NathanThe Original Name Of The Show Was Hammer Time
When the first pilot episode was shot where Fisher was still the actress for Jill, the show was called Hammer Time. This was supposedly an ode to the great entertainer, MC Hammer’s catchphrase. We all know how big MC Hammer was during the 90s so it was not a surprise to see that the producers tried to make use of one of his lines to kickstart the show. This was also planned out to be the name of Tim Allen’s character’s show on Home Improvement. Tim Allen, Carmen Finestra, David McFadzean and Matt Williams then met up and brainstormed, exchanging their ideas back in 1990 and eventually after a year, they made the decision to change the name. The actual idea behind the name was to symbolize fixing problems in our own houses with the family and even the house itself.
Allen’s Michigan Jersey Had One Accident
On one episode back in 1996 titled “Al’s Video,” there was one scene where Tim was seen rocking a Wofford College sweatshirt. As Wofford is one college in Spartanburg, located in South Carolina, there was a big confusion on the show because it had a rule that only allowed the use of Michigan jerseys but here Tim Allen was, wearing another state jersey. It was the fault of the costume department supervisor who approved of the clothes being worn by Tim’s character. Valerie Levin-Cooper, who is the costume supervisor for the show later revealed that “Someone is supposed to double-check and verify the school is in Michigan. Obviously, someone didn’t do their job. Wofford got lucky.” We are quite sure that someone lost their job that they as the rules were very clear from the very beginning. Or maybe one of the staff members were from South Carolina and they wanted to lay a prank.
Allen’s Stand Up Inspired Home Improvement
At the age of 25 years, Tim Allen had been busted for trying to see cocaine to an undercover cop who obviously arrested him. Tim had to wait 8 months before his official sentence for two years in federal prison was announced. After this incident, he started his career as a stand-up comedian in a Detroit club, the Comedy Castle. Since his comedic chops are impressive, it was not long for Tim to get a little amount of popularity. Soon his patience and hard-work paid off as he could finally work doing stand-up comedy, becoming a regular at The Comedy Store in LA. Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner and Walt Disney Studios Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg went to see him once and were so impressed, they decided to give Tim more options. The rest, as they say, was history.
Stephen Tobolowsky Played The First Al
There was another famous actor who had been a Home Improvement alumni. Stephen Tobolowsky was actually the first choice to co-host Tool Time alongside Tim on the show. His character was called Glen. But sadly due to the fact that during the time of the shooting of the pilot episode, the actor had already had prior commitment to a movie production. Although the producers were all in favor of him starring in the show, they had to get another actor to fill up his absence. So soon, Richard Karn was picked to play the role of Al until Tobolowsky was available. Unfortunately, Stephen had to drop out because of his busy schedule that had movie roles that he wanted to play rather than star in a television show. He later stated that he did not regret his decision to decline Home Improvement, saying, “It turned out to be a very good choice for me.”
Wilson’s Full Name: Wilson W. Wilson
There was one joke that had been running in the hit show for all of the seasons. It was that there was never a revelation regarding the face of Tim’s neighbor, Wilson. The only time the audience ever gets to see him is when he appears showing only the top of his head and eyes. Earl Hindman is the actor behind the character Wilson. He did not mind taking up a role which would disable him from ever showing his face! The only thing we knew about him was that his name was Wilson, that would often spread his immaculate wisdom to family members when they needed it most. In the show, he is only referred to by his first name Wilson. Producers have revealed later that his real name is actually Wilson W. Wilson. So now we can say that we all know his full name although it does not change anything about his mystery much.
Using The Same Studio Audience
Home Improvement is a brilliant show that had a show within the show where Tim Taylor played the role of a host of the show, Tool Time. In every episode, there would always be a section that was unique from all other shows at that time. The tv viewers could see Tool Time’s studio audience and Tim made a point to interact with them as the show went on. It was later revealed that the audience that plays the role of the studio audience for Toot Time, was actually the audience that came for the tapings of Home Improvement! It was indeed a very special bond that the audience and the show had. Allen would also entertain this audience as he was also known to use some “off-color language” and improv. All this fell as a charm for the viewers at home that were all glued to watch Home Improvement at home.