# Richard Karn
**Richard Karn** (born 1956 in Seattle, Washington) is an American actor and television host, born Richard Karn Wilson, best known for playing Al Borland, the flannel-shirted co-host of the fictional "Tool Time" segment on the ABC sitcom *Home Improvement* from 1991 to 1999, and for hosting the game show *Family Feud* from 2002 to 2006.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956, Seattle, Washington; birth name Richard Karn Wilson[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-karn/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0439781/bio/) |
| Signature role | Albert "Al" Borland on *Home Improvement*, ABC, 1991–1999[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/karn-richard-1956) |
| How he got it | The role was originally cast with Stephen Tobolowsky, who left for a movie; Karn landed the audition through an agent he met at traffic school[4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/) |
| Game show hosting | *Family Feud* (2002–2006, replacing Louie Anderson); *Bingo America* (2008)[5](https://www.nndb.com/people/576/000044444/) • [6](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/129513) |
| Education | Drama degree, University of Washington, 1979[4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/) |
| Family | Married actress and singer Tudi Roche in 1985; one son, Cooper[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/karn-richard-1956) |
| Reunions with Tim Allen | *Assembly Required* (History, 2021), *More Power* (2022), *Shifting Gears* guest spot (2025)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-karn/) |
## Early life and training
Karn was born in Seattle as Richard Karn Wilson, the son of Gene Wilson, a contractor and architect, and Louise Wilson, an artist[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/karn-richard-1956). He attended Roosevelt High School and earned a drama degree from the University of Washington in 1979[4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/). His time in the university's Professional Actor Training Program nearly ended in expulsion: program director Bob Hobbs told him his voice needed work, which he later described as a rebuke that made him work harder[4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/).
When he joined the [Screen Actors Guild](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild) he learned that a Richard Wilson was already registered, so he dropped his surname and has performed as Richard Karn since[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0439781/bio/). Moving to New York after college, he was hired within days for a Michelob beer commercial that aired during [Super Bowl XIV](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-xiv), then waited six months for his next job, taking small and non-paying roles in between[4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/). His stage work in this period included the off-Broadway *The Other Shore* (1983), *The Miser*, *Losing It*, and the title role in Larry Shue's *The Foreigner* (1984)[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/karn-richard-1956).
## Home Improvement
**The traffic-school break.** Karn moved to Los Angeles in 1989. On his way home from a rehearsal of *Macbeth* he rolled through a stop sign, received a ticket, and was sent to an eight-hour, in-person traffic school in West Hollywood. The woman seated next to him turned out to be an agent at the Gersh Agency[4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/) • [7](https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/traffic-ticket-led-richard-karn-straight-to-home-improvement.html). Through her, and through directors he had met at a summer theater project in Michigan years earlier, he finessed an audition for a new ABC sitcom even after being told the part was already cast[4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/).
Karn was hired for the pilot as a fill-in; when the original actor bowed out of the series, Karn had the job permanently[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-04-tv-9798-story.html). He kept his day job as an apartment building manager through the show's entire first season, quitting only at the end of it, when it was clear the series would last[4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/).
**The character.** Al Borland was the bearded, flannel-clad master plumber and licensed contractor who served as the safety-conscious straight man to Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor for all eight seasons the show ran on ABC, from 1991 to 1999[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/karn-richard-1956) • [9](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-improvement/cast/Richard-Karn). Karn's catchphrase "I don't think so, Tim" began as a throwaway line written to follow Allen's jokes; Karn deliberately played it for weight[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-04-tv-9798-story.html). The character's perceived competence had commercial value: during the run, Karn became a spokesman for products including Orchard Supply Hardware goods, beard trimmers, and the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation[10](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2000/sep/15/the-accidental-handyman-richard-karn-is-no-home/).
## Hosting and later television
Karn succeeded [Louie Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/louie-anderson) as host of the syndicated game show *Family Feud* in 2002 and held the job for four seasons[5](https://www.nndb.com/people/576/000044444/) • [9](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-improvement/cast/Richard-Karn). In 2008 he hosted the GSN program *Bingo America*, taking over from its first presenter, [Patrick Duffy](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-duffy)[6](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/129513).
His acting work after *Home Improvement* spans sitcom guest spots ([That '70s Show](https://www.edgepedia.org/that-70s-show), Boy Meets World, [Last Man Standing](https://www.edgepedia.org/last-man-standing-american-tv-series), Detroiters), family films including *Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch* and *Air Buddies*, and a recurring role as Fred Peters on the Hulu comedy *PEN15*[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-karn/) • [9](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-improvement/cast/Richard-Karn). He has also appeared in a string of Hallmark Christmas movies, including *Christmas in Mississippi* and *A Dog for Christmas*[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-karn/).
**Reunions with Tim Allen.** Karn rejoined [Tim Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-allen) for the [History Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/history-channel) competition series *Assembly Required* (2021), on which he was host and executive producer, and for *More Power* (2022), a series about tools[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-karn/). In October 2025 he appeared in the second-season premiere of Allen's ABC sitcom *Shifting Gears*, together with former *Home Improvement* cast members [Patricia Richardson](https://www.edgepedia.org/patricia-richardson) and Debbe Dunning, playing members of a widowers' support group[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-karn/) • [11](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/i-watched-shifting-gears-home-improvement-cameo-episode-i-was-surprised-one-thing).
## Writing and off-screen work
Karn's own remodeling of his Studio City house in 1996 grew from redoing two rooms to nearly $300,000 of work, with 101 change orders over a year and a half; he wrote about it in *House Broken: How I Remodeled My House for Just under Three Times the Original Bid* (HarperEntertainment, 1999), co-written with George Mair[10](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2000/sep/15/the-accidental-handyman-richard-karn-is-no-home/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/karn-richard-1956). A second book, *Handy at Home: Tips on Improving Your Home from America's Favorite Handyman*, followed[12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05fzpsG_-cE).
Despite playing a contractor on television, Karn is not a tradesman by training, though his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all carpenters[10](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2000/sep/15/the-accidental-handyman-richard-karn-is-no-home/). He has remained connected to his home city through charity work: he founded the annual Richard Karn Celebrity Golf Tournament in 1993, benefiting the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Overlake Hospital Foundation, and runs the StarDays charity event in Seattle[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/karn-richard-1956) • [4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/). His avocations include fishing, golf, poker, and skiing[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/karn-richard-1956).
## Popularity and recognition
During *Home Improvement*'s run, Karn scored the second-highest Q rating, a measure of a performer's recognizability and likability, of any actor on primetime television, behind only Tim Allen[10](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2000/sep/15/the-accidental-handyman-richard-karn-is-no-home/). In a 1995 University of Washington Magazine profile he summarized the trait that carried him through a decade of struggling actor years: "Acting is not necessarily a matter of talent. What matters is persistence"[4](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/).
## References
1. [Richard Karn – Actor, Host, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/richard-karn/)
2. [Richard Karn Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0439781/bio/)
3. [Karn, Richard 1956–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/karn-richard-1956)
4. [Richard Karn, '79, finds his voice on 'Home Improvement', University of Washington Magazine](https://magazine.washington.edu/richard-karn-79-finds-his-voice-on-home-improvement/)
5. [Richard Karn, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/576/000044444/)
6. [Richard Karn, AlegsaOnline](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/129513)
7. [A Traffic Ticket Led Richard Karn Straight to HOME IMPROVEMENT, Movieguide](https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/traffic-ticket-led-richard-karn-straight-to-home-improvement.html)
8. [How to Build a Name: Richard Karn Makes His Minutes as Mr. Fix-It Count, Los Angeles Times (1993)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-04-tv-9798-story.html)
9. [Richard Karn as Al on “Home Improvement”, Hallmark Channel](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-improvement/cast/Richard-Karn)
10. [The Accidental Handyman, The Spokesman-Review (2000)](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2000/sep/15/the-accidental-handyman-richard-karn-is-no-home/)
11. [I Just Watched Shifting Gears' Home Improvement Cameo Episode, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/i-watched-shifting-gears-home-improvement-cameo-episode-i-was-surprised-one-thing)
12. [Harvey Brownstone Interviews Richard Karn, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05fzpsG_-cE)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames I to Kh*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license