Tim Allen
The “Listen, who’s hammering” star is 70 years old
Milestone birthday for Tim Allen.
© imago/ZUMA Wire
From convict to series star: “Listen, who’s hammering” actor Tim Allen celebrates his 70th birthday.
Before he became a star with the cult sitcom “Listen Who’s Hammering”, Tim Allen was actually in prison. This anecdote cannot be missing in any text about the actor, who celebrates his 70th birthday on June 13th. Allen was caught with 650 grams of cocaine at a Michigan airport in 1978. After two years and four months in prison, he was paroled.
As a student – he earned a degree in communications with a major in television in 1974 – Allen first attracted attention in comedy clubs and on television. After his release from prison, he continued his career. He made his acting debut in a film appropriately titled “Tropical Snow,” in light of the cocaine scandal.
“Listen, who’s hammering”: Naked on the set with Pamela Anderson?
Then in 1991 came the breakthrough. Tim Allen lands the lead in ‘Listen Who’s Banging’. In the series, which was based on one of his stand-up programs, he portrayed the host of the home improvement show “Tool Time,” which he sold as the last male sanctuary.
Allen and the series only recently came back into public consciousness when Pamela Anderson (55) shared her experience on the set. The later “Baywatch” mermaid played a supporting role as “Tool Girl” for the first two seasons. In her book Love, Pamela, she wrote that Tim Allen completely bared himself in front of her. The actor said it was only fair that she saw him undressed. After all, he had already seen her naked in “Playboy”.
Tim Allen: At the height of his fame in the mid-90s
In the mid-1990s, Tim Allen was at the height of his fame. At one point, he earned over $1 million per episode for his hit sitcom, making him one of the highest-earning series actors of all time. As he once explained himself in an interview, in one week in 1994 he was seen in the most-watched series episode (“Listen, who’s hammering”) and in the most successful movie (“Santa Clause – Eine schön Bescherung”). At the same time, he led the bestseller list with his book “Who’s Afraid of the Naked Man?” (Was Pamela Anderson right after all?).
In 1995 he started another chapter of success. Allen lent his voice to the character Buzz Lightyear in the animated hit “Toy Story.” In this speaking role he returned several times. His part as “Santa Clause” didn’t let him go either. In addition to two other films, he has been playing Santa Clause in “Santa Clause: The Series” since 2022.
Tim Allen also gave the do-it-yourself king again and again. In “Tim Allen – Volle Heimwerker-Power”, he teamed up again in 2022 with his “Listen …” co-star Richard Karn (66). This time, however, it was not a fictional, but a real handicraft show. Incidentally, the comedian is an enthusiastic amateur mechanic in his private life, who even designed a car for Cadillac.
Crash after driving under the influence of alcohol in 1998
Beyond his recurring signature roles, Tim Allen couldn’t land any major hits. Few highlights followed a 1998 drink drive that saw him checked into rehab. This included, for example, the “Star Trek” parody “Galaxy Quest”.
However, he was very successful again with a sitcom. “Last Man Standing” ran from 2011 to 2021 and thus longer than “Listen, who’s hammering”. The new show only slightly varied the concept of its predecessor – only that the hero here was the owner of a sporting goods store and had three daughters instead of three sons. However, Tim Allen played a similar role as in his hit series: a man who understands the world around him less and less.