“Home Improvement” is definitely one of the most iconic 90s sitcoms, and it served
as a jump-off point for many of its stars.
From being Santa Claus to doing environmental work to hosting a show about dude ranches,
here’s what the cast of “Home Improvement” looks like today.
When "Home Improvement" premiered in 1991, Tim Allen wasn't well known outside of standup
comedy.
By the time "Home Improvement" went off the air, Allen had become a household name, thanks
to the wildly popular television series, as well as his roles in family favorites like
“Toy Story” and "The Santa Clause".
"It is Santa!
You killed him…"
"Did not.
And he's not Santa."
"Well, he was."
While Allen appeared in a few other films after "Home Improvement," it was his roles
in those two film franchises that kept him busy through the early 2000s.
Then, in 2011, Allen made a return to the small screen as another TV dad on "Last Man
Standing."
Regarding filming the final episodes of the show after it wrapped in 2021, he told Parade,
"Every time we got into the family that lived in the sitcom, it got very emotional.
When it got to be the actors looking at the characters they're playing in a very sly way,
it became funny.
It was tough."
Now, the TV dad is returning to the Santa suit for a limited series on Disney+ where
he'll reprise his role of Scott Calvin, according to the official press release announcing the
series.
Given how rarely reboots and the like are able to recapture the magic of the original
source material, it’s hard to say whether or not it will be worth watching.
However, I think we can all agree that Allen was and still is one of Hollywood’s best
Santas.
Unlike her on-screen husband, Patricia Richardson already had several acting credits under her
belt when she was cast as Jill Taylor on "Home Improvement" in 1991, including the TV series
"Double Trouble," "Eisenhower & Lutz," and "FM."
Like Allen, however, it was "Home Improvement" that really made her a star.
In fact, it was Richardson's decision to not continue "Home Improvement" that ultimately
led to the series' end.
Richardson told ET of her departure:
"So then they went to Tim, and they said let's do it with dead Jill.
And then Tim was like, I don't think we can do that.
So then he went out and said well, I think it's time to end 'Home Improvement.'"
Richardson then landed a lead role in "Strong Medicine" from 2002-2005, followed by a guest
appearance on "The West Wing" for nine episodes from 2005-2006.
She even guest-starred on Allen's "Last Man Standing" for two episodes in 2015 and 2016.
In March 2022, Richardson tweeted that she would be reprising her role in the sequel
for 2017's "County Line," which is expected to premiere in 2022.
Zachery Ty Bryan played the eldest Taylor son, Brad, on "Home Improvement" for all eight
seasons.
After the series wrapped, Bryan mostly made guest appearances on television shows until
he was cast as Clay in "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" in 2006.
Bryan then stepped away from acting for a while in favor of producing.
In 2020, he made headlines in a new way when he was arrested for allegedly choking his
then-girlfriend.
According to Today, Bryan pleaded guilty to two charges stemming from the incident and
was sentenced to three years of probation.
Now, Bryan appears to be staging an acting comeback.
He was cast as Mike in the first season of the Netflix series, "The Guardians of Justice
(Will Save You!)," an offbeat superhero satire.
While Tim Allen may have become a household name thanks to "Home Improvement," it propelled
Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who played middle son Randy, into full teenage heartthrob status.
While starring on the show, Thomas was cast to voice young Simba in "The Lion King."
"All right, one candy bar for the spaceman and uh, seven for the cute little lion."
He then starred in other family favorites, like "Tom and Huck," and "Wild America."
According to People, He eventually walked away from the spotlight to travel and go to
school, including Harvard, Columbia, and St. Andrew's University in Scotland.
This also meant walking away from "Home Improvement" before its final season, which, according
to the New York Post, led to a rift with his on-screen parents.
Despite the bad blood between Allen and Thomas, the latter was a guest star on four episodes
of Allen's show "Last Man Standing," in addition to directing three episodes.
Don't take this as the sign of a comeback, though — Thomas has once again receded from
the public eye.
Taran Noah Smith, who played youngest brother Mark on the sitcom, walked away from show
business entirely after the series ended.
During a legal battle with his parents over allegedly misappropriating his funds, Smith
told the Capital-Journal,
"I started 'Home Improvement' when I was seven, and the show ended when I was 16.
I never had the chance to decide what I wanted to do with my life.
When I was 16, I knew that I didn't want to act anymore."
Instead, then 17-year-old Smith ran away with 33-year-old Heidi Van Pelt, which deepened
the wedge with his family.
The couple has since split and Smith has reconciled with his family.
In a 2018 interview with Access Hollywood, Smith revealed he's been doing very different
work these days, saying,
"Recently I've been working on a couple of different engineering teams, building machines
that make water, first by desalinating out of the ocean and then recently one that actually
pulls water out of the air."
Beginning in the third season of the series, Debbe Dunning played 'Tool Time' Girl Heidi
for the show-within-the-show on "Home Improvement."
Like several other stars on the show, "Home Improvement" was a launching pad for Dunning,
who took on several other television guest roles while she was starring on the ABC sitcom.
After "Home Improvement," Dunning took a bit of a break from television, in part to raise
her three children.
In 2017, she returned to television as the host and executive producer of "Debbe Dunning's
Dude Ranch Roundup" on RFD-TV.
In the series, which saw its third season premiere in 2021, Dunning travels around to
dude ranches across the country to tell their stories.
Dunning told Cowgirl Magazine -
"The idea for the show came about for my love of dude ranching.
There are so many incredible ranches across America that a lot of people don't know about
and I wanted to share my passion for these wonderful treasures."
Before Heidi, Lisa was the original "Home Improvement" Tool Time Girl played by Pamela
Anderson.
Anderson only stayed in the role for the first two seasons of "Home Improvement," save for
an appearance in a single episode in the show's sixth season, because greener pastures came
calling.
Anderson was cast as C.J. Parker in "Baywatch" in 1992, and when scheduling conflicts between
the two shows became a problem, Anderson chose the more adult-oriented "Baywatch."
Since then, Anderson has done a bit of everything.
From movie and television roles to her charity work with the Pamela Anderson Foundation,
Anderson has stayed quite busy over the years.
Now, she's trying a few new things, including a 2022 Broadway debut in the musical "Chicago"
and a Netflix deal to tell her life story.
After leaving social media in 2021, Anderson returned to Instagram in 2022 to announce
the documentary with a handwritten note that reads -
"My life/A thousand imperfections/A million misperceptions/Wicked, wild and lost/Nothing
to live up to/I can only surprise you/Not a victim, but a survivor/And alive to tell
the real story."
Richard Karn starred as Tim Taylor's friend and "Tool Time" co-star, Al Borland, on all
eight seasons of "Home Improvement."
After the series ended, Karn continued acting, mostly in one-off roles on television shows
and TV movies before co-starring in the 2009 series "Ctrl" as Arthur.
Like several of his former "Home Improvement" co-stars, Karn made a guest appearance on
Allen's "Last Man Standing" for two episodes in 2013.
He then starred as Fred Peters on the Hulu comedy series "PEN15" from 2019-2021.
Acting isn't Karn's only talent, though, as it turns out he actually has some building
know-how.
"Al Borland - name that wood!"
"Tim - that's Hickory!"
He's published two books about his own home improvement experiences and tips on how others
can tackle DIY projects in 1999 and 2002, respectively.
In 2021, Karn reunited with Tim Allen to co-host and judge the building competition show, "Assembly
Required," on the History Channel.
William O'Leary joined "Home Improvement" in 1994 as Marty Taylor, the youngest brother
of Allen's Tim Taylor, and appeared in 30 episodes through the series finale.
O'Leary's largest role since "Home Improvement" was on the sci-fi series "Kamen Rider: Dragon
Knight" as the evil alien General Xaviax.
Otherwise, O'Leary has mostly had one-off appearances on television shows like "NCIS,"
"Rizzoli & Isles," "24," and "The West Wing."
Most recently, O'Leary completed a three-episode arc as Sgt.
Rucker on the Showtime series, "Shameless."
Despite his notable acting career, O'Leary is still arguably best known as Marty Taylor
and even appeared on the "Home Improvement"-inspired podcast, "Home Impodcast," in 2019.
Even if you don't know his name, chances are you know Blake Clark.
Clark appeared as Harry the hardware store owner in 23 episodes of "Home Improvement,"
beginning in 1994 and has continued to rack up roles since the series ended.
While you may know him best from teaming up with Adam Sandler in movies like "50 First
Dates,” “The Waterboy” and more, Clark has also reunited with "Home Improvement"
star Tim Allen.
Beginning with "Toy Story 3" in 2010, Clark has voiced Slinky Dog in the beloved franchise.
He took over the role after the original actor Jim Varney — who you most likely know otherwise
as Ernest from the titular TV series and its subsequent spinoff films — passed away in
2000.
In 1989, stand-up comedian Jimmy Labriola opened for fellow comedian Tim Allen, and
the two quickly became friends.
Fast forward to 1993 and Labriola was offered the role of Benny on "Home Improvement" alongside
Allen, appearing in 24 episodes of the series.
He even got a part as a truck driver in Allen's "The Santa Clause".
Despite his years on "Home Improvement" and his appearances in those movies, Labriola
is still a stand-up comedian at heart and continues to perform at churches around the
country.
He has also appeared on former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's talk show and traveled around
the country with the Tea Party Express in 2011.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more The List videos about your favorite sitcom casts are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.