Richard Karn
Encyclopedia
Richard Karn is an American actor
and game show host. He is most well known for his co-starring role as Al Borland in the 1990s sitcom Home Improvement and his tenure as the host of Family Feud
during the 2000s.
, Washington. Karn's father, Gene, was a Seabee
who served in World War II
. Richard graduated from Roosevelt High School and the University of Washington
, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi
fraternity. Karn also gained drama experience in Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival
.
After earning his Drama degree in 1979, Karn packed up and headed to New York City. After less than one week, he was hired to do a commercial for Michelob beer that was featured during the 1980 Super Bowl. When he joined the Screen Actors Guild
, he was informed there was already a Richard Wilson, so he dropped his last name.
His character on Home Improvement, Al Borland, was portrayed as a former Navy Seabee
, probably as a tribute to his father.
convinced Karn that they should move to Los Angeles
. He found a place for them to live by managing an apartment complex, and catered events at a Jewish temple on the side. After receiving a traffic citation, Karn attended a traffic school and sat beside an agent who told him about casting for the new television show called Home Improvement. The role of Al Borland had already been given to Stephen Tobolowsky
, but when filming was scheduled, Tobolowsky was busy with another movie and the role had to be recast. Karn was a guest star in the pilot episode but became a regular cast member when the show was picked up by the network..
In 2002, Karn replaced Louie Anderson
as host of the game show
Family Feud
. Karn left Family Feud in 2006 and was replaced by John O'Hurley
.
In 2002, Karn also made an appearance in The Strokes'
music video for "Someday
", which featured segments of the band on a fictional showing of Family Feud against the band Guided by Voices
.
On October 6, 2008, Karn replaced Patrick Duffy
as host of Game Show Network
's Bingo America
. Karn was also a substitute host on GSN Radio
.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and game show host. He is most well known for his co-starring role as Al Borland in the 1990s sitcom Home Improvement and his tenure as the host of Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
during the 2000s.
Early life
Karn was born Richard Karn Wilson in SeattleSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Washington. Karn's father, Gene, was a Seabee
Seabee
Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...
who served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Richard graduated from Roosevelt High School and the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...
fraternity. Karn also gained drama experience in Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
.
After earning his Drama degree in 1979, Karn packed up and headed to New York City. After less than one week, he was hired to do a commercial for Michelob beer that was featured during the 1980 Super Bowl. When he joined the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
, he was informed there was already a Richard Wilson, so he dropped his last name.
His character on Home Improvement, Al Borland, was portrayed as a former Navy Seabee
Seabee
Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...
, probably as a tribute to his father.
Show business career
In 1989, his wife TudiTudi Roche
Tudi Joanne Roche is an American singer and actress best known for her recurring role on Home Improvement as Jill Taylor's sister Carrie . She also has three Broadway shows to her credit. She attended Texas Christian University but did not graduate and is married to Richard Karn, who played Al on...
convinced Karn that they should move to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He found a place for them to live by managing an apartment complex, and catered events at a Jewish temple on the side. After receiving a traffic citation, Karn attended a traffic school and sat beside an agent who told him about casting for the new television show called Home Improvement. The role of Al Borland had already been given to Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons...
, but when filming was scheduled, Tobolowsky was busy with another movie and the role had to be recast. Karn was a guest star in the pilot episode but became a regular cast member when the show was picked up by the network..
In 2002, Karn replaced Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson
Louie Perry Anderson is an American stand-up comedian. Anderson created the cartoon series Life with Louie, has written three books, and was the initial host of the second revival of the game show Family Feud, from 1999 to 2002....
as host of the game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
. Karn left Family Feud in 2006 and was replaced by John O'Hurley
John O'Hurley
John George O'Hurley is an American actor, voice actor, and television personality. He is known for the role of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and was the host of the game show Family Feud from 2006 to 2010.-Early life:...
.
In 2002, Karn also made an appearance in The Strokes'
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
music video for "Someday
Someday (The Strokes song)
"Someday" is a song by the indie rock band The Strokes, and the third single from Is This It. It peaked at #17 on the U.S. Alternative Songs chart and at #27 on the U.K...
", which featured segments of the band on a fictional showing of Family Feud against the band Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...
.
On October 6, 2008, Karn replaced Patrick Duffy
Patrick Duffy
Patrick George Duffy is an American character actor of stage and film. He is best known for his role on the CBS television drama Dallas, where he played Bobby Ewing from 1978 to 1985 and from 1986 to 1991, Duffy returns to reprise his role as Bobby in a new up-to-date Dallas currently scheduled to...
as host of Game Show Network
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
's Bingo America
Bingo America
Bingo America is an American game show airing on GSN that follows two contestants as they try to compete to win up to $100,000, as well as letting at-home viewers print bingo cards at GSN.com that allow them to play along with the show to win money....
. Karn was also a substitute host on GSN Radio
GSN Radio
Game Show Network Radio was an interactive internet radio game show that originally aired live on GSN.com from August 18, 2008 to November 13, 2009, hosted by husband and wife team Bob Goen and Marianne Curan. Other co-hosts filled in when one of them was unavailable. The four-hour program featured...
.
Films
- Picture PerfectPicture Perfect (1995 film)Picture Perfect is a film by Feature Films for Families and was first telecast October 14, 1995 on ABC. It's about two families and Ernie Barrett , owner and CEO of Barrett's Natural Soda...
(19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
) – George Thomas - Legend of the Mummy (19971997 in film-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
) – Brice Renard - The Pooch and the Pauper (19991999 in filmThe year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
) – Agent Dainville - MVP 2: Most Vertical PrimateMVP 2: Most Vertical PrimateMVP 2: Most Vertical Primate is the 2001 film, and the second in the MVP series. The film's title character, Jack, is a fictional chimpanzee...
(20012001 in filmThe year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
) – Ollie Plant - Sex and the Teenage Mind (2002) – Stanley Heitmeyer
- Reality School (2002) – Victor Cayanne
- Air Bud: Seventh Inning FetchAir Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch-Plot:Josh is off to his first year of college and Buddy has stayed behind with Josh's little sister, Andrea, and the rest of the family. Andrea, attempting to fit in with her Jr. High classmates, decides to join the baseball team and along the way discovers that Buddy also has the uncanny ability...
(20022002 in filmThe year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
) – Patrick - Air BuddiesAir BuddiesAir Buddies is the sixth film in the Air Bud series and the first in the direct to video spin-off series Air Buddies, which follows the life of a lonely teenager and his dog who has the uncanny ability to play every sport. The film was released on December 12, 2006...
(20052005 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
) – Patrick - Mr. Blue Sky (20062006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
) – John - Snow BuddiesSnow BuddiesSnow Buddies is a 2008 direct to video in the Air Bud series. It was released on DVD on February 5, 2008. The movie was shot on location in Canada at Mount Seymore and the town of Ladner, British Columbia.-Plot:...
(20082008 in filmThis is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
) – Patrick
TV series
- Home Improvement (1991–1999) – Al Borland
- WOW! The Most Amazing Acts on Earth (1996) – Host
- DirtDirt (TV series)Dirt is an American television serial broadcast on the FX network. It premiered on January 2, 2007 and starred Courteney Cox as Lucy Spiller, the editor-in-chief of the first-of-its-kind "glossy tabloid" magazine DirtNow, which was previously two separate publications: drrt and Now Dirt (styled...
(1 episode, "Ties That (Don't) Bind") – Holt McLauren's father - Boy Meets WorldBoy Meets WorldBoy Meets World is an American comedy-drama series that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage, a kid from suburban Philadelphia who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the...
(1995: 1 episode, "This Little Piggy") – Animal Control Officer - That '70s ShowThat '70s ShowThat '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
(1 episode, "Bye Bye Basement") – Theo - Foot Soldier (1998) – Host and narrator
- Family FeudFamily FeudFamily Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
(2002–2006) – Host - Bingo AmericaBingo AmericaBingo America is an American game show airing on GSN that follows two contestants as they try to compete to win up to $100,000, as well as letting at-home viewers print bingo cards at GSN.com that allow them to play along with the show to win money....
(2008–present) – Host - True Jackson, VPTrue Jackson, VPTrue Jackson, VP is an American television sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon from November 8, 2008 to August 20, 2011. The series starred Keke Palmer, Ashley Argota, Matt Shively, Danielle Bisutti, Greg Proops, Robbie Amell and Ron Butler. The theme song was written by Toby Gad and Keke Palmer and...
(2010) – Fire Marshal; Guest star
Books
- House Broken: How I Remodeled My Home for Just Under Three Times the Original Bid (1999) – ISBN 0-0610-5144-6 (with George Mair)
- Handy at Home: Tips on Improving Your Home from America's Favorite Handyman (2002) – ISBN 0-3123-0606-7 (with George Mair)