From 1991 until the summer of 1999, America was absolutely in love with one of the most-relatable and hysterical TV families they’d ever been introduced to – The Taylors.
The Taylor family was at the center of the beloved ABC television show Home Improvement. Starring the always-funny Tim Allen as the show’s lead, Tim Taylor, it was based on the patriarch running a successful home improvement television show himself, and about the ups and downs of family life. Fixing stuff on TV and fixing stuff at home.
Home Improvement featured a load of actors who remained on for the duration of the show, and some of which have continued acting since the show ended in May 1999.
Let’s find out what they’re up to!
Tim Allen – Tim Taylor
The lead actor and one of the show’s creators has since moved on to another sitcom in recent years, called Last Man Standing. That show is still running and recently was renewed for its eighth season in 2019 – and Home Improvement also had a full eight seasons.
Allen also appeared in a Netflix original comedy movie called El Camino Christmas in 2017.
Not surprisingly – on the set of Last Man Standing, some of the old cast from Home Improvement made several cameos and repeat appearances in a throwback that is sure to have fans reeling! He also starred in the reboot of his Santa Clause movies, with a series on Disney+ called The Santa Clauses.
Patricia Richardson – Jillian “Jill” Taylor
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Richardson, who is on the National and Los Angeles (local) Board of the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG-AFTRA), has held a long career involved in the arts and is still best-known for her time as Jill Taylor on Home Improvement.
Over the last decade or so, she’s appeared on series like The West Wing, Law & Order: SVU, and joined some of her former Home Improvement cast mates in making guest appearances on Last Man Standing with Tim Allen.
Zachery Ty Bryan – Brad Taylor
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Eldest of the Taylor kids was Brad – also known as Zachery Ty Bryan. He stayed on through the entire run of the sitcom and made other appearances in shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air while he was continuing to film.
In the years after Home Improvement ended, Bryan has guest-starred in Cold Case, Burn Notice, and Smallville. But he is mainly focused on his own entertainment company, Lost Lane. He’s also a skilled investor and trader in cryptocurrency.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas – Randy Taylor
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A true teen heartthrob, Jonathan Taylor Thomas exited the film industry for a few years after skipping the eighth and final season of Home Improvement. He studied abroad, attended Harvard, and now has returned to Hollywood looking to get into directing more.
Thomas helped out on a few episodes of Allen’s Last Man Standing show by both appearing in episodes and directing several.
Don’t forget, with the revival of The Lion King, Thomas was the original voice actor for young Simba in the original Disney animated film.
Taran Noah Smith – Mark Taylor
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Exiting television just a short time after his eight-year run on Home Improvement, the star who played the Taylors’ youngest son is living his life actually fixing houses now!
“It is really strange – I’m now doing Tool Time for real,” Smith told Inside Edition.
As of December 2017, Smith was living in a camp outside of Corpus Christi, Texas and volunteered to help rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.
Richard Karn – Al Borland
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Who could forget about Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor’s handy and smart sidekick? NOBODY. And Richard Kern certainly hasn’t forgotten about Home Improvement!
Recently, Karn and Allen teamed up to host a History Channel show, Assembly Required!
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Previously Karn had starred as the host of Family Feud from 2002-2006 and has starred in a bevy of Hallmark Channel and Lifetime movies.
Debbe Dunning – Heidi Keppert
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The stunning and always-helpful assistant for Tim and Al on the show is still doing television today and in 2017, launched a show on RFD-TV called Debbe Dunning’s Dude Ranch Round-Up.
This new show followed Dunning around the nation as she visited some of the best dude ranches ever to exist and she covered A LOT of land! From rafting in Colorado and going on an Arizona mountain bike adventure to exploring the history of Montana – Debbe really had an incredible time!
Earl Hindman – “Wilson”
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Many folks never really knew what “Wilson” looked like because he was always hidden behind a fence or bush – his full appearance was revealed in the final curtain call of Home Improvement and it was quite the way to end the show!
During the finale's curtain call, the full face of Earl Hindman, who played Tim's neighbor Wilson, was finally revealed pic.twitter.com/GtRcKxYaxw
— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) May 26, 2019
Unfortunately, Hindman passed away in 2003 – just four years after the show went off the air. He’d had a long career in show business, but Home Improvement would be one of his last roles. In 2001 and 2002, Hindman appeared in the movie Final (starring Denis Leary) and then as a sheriff in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Sadly, in 2003, Hindman was diagnosed with lung cancer and lost his battle to the disease on December 29th, 2003.
Check out all the reunion photos from when Home Improvement came to visit Last Man Standing in 2015 – and watch Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson talk about the fun they had!
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