Tim Allen

Tim Allen (born Timothy Allen Dick on June 13, 1953) is a Golden Globe-winning American comedian, character actor, voice-over artist, and entertainer perhaps best known for his role in the sitcom Home Improvement and his roles in Disney films, such as The Santa Clause and Toy Story.

Biography

Early life

Allen, one of six children, was born in Denver to Martha Katherine, a community-service worker, and Gerald M. Dick, a real estate agent.^[1][2] His father died in a car accident, colliding with a drunk driver, when Allen was eleven.^[3] Two years later, his mother re-married William Bones, a business executive and an Episcopalian deacon. Allen was raised in the Episcopalian religion.^[4] His family moved to Detroit when he was thirteen. Allen attended Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan, and Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. He later received an honorary degree, which was highlighted for the main plot of a Home Improvement episode.

Allen's rumored cocaine use while attending Western Michigan University is well known by current and former students. On October 2, 1978, Allen was arrested with an accomplice at the airport in Kalamazoo for possession of 1.4 pounds of cocaine. Because of the exceptionally large quantity of the controlled substance, he faced the threat of life imprisonment. Instead, Allen agreed to testify against his partner in exchange for a sentence of three to seven years in prison; he ultimately served only two years and four months.^[5]

Career

Allen began his career as a stand-up comedian. On a dare from one of his friends, he participated in an open-mic night at a nightclub in Detroit. He soon became a regular act at the city's Comedy Store. He later moved to Los Angeles and became a member of The Comedy Store there. He began to do stand-up appearances on late-night talk shows and specials on record and film.

He rose to fame in acting with the television series Home Improvement (1991-1999) on ABC in which he played Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor. At one point in late 1994, he starred in the most watched television show, Home Improvement, the highest grossing film, The Santa Clause, and had the best selling book in North America, Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man, simultaneously. The following year he provided the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the blockbuster Toy Story. His Home Improvement fame spawned Tim Allen Signature Tools, a line of power tools distributed by Ryobi.

Allen's material consists mainly of discussions on masculinity, male-female relationships, raising children, hardware and tools, themes which make him accessible to a wide audience. He writes in his first book that although he is enthusiastic about hardware, he is far from expert. This became the basis for his sitcom. Near the end of the show, Allen published I'm Not Really Here, a book detailing his thoughts on quantum philosophy, intergender relationships, and the male mid-life crisis.

Allen has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834 Hollywood Blvd.

Salaries

• "Home Improvement" (1991) $1,250,000/episode (1998-1999 season)
• Toy Story (1995) $50,000
• Toy Story 2 (1999) $5,000,000
• Joe Somebody (2001) USD$12,000,000

Personal life

Allen was married to Laura Diebel from April 7, 1984, until their divorce in 2003; they have a daughter, Katherine, born in 1989. Diebel once served as chief executive officer of Allen's tool line. On Saturday October 7, 2006, in Grand Lake, Colorado, Allen married his girlfriend of five years, actress Jane Hajduk.

On May 24, 1997, Allen was arrested for DUI in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. He pleaded guilty on June 16 and was fined, sentenced to a year of probation, and ordered to seek counseling.^[6]

Filmography

• Tropical Snow (1989)
• The Santa Clause (1994)
• Toy Story (1995) (voice)
• Meet Wally Sparks (1997) (Cameo)
• Jungle 2 Jungle (1997)
• For Richer or Poorer (1997)
• Toy Story 2 (1999) (voice)
• Galaxy Quest (1999)
• Who is Cletis Tout? (2001)
• Joe Somebody (2001)
• Big Trouble (2002)
• The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
• Top Speed (2003) (short subject) (narrator)
• Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
• The Shaggy Dog (2006)
• Cars (2006) (voice)
• Zoom (2006)
• The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
• Fired! (2006) (documentary)
• Wild Hogs (2007)

Upcoming:

• Toy Story 3 (2010) (voice)

Memorable Quotes

• "To infinity and beyond." As Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story" and as Dave Douglas in "The Shaggy Dog"
• "Is there anyone in this park that hasn't sniffed my butt!" as Dave Douglas in "The Shaggy Dog"
• "Never give up, never surrender!" as Jason Nesmith in "Galaxy Quest."

Television work

• Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen (1988)
• Tim Allen: Men Are Pigs (1991)
• Home Improvement (1991-1999)
• Tim Allen Rewires America (1992)
• These Guys (2003) (narrator)
• Jimmy Neutron: Win, Lose, and Kaboom (2004) (voice)

Books

• Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man (1994) - ISBN 0-7868-7988-2
• I'm Not Really Here (1996) - ISBN 0-7868-6257-2

Television commercials

• HP Computer Commercial - Santa Claus (voice)

Footnotes

Wikipedia information about Tim Allen This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tim Allen". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.