Where You At Wednesday : Cast Of “Home Improvement”

“Home Improvement” aired from 1991-1999, 8 seasons, 204 episodes. A pretty long run. If you weren’t under a rock (or on the rock) in the 90′s, then you probably know all about this show. (Sidenote, OG Air Diamond Turfs rocked by Zachery Ty Bryan above are killin’ y’all, and certainly a step above Tim Allen’s Air Tech Challenges, though I can’t really hate on an Agassi shoe). I’m going to spare you the spiel on this, because if you don’t know about “Home Improvement,” then you don’t really care about this post.

Tim Allen as Tim “The Toolman” Taylor

Since the sitcom went off the air, Tim Allen has pretty much stayed famous. He’s been in a ton of movies (Joe Somebody, Big Trouble, The Santa Clause 2, Christmas with the Kranks, The Shaggy Dog, Wild Hogs, and the upcoming Toy Story 3). In 1999, he was named as an official “Disney Legend” for his parts in the “Toy Story” and “Santa Clause” franchises. He is currently married to actress Jane Hajduk and they recently had their first child together, and Tim’s second.

Patricia Richardson as Jill Taylor

Mainly appearing in made-for-TV movies since 1999, Patricia Richardson has also appeared in “Law and Order : Special Victims Unit” and held a recurring role on the Lifetime series “Strong Medicine” until 2005. She also starred in the final two seasons of “West Wing.”

Zachery Ty Bryan as Brad Taylor

ZTB has rocked out on several brief TV roles since the sitcom ended. These include “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Veronica Mars,” “Shark,” “Smallville,”  “Cold Case,” and even “Reading Rainbow.” Most recently, he appeared in an episode of “Burn Notice.” He has recently started a company, Vision Entertainment Group and is working on a documentary for ESPN with his wife.

Johnathan Taylor Thomas as Randy Taylor

This dude may have been the biggest teen heartthrob of all time. I know it’s not politically correct or even that decent to say, but let’s call a spade a spade: This kid was swimming in bitches at one point. The amount of boy-band type ass he probably got is unparalleled. He ended up wanting to go to college so dropped out of the acting scene for a bit. However, he still maintained appearances on “Smallville,” “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter,” “Ally McBeal,” and “Veronica Mars.”  Couldn’t really find anything more recent than 2005 on him.

Taran Noah Smith as Mark Taylor

Seriously kids, what is up with the triple full names? Smith briefly attended USC. He is a huge environmentalist and in June 2006 was arrested for trying to save the South Central Farm, an urban community garden being destroyed by land developers. He also opened up a vegan eatery called Playfood with his then-wife. They have since divorced after Smith caught her embezzeling funds and won a court settlement in 2007. He still owns Playfood, Inc.

Richard Karn as Al Borland

From 2002-2006, Karn was the host of “FamilyFeud” and even appeared in a music video for The Strokes as the host. He is currently the host of “Bingo America” (replacing Patrick Duffy from “Step By Step” fame) and spokesman for the “Mr. Handyman” franchise of handymen. He has also written 2 home improvement books.

Debbe Dunning as Heidi the Toolgirl

We all know Pam Anderson was the toolgirl for a while, but for most years it was Dunning. She is currently married to American volleyball legend Steve Timmons and has 1 daughter and 1 son. In 2004 she was a spokesperson for a breast enlargement drink (REALLY? a DRINK?) and since 2008 has been a national spokesperson for bioMETRIX, Inc. which makes garage door openers, doorlocks and the like. She has also starred in “Wicked Wicked Games,” which is a telenovela. Not sure what the hell that is, but okay…

Earl Hindman as Wilson

I was very tempted to do a “fence picture” and not show you this dude’s face. In December of 2003, Hindman died of lung cancer at the age of 61.

Where You At Wednesday : The 1994 Little Rascals

I was chilling at my man Roberto Guacamole’s house a week and a half or so ago and this movie happened to come on TV. The 1994 version of “The Little Rascals.” Being that we had not-shit to do, and we was just illin’ on the sofa, we decided to finish out the movie (there were about 30 minutes left, most of it revolving around the soap-box car race….which by the way, did any of you actually do one of those as a kid? they are in a ton of movies but I don’t know anyone who acutally built a soap box car and raced it in a derby…ever). It got us to wondering what these kids were up to these days and if any of them actually became successful in their trade. Peep the Monster Blog findings below…

Bug Hall – ALFALFA

(shouts to the How They Look Now blog for the cool progressions)

Bug Hall, who played Alfalfa, mainly saw his star rise as a child actor. He also held parts in “The Big Green,” “Honey We Shrunk Ourselves,” and “Get A Clue” which was a Disney movie he was in with Lindsay Lohan. You may have also seen him on TV appearances in The X-Files, Charmed, CSI, and Cold Case. His last role was 2009 “American Pie: Book of Love” where he plays a characted named Rob. Bug is now 24 years old.

Travis Tedford – SPANKY

Travis played Spanky in the movie, but is probably best known for his child work in the Welch’s Grape commercials (see below)

He also did a voice in the movie “A Bug’s Life” and had a small role in “The Thirteenth Floor” in 1999 as a newsboy. He currently resides in Garland, Texas and recently graduated Trinity Valley Community College with a degree in Liberal Arts.

Kevin Jamal Woods – STYMIE

Kevin Jamal Woods played the slick-talking Stymie in the movie. Prior to that role, he was Cleveland in “A Perfect World”. Also had a TV appearance on Blossom.

I was unable to find a current picture of Kevin, but found out he is a resident of Texas who attends Bethune-Cookman College in Florida, majoring in mass communication and music.

Ross Bagley – BUCKWHEAT

Ross Bagley was staight on his grizzly as a child actor. Not only was he Buckwheat, he was also the new child Nicky in the later seasons of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. He was the voice of a puppy in “Babe,” and Will Smith’s son in “Independence Day”. You can also see him in episodes of Providence and The Wild Thornberry’s. His most recent appearance on screen is 2004 in an episode of Judging Amy.

He is currently 20 years old and attends Cal State Northridge.

Brittany Ashton Holmes – DARLA

Brittany Ashton Holmes played Darla, and also was in the 1996 movie “Inhumanoid”. She appeared in one 1995 episode of “Ellen” and most recently appeared in 1996 film “Humanoids from the Deep” as “Girl on Boat”. No further newer information is available, other than that picture of her sometime recently throwing up the “Westside”….

Blake McIver Ewing – WALDO

This dude had family sitcoms and movies on LOCK for a while. Not only did he star in this movie, but he did voice or acting work in movies like “Calendar Girl,” “Gordy,” “Tom and Huck,” “Problem Child 3,” “Hey Arnold!” and “Raising Helen”. However, he mainly did damage on TV with a recurring role on “Full House” and other roles on “Home Improvement,” “Clueless,” and most recently in 2000, “The Drew Carrey Show”. At 24 years of age, he appears to be out the acting game for good.