Tim Allen Biography

Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953) known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American comedian, actor, voice-over artist and entertainer, known for his role in the sitcom Home Improvement. He is known for his starring roles in several popular films, including the Toy Story film series (as the voice of Buzz Lightyear), The Santa Clause film series, and Galaxy Quest. Allen currently stars as Mike Baxter in the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing.

Early life

Born in Denver, Colorado, Allen is the son of Martha Katherine (née Fox), a community-service worker, and Gerald M. Dick (1923–1964), a real estate agent. He is the third oldest of five brothers. His father died in a car accident, colliding with a drunk driver, when Allen was 11. Two years later, his mother married her high school sweetheart, a successful business executive, and moved with her six children to Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, to be with her new husband and his three children. Allen attended Ernest W. Seaholm High School in Birmingham, where he was in theater and music classes (resulting in his love of classical piano). He then attended Central Michigan University and transferred to Western Michigan University in 1974. At Western Michigan, Allen worked at the student radio station WIDR and received a Bachelor of Science degree in communications specializing in radio and television production in 1976 with a split minor in philosophy and design. In 1998, Western Michigan awarded Allen an honorary Fine Arts degree and the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Career

Allen started his career as a comedian in 1975. 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 regular performer at The Comedy Store. He began to do stand-up appearances on late-night talk shows and specials on record and film. Despite his admitted limited acting range (he once told a magazine his range as an actor is "strictly limited. I can only play a part if I can draw on personal experience, and that well can go dry pretty quickly" ), Allen rose to fame in acting with the television series Home Improvement (1991"1999) produced for ABC by Wind Dancer Productions, a company he co-founded with producer Carmen Finestra. Allen played Tim "The Tool-Man" Taylor. During one week in November 1994, he simultaneously starred in the highest grossing film (The Santa Clause), topped the New York Times best-seller list with his book Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man, and appeared in the top rated television series (Home Improvement). The following year, he provided the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the blockbuster Toy Story. Simultaneous with his time acting in Home Improvement, 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.

In 1997 he starred in the family comedy Jungle 2 Jungle from Disney. The film was poorly received by critics. The next year marked the final year of Home Improvement, for which he was paid $1.25 million per episode. The next year he returned to voice Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 2 which was a financial and critical hit. Also in 2000 he starred in the sci-fi parody Galaxy Quest alongside Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman and Sam Rockwell. In 2003 he had a cameo as Seann William Scott's father in American Wedding.

In 2006, Zoom was released, featuring Allen as Jack Shepard. The same year, he also starred in The Santa Clause 3 and The Shaggy Dog.

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 began airing nationally in 2009.

In December 2009 he started a preview tour of Crazy on the Outside, a film that debuted in January 2010. Allen accompanied the film, helping promote it with a series of stand-up acts beforehand. During the performances he told audiences that he planned a 2010 comedy tour. Allen also directed the film, marking his film directorial debut.

Allen hosted the 8th Annual TV Land Awards on April 25, 2010. That same year, he became the official voice of the Chevrolet Cruze, narrating commercials for the vehicle, and he became the voice of Campbell Soup's "It's Amazing What Soup Can Do" campaign.

Allen currently stars in another ABC sitcom, Last Man Standing. He plays the role of Mike Baxter, a dad who is fighting for his manhood in his house filled with women.

Personal life

On October 2, 1978, Allen was arrested in the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport for possession of over of cocaine. He subsequently pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges, and provided the names of other dealers in exchange for a sentence of three to seven years rather than a possible life imprisonment. He was paroled on June 12, 1981, after serving 2 years and 4 months in Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone in Sandstone, Minnesota. Allen had the Federal Bureau of Prisons Register # 04276-040.

Allen was raised as an Episcopalian. He was married to Laura Diebel from April 7, 1984, until they legally separated in 1999. Their divorce was finalized in 2003. They have a daughter, Katherine, born in 1989. Allen married actress Jane Hajduk on October 7, 2006, in a small private ceremony in Grand Lake, Colorado. They had dated for five years.

In 1997, Allen was arrested for DUI in Birmingham, Michigan, and was recorded as having a .15 percent blood-alcohol content. He was sentenced to one year probation. He entered a rehabilitation clinic for alcohol abuse as part of his court obligation.

On January 5, 2009, it was announced that Allen and Hajduk were expecting their first child together. In March 2009, Allen's second child, a girl named Elizabeth, was born.

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Tropical Snow	Baggage Handler
1988	Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen	Himself
1989	Rodney Dangerfield: Opening Night at Rodney's Place	Himself
1990	Tim Allen: Men Are Pigs	Himself
1990	ABC TGIF	Tim Taylor	TV series
1991	Tim Allen Rewires America	Himself
1991"1999	Home Improvement	Tim Taylor	TV series (203 episodes)
1994	'	Scott Calvin / Santa Claus
1995	Toy Story	Buzz Lightyear (voice)
1997	Meet Wally Sparks	Himself	Cameo
1997	Jungle 2 Jungle	Michael Cromwell
1997	Soul Man	Tim Taylor	Episode: "Communion Wine and Convicts"
1997	For Richer or Poorer	Brad Sexton
1998	Spin City	Rags (voice)	Episode: "The Kidney's All Right"
1999	Toy Story 2	Buzz Lightyear (voice)
1999	Galaxy Quest	Jason Nesmith
2000	Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins	Buzz Lightyear (voice)	Video
2001	Who Is Cletis Tout?	Critical Jim
2001	Joe Somebody	Joe Scheffer
2002	Big Trouble	Eliot Arnold
2002	'	Santa Claus / Scott Calvin / Toy Santa
2003	These Guys	Narrator (voice)	TV movie
2003	Top Speed	Narrator
2004	Jimmy Neutron: Win, Lose and Kaboom	Meldar Prime (voice)	TV movie
2004	Christmas with the Kranks	Luther Krank
2006	Cars	Buzz Lightyear Car (voice)
2006	'	Dave Douglas
2006	Zoom	Jack Shepard/Captain Zoom
2006	'	Santa / Scott Calvin
2007	Fired!	Documentary
2007	Wild Hogs	Doug Madsen
2008	Redbelt	Chet Frank
2009	'	Henry Lefay
2010	Crazy on the Outside	Tommy Zelda	Also director
2010	Toy Story 3	Buzz Lightyear (voice)
2010	I Am Comic
2011	Hawaiian Vacation	Buzz Lightyear (voice)	Short film
2011	Small Fry	Buzz Lightyear (voice)	Short film
2011"present	Last Man Standing	Mike Baxter	TV series
2012	Partysaurus Rex	Buzz Lightyear (voice)	Short film
2012	Chimpanzee	Narrator	Documentary
2012	The Penguin King 3D	(voice)
2013	Geezers!	Tim
2013	Toy Story of Terror	Buzz Lightyear (voice)	TV movie; in post-production

Video games

Year	Title	Role
1996	Toy Story Activity Center	Buzz Lightyear
1999	Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue	Buzz Lightyear
2001	Toy Story Racer	Buzz Lightyear
2010	Scene It? Disney Magical Moments	Buzz Lightyear

Books

• Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man (1994) " ISBN 0-7868-6134-7
• I'm Not Really Here (1996) " ISBN 0-7868-6257-2

Awards and honors

• 1992: Won People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Series
• 1993: Nominated for one Emmy Award for Home Improvement
• 1993"97: Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy for Home Improvement five consecutive times, winning once in 1995
• 1993"99: Won People's Choice Award for Favorite Male TV Performer nine consecutive times
• 1994"99: Nominated for Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Male TV Actor six consecutive times, winning four times
• 1995: Won People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Motion Picture Actor
• 1995: Nominated for MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and Best Comedic Performance for The Santa Clause
• 1996: Won the Kids' Choice Awards Hall of Fame award
• 1997: Nominated for Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor/Actress " Family
• 1997: Nominated for Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series " Comedy or Musical for Home Improvement
• 1999: Won Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production
• 1999: Named a Disney Legend for his work on the Toy Story and The Santa Clause franchises.
• 1999: Won a TV Guide Award for Favorite Actor in a Comedy for Home Improvement
• 2004: Received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6898 Hollywood Blvd for contributions to the television industry
• 2009: The cast of Home Improvement was honored with a Fan Favorite award at the TV Land Awards
• 2011: Nominated for Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie
• 2012: Won a TV Guide Award for Favorite Comeback for Last Man Standing