treated Bryan differently; he and his wife welcomed their third daughter into the world in June 2016.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas - Randy Taylor
Middle child Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) wasn't as athletic as his big brother Randy, instead focusing on intellectual and artistic pursuits. Although he was the most book-smart of the boys, Randy was also the biggest troublemaker. In later seasons, he became more involved in social issues, and eventually moved to Costa Rica in the eighth season of the show.
Of the three boys on the show, Thomas perhaps shot to superstardom the fastest. It wasn't long before he was on the cover of every teen gossip magazine, particularly after he used his voice to play the character of Simba in Disney's The Lion King. Eventually Thomas took a step back from acting, getting a formal education at both Harvard and Columbia University before returning to Hollywood.
When Thomas came back, this time it was with more of a focus on producing and directing. He reunited with Tim Allen when he guest-starred in several episodes of Last Man Standing, and even directed a few episodes of the series. According to Patricia Richardson, Thomas and Zachery Ty Bryan have recently written "a really wonderful pilot that is sort of R-rated and are shopping it around town."
Taran Noah Smith - Mark Taylor
The youngest of the the three Taylor boys, Mark (Taran Noah Smith) frequently finds himself the target of his older brothers' practical jokes. Quieter and more sensitive, Mark grows up closer to his mother Jill than to Tim. As a teen, he goes through a rebellious "Goth" phase before eventually growing out of it. After Randy moves to Costa Rica in the eighth season, Mark finally begins to bond more strongly with his oldest brother Brad.
Following his role on Home Improvement, actor Taran Noah Smith essentially quit Hollywood for good. After a difficult estrangement over his trust fund and his 2001 marriage to the much-older Heidi van Pelt (they divorced in 2007), Smith reconciled with his parents. He even co-authored a book with his mother/manager Candy Bennici about the pitfalls of child acting. These days, Smith is a vegan, active in social causes, and lives in southern California. According to his Facebook profile, over the winter of 2016, he spent a few months protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline at the Standing Rock reservation.
Richard Karn - Al Borland
Al Borland (Richard Karn) was Tim Taylor's friend and long-suffering co-host on the Tool Time television show sponsored by Binford Tools. As a caricature of real-life home improvement expert Norm Abrams, Al frequently plays the straight-man to Tim's on-screen antics. Al is much more quiet, reserved, and more knowledgeable about home improvement skills, and while he starts out as something of a shy mama's boy, Al grows over the course of the show's eight seasons, eventually marrying in the series finale.
Following his appearance on Home Improvement, Karn went on to appear in numerous other television shows and movies. He also became well-known in the game show circuit when he was tapped to be the host of Family Feud from 2002-2006. He also hosted the game show Bingo America in 2008. In 2017, Karn appeared in episodes of Detroiters and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Debbe Dunning - Heidi Keppert
Beginning in season three, Heidi Keppert (Debbe Dunning) took over the role of the "Tool Time Girl" from Lisa (Pamela Anderson). Like her predecessor, Heidi's job was to introduce the show-within-a-show and assist Tim and Al by bringing them tools. Unlike Lisa, more of Heidi's life was explored in the series, including her marital problems and the crush Tim's son Brad developed on her.
Following her appearance on Home Improvement, Dunning only acted in a handful of other roles during the 2000s. She later married professional volleyball player Steve Timmons, with whom she has three children. Dunning recently made a return to the small screen and is slated to appear in the 2017 TV series The Prophet.
Pamela Anderson - Lisa
In the first two seasons, Pamela Anderson portrayed Lisa—the first Binford Tools "Tool Girl" on Tim's show, Tool Time. The fresh-faced Anderson was not yet a household name, but that would soon change when she accepted a role on the new series Baywatch. The show propelled her to superstardom, and her Home Improvement character was written off. Anderson later starred in Barb Wire and appeared in numerous other films and television series like V.I.P. and the animated Stan Lee comic series Stripperella. In 2017, she returned to her roots when she reprised her role as Casey Jean "CJ" Parker in the Baywatch movie.
William O'Leary - Marty Taylor
Tim's youngest brother, Marty Taylor (William O'Leary) was practically raised by Tim after their father died when Marty was still an infant. While Tim and his other brothers frequently picked on Marty as kids, as an adult the two are close. Marty often has stability problems with his jobs and marriage, and struggles to raise his two daughters. Through it all, Tim was usually there to help his little brother.
A prolific character actor, O'Leary has had no lack of work since Home Improvement went off the air in 1999. He's played parts in dozens of films and shows like The X-Files, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and 24; more recent roles include a 2017 episode of NCIS: Los Angeles. He's also helping to train a new generation of onscreen talent with his own acting studio in Burbank, California.
Earl Hindman - Wilson
The Taylors' neighbor Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. (Earl Hindman) was a wise and friendly presence in nearly every episode of the show. While he most frequently dispensed his good advice to his friend Tim, Wilson eventually also became a confidant to Jill, Al, the Taylor boys, and other characters. We usually saw him over the top of the fence, but in later seasons the show would get more creative in the way they obscured his face for the running joke.
While the top half of his head became famous as Wilson on Home Improvement, many young fans of the show had no idea that Hindman had previously had a very prominent role as Bob Reid on the daytime drama Ryan's Hope in the '70s and '80s. Unfortunately, Hindman didn't get to accept many more parts after the end of Home Improvement: he was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away in 2003, at the age of 61.