How TV Stunts Really Work (Home Improvement Behind the Scenes)

People often ask if Tim ever got seriously hurt doing stunts on Home Improvement. The truth is, he really didn’t. And that wasn’t luck. It was intentional.
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When the stunts were extreme, we were careful. The big roof gag is a perfect example. Tim is up there testing the roof, warning about rot, and then suddenly he falls through. In the story, he drops through multiple floors and lands in the basement. It looks wild and reckless, and that’s exactly what makes it funny.
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But when we cut to the truly extreme parts, we used a stuntman. You simply can’t risk the star of your show breaking a leg or ending up in the hospital for months in the middle of production. Television is a team effort, and the schedule doesn’t pause just because someone got injured. We were fortunate, and we also took great care, because you have to.
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We rehearsed. We practiced. There were safety harnesses. Everything was planned out to the max. And here’s the irony: the more free form and out of control it looked, the more it had been choreographed and rehearsed. That is the craft. That is the discipline behind the laughter.
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It’s one of the things I loved about making the show. The audience got to feel the chaos, but behind the scenes there was real precision, real responsibility, and a lot of people working hard to keep each other safe while still delivering the comedy.
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Stories like this are part of what led me to write my book Glimpses. It’s filled with behind-the-scenes moments that most people never see, along with the lessons that stayed with me long after the laughs. If you’ve enjoyed these memories from Home Improvement, you may enjoy the longer collection in Glimpses. The link is in the bio if you’d like to check it out.

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