Richard Karn - Episode 264

Steve Cooper talks with actor Richard Karn. Richard earned a B.F.A. at the University of Washington in their Professional Actor Training Program and played in off-Broadway and Broadway productions (his Broadway debut was playing a suit of armor in Me and My Girl), in the 1980s. However, it was his role as the shy, but confident Al Borland on the 1990s television sitcom Home Improvement that made him a star. He discovered it by accident after he ran a stop sign, was sent to traffic school, and met an agent who told him about the Home Improvement audition. Looking back at the success of the series and his beloved character, it seems hard to believe that the actor kept his job as an apartment manager during the first season, unsure of the fledgling show's future. During his years on the sitcom, he appeared as a host for TV specials and in made-for-TV films, including ABC's Picture Perfect and HBO's Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy. Following Home Improvement, he found a new niche as a game-show host, replacing Louie Anderson as the host of Family Feud, and Patrick Duffy as the host of Bingo America. He is an avid golfer and has become a national spokesman for the Mr. Handyman franchise.