Who is Richard Karn? Wiki Bio
Richard Karn Wilson was born in Seattle, Washington State USA, on 17 February 1956, so his zodiac sign is Aquarius and he holds American nationality. He is an actor, author, and a comedian, possibly still best known for portraying the lead character Al Borland in the family comedy series “Home Improvement” from 1991 to 1999. The series also starred Tim Allen, Earl Hindman, and Taran Noah Smith, and followed a famous TV host who is raising three sons with the help of his wife.
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Childhood and education
Richard was raised as a single child in Seattle by his mother who was a nurse, and who died of cancer in 1983, and his father Gene who was a member of the US Naval Construction Battalions also known as Navy ‘Seabees’, and fought in World War II. After the war, Gene began working as a building contractor and is today retired.
Richard grew up being interested in acting, and was also physically active as he played both football and soccer while attending elementary school. He studied at Roosevelt High School where he appeared in many of the school plays, and after matriculation he enrolled at the University of Washington, becoming a member of the fraternity Beta Theta Pi.
He spent several months in Scotland practicing his acting skills at the Edinburgh Festival, before obtaining his Bachelor of Arts degree in drama in 1979.
Appearances in TV series
Richard moved to New York, but aside from appearing in a number of commercials, had no success as an actor. He moved to Los Angeles in the late ‘80s, dropped his last name as there was already an actor named Richard Wilson, and soon made his debut TV series appearance in 1989 when he portrayed Al in “ABCTGIF” (Thank God It’s Friday), and went on to appear in the episode “No News Is Bad News” of the comedy anthology series “Carol & Company” in 1991.
In the same year, he began hosting “Home Improvement” and became famous worldwide.
In the following years, Richard appeared in single episodes of “ABC After School Specials”, “Burke’s Law” and “Boy Meets World”, and was then invited to host several TV shows such as “WOW! The Most Amazing Acts on Earth”, “Chariots of the Gods? The Mysteries Continue”, and “How to Host a BBQ with Richard Kurn” all in 1996. In 1997, he was invited to appear in “The Rosie O’Donnell Show”, and then portrayed Al Borland in “Soul Man”, was the narrator of “Foot Soldier” in 1998, and appeared in single episodes of “The Pooch and the Pauper” and “Recess” in 2000.
The year 2001 saw Richard guest star in the critically acclaimed sitcom “That ‘70s Show”, while he also appeared in single episodes of “The Lot” and “The Chronicle”. He served as the host of the game show “Family Feud” from 2002 to 2006, and in the meantime guest starred in “Watching Ellie” in 2003, “Reality School” in 2004, and “WWE Raw” in 2007. He gained wider recognition in 2008, when after appearing in “Dirt” and “Biz Kid$”, he became a co-host of the game show “Bingo America”.
The year 2009 saw Richard portray the recurring character Arthur Piller in “Ctrl”, then returned to guest-starring in a single episodes of “True Jackson, VP” in 2010, “In Gayle We Trust” in 2011, and in 2013 as Bill McKendree in two episodes of the sitcom “Last Man Standing”, followed by his appearances in “A Daughter’s Nightmare”, “No Such Luck”, and “A Perfect Christmas List” all shot in 2014.
Some of Richard’s latest roles in series have been in the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 2017, the biographical show “Find Your Future Reality” in 2018, and the cringe comedy web series “PEN15” in 2019.
Roles in movies
Richard made his debut film appearance in 1998 in the fantasy horror movie “Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy”, and he then went on to portray Ollie Plant in the comedy film “MVP: Most Vertical Primate” in 2001, and Stanley Heitmeyer in “Sex and the Teenage Mind” in 2002. Richard was then cast as Victor Cayanne in “Reality School”, and Patrick in the direct-to-video movie “Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch”.
He went on hiatus for four years, before portraying Patrick again in “Air Buddies”, and John in “Mr. Blue Sky”, and gained recognition after he appeared in the critically acclaimed film “Snow Buddies” in 2008. The following years saw him play side roles in several movies which didn’t attract much attention such as “Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury” in 2011, “Gordon Family Tree” in 2013, and the thriller suspense movie “A Daughter’s Nightmare” in 2014. In 2017, he starred in “Horse Dancer” and “F the Prom”.
Some of Richard’s latest appearances in films have been in “Amanda and the Fox” in 2018, “Check Inn to Christmas” in 2019, and “Horse Camp: A Love Tail” in 2020.
He is also a writer, and his first book “House Broken: How I Remodeled My Home for Just Under Three Times the Original Bid” came out in 1999, followed by his second book “Handy at Home: Tips on Improving Your Home from America’s Favorite Handyman” released in 2002.
Love life and relationships
Richard met his future wife Tudi Roche while they were attending college, and after nearly eight years of being together, they wed at a private ceremony in September 1985, attended by the two’s closest friends and family. Not long after, Tudi gave birth to their son Cooper Karn who has also become an actor, and is known for his roles in the short film “A Unicorn in the Garden” in 2009 and in the horror thriller movie “Recovery” released in 2016.
Richard and Tudi are currently living together in Los Angeles, California.
Tudi Joanne Roche was born on 19 July 1955, in the USA – her zodiac sign is Cancer and she holds American nationality. She is an actress and a singer, who was raised in a working-class family, and started acting while attending high school. She made her debut film appearance in 1998 in the romantic fantasy movie “City of Angels”, while she made her debut TV series appearance in 1981 in “Ryan’s Hope”.
She has appeared in several episodes of “Home Improvement” as well, while some of her latest roles have been in series “The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants”, “Love, Death & Robots”, and “Star Wars Resistance”.
Hobbies and other interests
Richard has been a fan of comedy since he was a teenager, he has always been a highly sociable person, and is considered as the funniest guy in his circle of friends. His best friend is Tim Allen, who is also an actor mostly known for starring as Tim ‘The Toolman’ Taylor alongside Richard in “Home Improvement”, while Richard is friends with many other famous actors and actresses.
proposal for the new handshake pic.twitter.com/aEZDpXCrtE
— Grunt Work (@GruntWorkPod) March 25, 2020
He likes to travel and has been all round the US, mostly for work, while he has also vacationed in several European countries such as England, Croatia and Austria. He is a lover of animals and has a pet dog.
Some of Richard’s favorite actors are Robin Williams, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway, while some of his favorite movies are “A Good Year”, “Dead Poets Society”, and “Les Miserables”. He likes to watch comedy series – two of his favorites are “The Simpsons” and “Rick & Morty”.
How rich is Richard Karn? Appearance and net worth
Richard is 64 years old. He has short brown hair and brown eyes, is 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall, and weighs around 198lbs (90kgs). As of April 2020, his net worth is estimated at over $8 million.