Home Improvement: What Was Really Happening Off Set

Tim Allen became a common face on our screens during the ’90s and it was the ABC sitcom that lead to posters of one particular cast member up on the walls of our homes. But as much as we loved the show, there was a lot more happening behind the cameras of Home Improvement.

Patricia didn’t want to be famous

Jill Taylor played the lovable mother and wife on the show and despite her character building up its own fanbase, this actually contributed to the show’s downfall. With most actors wanting their screen time to increase, Patricia Richardson struggled with the limelight and admitted that it made her feel very uncomfortable, so she hid away from the press and any celeb events.

Taran Noah Smith ran away

Believe it or not, but young and sweet Mark Taylor ended up running away from his family home when he was just 17 years old. Throughout his time on Home Improvement, he was always too young to have access to his earnings from the show and it was in 2001, that he had a disagreement with his parents and sued them after claiming they were spending all of his money.

Trying to keep his normal life

When Richard Karn landed his role as Al Borland on the show, he had no idea where it would lead to. The first episode aired in 1991 and Karn actually continued to maintain his day job with his wife. As the show blew up, he realized it would be difficult for him to maintain his old life. During an interview, he said, “My wife and I managed an apartment building for our day jobs and it got to the point where we had someone call up and say, ‘Hey we’ve got a leak in our sink. Can you please come and take a look?’”

There’s somethings money can’t buy

With everything happening behind the scenes it seems that even money couldn’t make another series happen. After the show ended following its 203rd episode, Allen was offered a whopping $50 million to work on another season and Richardson was offered $25 million – both turned the offer down and walked away.