A star of a hit 90s sitcom who then went on to host a game show for several years has been spotted looking unrecognisable recently.
From 1991 until 1999, Richard Karen starred alongside Tim Allen in the comedy series Home Improvement.
The show followed the Taylor family, which consisted of Tim (Allen), his wife Jill (Patricia Richardson) and their three sons: Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and Mark (Taran Noah Smith).
Richard played Al, a master plumber and licensed contractor, who was also Tim’s best friend and co-host on the show-within-a-show Tool Time.
The show eventually ended after eight seasons after Allen declined a $50 million offer to continue.
Richard’s role on the show very nearly didn’t happen as another actor had been offered the part of Al but had to pull out due to a scheduling conflict.
Richard was a guest star in the pilot episode but became a regular cast member when the show was picked up by the network.
After Home Improvement ended, the actor took over hosting the game show Family Feud, a role which he held for four years before leaving in 2006.
He then also went on to host the Game Show Network’s Bingo America for a year from 2008.
This month the actor, now 68, was pictured with his wife Trudi Roche while going grocery shopping in Los Angeles.
Richard was dressed casually in a golf shirt, which he paired with blue shorts and grey trainers.
Looking significantly different from his time on Home Improvement, the actor flew under the radar during the outing.
The couple, who have been married since 1985, share 32-year-old son Cooper.
Since Home Improvement ended, Richard has appeared on shows including That 70s Show, The Bold and Pen15, in which he played the father of writer and star Maya Erskine’s father.
In 2013 he also reunited with Allen for the sitcom Last Man Standing.
Then, in 2021, they hosted the pandemic-era Home Improvement–inspired series Assembly Required, a home repair competition.
In 2019 Richard spoke about the chances of the series ever being rebooted, or fans at least seeing the cast reunite on screen.
‘Great strides are being made. Tim wanted to reboot Last Man Standing, so he’s taking a year or two or whatever to accomplish that,’ he told Vulture.
‘After that, maybe we’ll look at Home Improvement. We’ll see what the producers have in store. It’ll be interesting to see where people end up 20 years later and if we can sustain something that’s interesting for people to watch.
Home Improvement is streaming on Disney Plus.
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