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Tim Allen
Allen at the 1993 Emmy rehearsals
Born	June 13, 1953 (1953-06-13) (age 55) Denver, Colorado
Subject(s)	Relationships, Masculinity, Femininity, Improvisational comedy, Physical comedy, Observational comedy, Differences between men and women
Influences	Chevy Chase, Bill Cosby
Spouse	Laura Deibel (1984-2003) Jane Hajduk (2006-present)
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical 1995 Home Improvement

Tim Allen (born Timothy Allen Dick; June 13, 1953) is an American comedian, actor, voice-over artist and entertainer, who became famous for his role in the sitcom Home Improvement. He is also known for his roles in the Disney film series of The Santa Clause and Toy Story.¹

Biography

Early life

Allen was born in Denver, Colorado, the son of Martha Katherine, a community-service worker, and Gerald M. Dick, a real estate agent.²³¹ His father died in a car accident, colliding with a drunk driver, when Allen was eleven.⁴¹ Two years later, his mother married her high school sweetheart, a successful business executive,² and moved with her six children to Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, to be with her new husband and his three children.⁵ Allen attended Ernest W. Seaholm High School in Birmingham, where he was in theater and music classes (resulting in his love of classical piano), and attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. He later received an honorary degree, which was highlighted for the main plot of the fifth season Home Improvement episode "Doctor in the House".

Career

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (September 2007)

Allen began his career as a comedian in 1975.¹ On a dare from one of his friends, he participated in a comedy night at a comedy club in Detroit. While in Detroit he began to get recognition appearing in local television commercials and appearing on cable comedy shows such as Gary Thison's Some Semblance of Sanity. 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.¹ Allen rose to frame in acting with the television series Home Improvement (1991-1999) on ABC, playing Tim "The Tool-Man" Taylor.¹ During one week in November 1994, he simultaneously starred in the highest grossing film (The Santa Clause) and appeared in the top rated television series (Home Improvement), ¹ The following year, he provided the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the blockbuster Toy Story.¹ Simultaneous with his time acting in Home Improvement, Tim Allen formed a race team with Steve Saleen and race driver Bob Bondurant, called the Saleen/Allen "RRR" Speedlab. The team raced Saleen Mustangs in the SCCA World Challenge, with Allen and Saleen as the team's drivers. On the last season of Home Improvement he received a check of $1.25 million for every episode he starred in.

In 2006, Allen began narrating the "Pure Michigan" television and radio commercials for the "Travel Michigan" agency. These commercials can be seen and heard throughout the Midwest and will begin airing nationally in 2009.

Awards

Allen was nominated for One Emmy and 5 Golden Globe Awards. He won the Golden Globe for Best Actor In A Television Series - Musical or Comedy in 1995.⁶

In 1999, Allen was named a Disney Legend for his work on the Toy Story and Santa Clause.⁷ Tim Allen was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .⁸

Personal life

Allen was married to Laura Deibel from April 7, 1984, until their divorce in 2003. They have a daughter, Katherine, born in 1989. Deibel once served as chief executive officer of Allen's tool line.^{citation needed}

Allen is left handed and was raised as an Episcopalian.²

On October 2, 1978, before the start of his comedy career, Allen was arrested in the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport for possession of 1.4 lb (.65 kg) of cocaine. He subsequently listed the names of drug dealers in exchange for a reduction in his sentence from a possible life imprisonment to three to seven years. He was paroled on June 12, 1981 after serving 28 months in the Sandstone, Minnesota Federal Correctional Institution.⁹ In 1997, Allen was arrested for drunk driving, and was recorded as having a .16 blood-alcohol content. He was sentenced to one year probation.¹⁰

Filmography

Feature

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 0-786-86134-7
• I'm Not Really Here (1996) - ISBN 0-786-86257-2

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Tim Allen

• Tim Allen at the Internet Movie Database
• Tim Allen at Allmovie
• Tim Allen at TV.com
• Tim Allen at The Numbers
• Official site