While they may not have been blood relatives,
the stars of Home Improvement certainly had their share of familial strife.
Home Improvement dominated the sitcom landscape during its run,
but its winning streak hit a rough patch in 1999. That year, Patricia Richardson chose to step away
from the show to spend more time with her family, causing Tim Allen to reconsider a ninth season.
Producers reportedly approached Allen to continue the show without Richardson,
suggesting that they could kill off her character and continue on without her. However,
Allen objected, deciding instead to cancel the series after eight years
on the air. As Richardson recalled to Closer Weekly in a 2018 interview,
"I was a single parent and away from my kids too much. [...] Because I was involved in all
the writing, I was away from them more than I wanted and felt I missed so many things."
Though Richardson would be the first to praise Allen's comedic stylings and their
on-screen chemistry, she admitted that the comedian had not been happy about
her choice to quit. She revealed in an exclusive Entertainment Tonight interview
that she believed Allen always held her decision to leave the series against her.
"Ya know, he's never really forgiven me for not wanting to do the ninth year,
and that was very awkward."
Despite the tension, the former co-stars occasionally keep in touch. Allen's show,
Last Man Standing, even featured a couple of cameo appearances from Richardson.
The unquestionable breakout star of Home Improvement, Jonathan Taylor Thomas entered the
mid-to-late '90s as a bonafide teen heartthrob. His image plastered the covers of teen magazines
from Bop to Tiger Beat, but as Thomas' star rose, his commitment to the show appeared to falter.
Ultimately, this culminated in his early departure from the series at the start of its final season.
Thomas has spoken frequently of how fame weighed on him, and he made it clear his focus was on
academics, extracurriculars, and his social life outside of Home Improvement. In a 1996
interview with Premiere Magazine, Thomas called the industry "neurotic and weird,"
stating that he preferred socializing with friends outside of Hollywood. He
seemed to foreshadow his departure from the series in the interview, saying,
"You can't base your life around one thing. So that's why I focus on school,
I play sports, I learn the technical side of [filmmaking]. Because sometime it'll change,
and I'll have my education to fall back on."
Reportedly, Thomas ruffled feathers among the cast
and crew when he declined to return for the show's final episode. Commenting to
TV Guide around the time of the show's finale, Patricia Richardson remarked,
"I think there were a lot of bad feelings all along."
Tim Allen further expanded on the situation, noting that he and Thomas had disagreements
when Allen expressed his surprise over Thomas' exit. Allen claimed Thomas said
he wanted to focus on college instead of the show, but then proceeded to appear in
several movies after leaving. This observation seems to have upset Thomas, as Allen reflected,
"It got mixed up in the translation. I mentioned
[publicly] that I was confused. I don't think he liked that."
Taran Noah Smith had a storied history after the end of Home Improvement,
from an early marriage to an older woman to a series of fights with his parents over the
direction of his career. But even on the show, things weren't perfectly smooth,
as arguments erupted among the actors portraying the Taylor sons.
In a memoir and self-help book co-written by Smith's mother and former manager,
Candy Bennici, Bennici reveals that Smith's relationships with
the actors playing his TV brothers could be discordant. She reflected,
"A group of three kids with two older and one younger is always going to be
difficult. There was the usual teasing of the youngest, much like in the episodes."
"We would duke it out at times. We either loved or we hated each other."
Bennici helped to quell the teasing from the older boys by having Smith's friends visit the
set frequently so he would feel less ganged up on. However, mishaps still occurred from time to time.
For example, there was one notable incident where Smith was tied up
and left in a closet as a prank. He then tripped in the closet and became stuck,
leading to some momentary panic from Smith's co-stars and others on set
that day. All was resolved, however, and Smith came out of the situation unscathed.
Baywatch star Pamela Anderson's career began to take off after she was cast on Home Improvement,
appearing as Lisa, a member of the cast of "Tool Time," Tim Taylor's HGTV-style home
improvement show. Having previously appeared on the pages of Playboy,
the new role helped pivot her into superstardom.
However, according to her 2023 memoir, Love Pamela,
an early incident colored her experience on the show. As a 23-year-old new to the set,
Anderson details a disturbing encounter with her new co-star, Tim Allen. She recalled that the
first day they filmed together, Allen was waiting outside her dressing room in a robe. She wrote,
"He opened his robe and flashed me quickly — completely naked underneath. He said it
was only fair, because he had seen me naked."
Allen denied the claims made in Anderson's memoir,
leading to some back-and-forth between the former co-stars. Anderson has stood by the account,
noting in a follow-up interview that the #MeToo movement likely made the actor cautious about
confirming the event. In a statement to Vanity Fair, Anderson clarified further,
"I have no ill will toward Tim. But like the rest, it should never have happened."
The eldest Taylor son on Home Improvement has also experienced some tension in his
relationships with his former co-stars stemming from legal issues he experienced years after
the series came to a close. In 2021, Zachery Ty Bryan pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor domestic
violence charges downgraded from several felony assault and harassment charges after he allegedly
strangled his then-girlfriend and took her phone from her when she attempted to call 911.
Bryan faced further domestic violence charges in 2023, ultimately pleading guilty to felony
assault in the fourth degree. Bryan's one-time TV dad, Tim Allen, commented on the actor's
struggles to The Hollywood Reporter, calling him a "complex man." He observed,
"At a certain point, he deviated from the guy I know to somebody
who is reacting to situations that I had nothing to do with and can't control. I
don't know what happens when people get corrupted. You just don't know."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse,
you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.