HOME IMPROVEMENT: BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS NOT EVEN SUPERFANS KNOWN

TIM ALLEN WAS A STAND-UP COMEDIAN

Before he was a sitcom star, Tim Allen was a stand-up comedian. His act provides the material that will eventually become the basis for Home Improvement. Allen first performed at the Comedy Castle in his home state of Michigan. Allen walked onstage a month after the now-famous venue first opened in 1979.

Allen caught the attention of Disney executives Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg after the two saw him perform at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. They loved his act, which led to a career-long collaboration with Disney. Allen’s Disney projects include Home Improvement and hit film franchises like The Santa Clause and Toy Story.

Frances Fisher Was Originally Cast As Jill

You might remember Frances Fisher as Rose’s uptight, grasping mother in Titanic. Or like the tough-as-nails Strawberry Alice in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. Well, Fisher was originally cast as Tim’s wife, Jill. They even filmed a pilot episode with Fisher in the role.

That probably sounds like a weird fit, and you’d be right for thinking so. Fisher is a serious, dramatic actor, and her performance wasn’t quite as fun and lighthearted as the creators wanted. So, the role was recast with Patricia Richardson.

TIM ALLEN WAS ORIGINALLY OFFERED TWO DIFFERENT SHOWS THAT WERE REBOOTS OF RECENT MOVIES

Before Home Improvement came along, Allen was offered lead roles in TV show reboots of both Turner & Hooch and Dead Poets Society. But Allen turned them both down because he felt they were “preparing for failure.” TV shows based on movies generally don’t do too well.

Allen’s instincts turned out to be right. Soon thereafter, he was offered his own sitcom by Disney, created by Matt Williams. Williams had created Roseanne, another wildly successful sitcom based on working-class home life and centered around a stand-up comedian. The Hooch and Dead Poets shows never even made it to air.

AL WAS ORIGINALLY A DIFFERENT CHARACTER

Originally, Tim’s co-host was going to be a character named Glen, played by Stephen Tobolowsky. But Tobolowsky was unavailable to film the first several episodes due to his commitment to a film. So they created Al to be a brief stand-in until Tobolowsky became available.

Al was only meant to be a brief stand-in for Glen. But when Richard Karn was cast, he absolutely crushed it. Karn’s dynamic with Allen was too good to ignore. So when Tobolowsky ultimately decided to pass on the show and focus on film, Karn was added to the cast permanently.

RICHARD KARN ONLY GOT CAST BECAUSE HE RAN A STOP SIGN

Karn was in a production of King Lear and ran a stop sign on his way home from a rehearsal. He was required to attend traffic school, where he met an agent who told him about a new show that was looking for actors. That show was Home Improvement.

Karn realized that he knew several people working on the show, so he decided he might as well give it a shot and audition. His audition won him the role of Al Borland. The character was originally meant to be a brief guest role. But Karn quickly became a regular cast member, appearing in all eight seasons of Home Improvement.

THE SHOW WAS INITIALLY CALLED “HAMMER TIME”

The original title of the show was Hammer Time. It was a reference to both Tim’s home improvement public access show, and to MC Hammer, who was an enormously popular artist at the time. The show’s title was eventually changed after several brainstorming sessions to Home Improvement.

The creators and Allen came up with the new title, which they felt worked better. It referenced both Tim Taylor’s show and the work you do as a husband and father keeping your family together. It was also a nod to keeping the house repaired, which Tim usually managed to mess up in some way.

ALLEN ONLY WORE CLOTHES FROM MICHIGAN SCHOOLS

Tim Taylor wears a number of different shirts and sweatshirts in the show, which makes sense for a meat-and-potatoes guy who loves power tools. But Allen decided that Tim would only wear clothes that advertised teams and schools from Allen’s home state of Michigan.

The Michigan tribute turned out to be a boon for Allen’s personal wardrobe. The different items of clothing Allen wore on the show were actually sent to him from Michigan colleges and universities, who wanted to see their school on the show.

JONATHAN TAYLOR THOMAS CAUSED FRICTION WITH THE CAST

Jonathon Taylor Thomas became a teen heartthrob in the 90s, thanks to his breakout role as the wisecracking middle child Randy Taylor on Home Improvement. Thomas appeared in several films during his time on the show, including The Lion King and Tom & Huck.

Thomas left the show in the last season, telling his fellow cast members that he was leaving to focus on his schooling. But Allen felt burned by it, later saying, “He said it was about going to school, but then he did some films.” Thomas appeared in one final episode, “Home for the Holidays,” but he didn’t return for the series finale.

BOTH ALLEN’S AND THOMAS’ DISNEY CHARACTERS MAKE A CAMEO APPEARANCE

The show’s two breakout stars, Allen and Thomas, enjoyed successful film careers with Disney, who also produced Home Improvement. Thomas famously voiced young Simba in The Lion King. Allen has two full-blown Disney franchises in The Santa Clause and Toy Story, in which he voices Buzz Lightyear.

Thomas’ and Allen’s characters haven’t met on the big screen, but they did cross paths on the small screen. In the season 6 episode “I Was a Teenage Taylor,” Randy (Thomas) greets two trick-or-treaters dressed as Buzz Lightyear and Simba. As a fun gag, Randy gives more candy to the kid dressed as Simba.

THE ORIGINAL WILSON QUIT THE SHOW AT THE LAST MINUTE

Tim regularly went to his neighbor Wilson for advice, an older man who delivered wisdom through a picket fence. In a fun running joke, the audience never got to see Wilson’s full face. It was always obscured by Tim’s picket fence. But not everyone appreciated the gag.

The original actor hired to play Wilson, John Bedford Lloyd, didn’t realize that his face would never be seen and quit the day before filming was supposed to begin. The creators quickly cast Earl Hindman to replace him, and we think they made the right choice.