Al From ‘Home Improvement’ Today: Richard Karn, 69, Talks Love, DIY Life and Tim Allen Reunion (EXCLUSIVE)
Plus, his secret for a successful 40-year marriage!
When Richard Karn, 69, landed the role of Tim Allen’s trusty sidekick Al Borland on Home Improvement, he had no idea he was about to become one of America’s favorite flannel-clad faces. The beloved ABC sitcom—centered on Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, a TV host juggling power tools and parenting—became a ‘90s smash hit, airing from 1991 to 1999. Over its 8-season run, the show earned a whopping 33+ awards, including seven Emmys, eight ASCAPs, 12 People’s Choice Awards and a Golden Globe. And thanks to Hulu, Netflix and Disney+, a whole new generation is discovering all 209 episodes of Tool Time hilarity.
At the heart of the show’s charm was Karn’s Al Borland, the warm, soft-spoken friend and co-host who constantly corrected Tim’s over-the-top antics with quiet know-how and classic one-liners (“I don’t think so, Tim”). With his signature beard, flannel shirts, and calm DIY confidence, Al became a fan favorite—and a pop culture icon.
Now, 26 years since he last wielded a wrench on primetime, Karn is still very much part of the home improvement world. These days, he’s lending his voice (and expertise!) as the spokesperson for DoMyOwn, one of the largest online retailers of lawn care, pest control and home improvement supplies. It’s a smart move: According to The Home Improvement Institute, the DIY market grew 3.7% in 2024 to a staggering $574.3 billion—and it’s projected to climb another 3.4% in 2025.
With his trademark wit and wisdom still intact, Karn caught up with Woman’s World for an exclusive chat about his own fix-it skills, his thoughts on lasting love, and whether he still buddies up with Tim Allen off-screen.
Woman’s World: Why did you decide to partner with DoMyOwn.com?
Richard Karn: They contacted me because of my role as Al Borland on Home Improvement, and it seemed like a great thing to do. If people have questions about their lawn or outdoor home care, because they don’t know what to do, they can ask questions easily and efficiently on their phones or through their computer.
WW: How does the site work?
Richard Karn: Because the company specializes in DIY lawn care I suggest finding out what kind of grass you have because not everyone knows that answer. There are a lot of different types of grass and depending on where you live, the grass in your yard can be different. Once you know what you have, you can understand why you might have brown spots or why the grass grows differently. Lawn care is all over the map and these guys can help you figure everything out.
WW: I read you come from a family of handymen so fess up, are you a real-life DIY person?
Richard Karn: We always become our parents at some point. There is a lot of my dad in that character, maybe even some of my grandfather. When I was growing up I watched that and because I was around that, I knew there were things you could do and some things were going to be outside your perimeter.
WW: What kind of projects can you do?
Richard Karn: I can change light sockets, I can fix the fence, I can put a new stopper in the toilet and other handy things around the house. I have this memory of being a kid and having a packet of wildflowers. I threw them down in one of our flowerbeds in Seattle where I grew up and then forgot about it. Months later they started growing and when my dad asked where they came from and I said I threw them on the ground. I became intrigued that we can have prominence over our yard so that is why my interest was piqued with this collaboration with DoMyOwn.
WW: You channeled a lot of your dad into creating the character of Al on Home Improvement. Why was he such a big influence on you and your TV persona?
Richard Karn: I remember his mother, my grandmother, saying if you become a builder, I am going to wrap you in that rug and then I am going to throw you in Lake Washington. I didn’t quite understand what that meant because I was in 5th grade, but I can tell you if I had a nail gun back then, I might be a contractor today. I do recall memories of getting down on my knees to manually try to get a nail properly into the floor. As for my dad, he was very confident. He didn’t showboat it but if he did something he was proud of he would say, “Yup, that’s how they do it uptown.”
WW: How would you describe your time on Home Improvement and that period of your life?
Richard Karn: Wonderful! I spent 11 years in New York before this happened. I graduated from college, moved to Manhattan, and I was doing theater for 11 years. During that period, as soon as you have a job you have to be looking for the next job. When Home Improvement happened, it was like an epiphany. I thought, “Oh, WOW, I don’t need to look for another job right away.” I mean, I never had anything that monstrous before. I was in my 30’s when Home Improvement came along plus my son Cooper was born in the first season. All those life-changing events; your first child, your first job where you can put money away for college, a house and I wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck, all were big things.
WW: Would you say that the most surprising thing that happened?
Richard Karn: We didn’t have the Internet and social media back then, so I did not know what being a celebrity was. I didn’t even read teen magazines, so I was not aware of that side of the coin. I did know that more people started saying hello and I was being recognized!
WW: What was your reaction to adjusting to fame and being a new parent at the same time?
Richard Karn: My wife Tudi was very protective of that; way more than I was. About a year after we bought our first home it was Halloween, and we would answer the door to hand out candy if the bell rang. One time we opened the door and about ten people were standing there and one of them said, “You see this is where Al Borman lives.”
My wife looked at me and after the door closed, she was like, “We are moving, and I want something that has a fence, and I want something that has protection.”
WW: Did you feel at that moment you made it?
Richard Karn: At first, I didn’t feel worthy of that much adulation. People would constantly come up to me and be like, “Are you Al?” and I was like, “No, I just look like him.” Slowly it dawned on me, it wasn’t as much about me but more about people watching the show with their families, which was a wonderful thing.
WW: When you think about it, that show paved the way for networks like HGTV and all the shows that followed.
Richard Karn: It is a great resource and what TV should be about, a resource for knowledge. You have to take some things with a grain of salt but many of these shows are “how to” and they are a great way of teaching you how to change the light sockets or the walls in your house, you have that opportunity.
WW: A big and regular storyline on Home Improvement was the relationship between Tim Taylor (Tim Allen)…
Richard Karn: A lot of the nucleus of Home Improvement was centered on men beating drums out in the woods with other male friends, if you get my drift. (laughs) Tim was not a big fan of Al’s and when we first started. Tim was like, “Al is not the kind of guy I would be friends with, and he is not one of my guys.” Monetarily the writers were like we have this character and instead of spending money on another character let’s explore this friendship. It started out as a boss/underling and grew from there. It was nice because I got to help the writers in the creation of who Al would eventually become. When I stepped in to tape the first couple of episodes, I had a chance to let the audience see who Tim and Al were and that is how it grew organically.
WW: Did a little birdie whisper in my ear that you and Tim Allen are up to something?
Richard Karn: We did do another show for The History Channel called More Power, which was a competition building show. We did that for two years and had a lot of fun. I am now getting ready to film an episode of Tim’s newest show Shifting Gears.
WW: Reboots are all the rage. Any chance of a Home Improvement sequel?
Richard Karn: The Internet really wants a reboot of Home Improvement but unfortunately the producers are still in a lawsuit, and I guess they are figuring things out, so I don’t know if that is going to happen. I do however love getting the phone calls saying, “I hear you have been offered a billion dollars to do a show,” and I am thinking, “Yeah, that would be great, and I would even take half of that in cash.”
WW: You have been married to your wife Tudi Roche since 1985, who is best known for her recurring role as Carrie, one of Jill’s sisters on Home Improvement. What was it like mixing business with pleasure?
Richard Karn: It was great. I really didn’t work with her because her character was mainly at the house with Jill (Particia Richardson), Tim and the kids. My character was more Tool Time, so we didn’t cross paths that much.
WW: You weren’t worried the 24/7 was going to become a problem?
Richard Karn: The first time she got the job it was euphoria, and I was happy for her. She was not only working but we were doing the show together. About halfway through, the writer’s changed her character from being a stewardess for a private jet company to becoming a world-wide-travelling photographer and she did a fabulous job!
WW: What’s the secret to your successful marriage?
Richard Karn: Keeping the lines of communication open. We are both pragmatics. I can also see both sides of things in an argument. I express how I feel. I listen to how she feels, and I guess as the saying goes, choose your battles. It is also about being kind and courteous to the person you are living with. We have been together for almost 40 years, and we have worked together too. In fact, we met doing a play together and then years later we went off to Kansas City to do another play together. We were with each other 24/7. When we work on different things we come back, sit and talk about our day. Now, we are non-stop together and you would think it would be weird but no, it wasn’t. It was actually great!
WW: After Home Improvement ended was it easy to slide into other roles?
Richard Karn: There were some opportunities that came up while the show was happening such as going to London to do a play. At that time, I was thinking, I can’t go to London to do a play. I had a small child, and I just couldn’t leave. Maybe if I didn’t have kids, I would have a different mindset to say to Tudi, come and you can hang out in London but when you have a family you have to let things slip by. Some opportunities would have led to other jobs so yes, some things did not happen. A couple years after Home Improvement ended, I did a game show, which totally came out of left field. I filmed the pilot of To Tell the Truth and was asked to be a panelist. I declined but then the producers came back and asked if I would host one. At first, I was like, no, but then I framed it as doing improv theater that happens to be a game show. That was Family Feud, and I did that for four years.
WW: What do you want your next job to be?
Richard Karn: I want to be the third lead on another television show that is good and becomes popular. I don’t want to be the main lead because that carries a lot of weight, and you have to be there all the time. The third lead is perfect because you get in there, you get your juices flowing for doing something important and then you don’t have to carry the weight of the show on your shoulders.
WW: Pick one adjective that best describes you and why?
Richard Karn: Optimistic because I seem to not dwell on things that can happen that are not necessarily good. I see the positive in a lot of stuff and I try to live my life that way.
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