Anna Daniels
The story behind how Karn landed the role of Al seems like one of those things that has to be an embellishment — but if it is, Karn has been consistent with it. He’s told the story multiple times to several outlets, and some of those articles have helpfully been saved for posterity by the fan site Home Improvement Archive.
In 1994, Karn told People magazine that he’d come to L.A. after struggling to land acting gigs in New York. Things were looking bleak when, one day, he received a traffic ticket for coasting through a Stop sign — which led directly to his big break. Made to take traffic classes, Karn found himself sitting next to an agent, who suggested that he attend the ongoing auditions for a new ABC sitcom.
The actor followed up on the suggestion, but was initially not cast in Home Improvement due to the fact that the role of Tim’s sidekick (then named Glen) had already been filled by actor Stephen Tobolowsky. (You may remember him as the amnesiac Sammy Jankis in Memento.) When it came time to shoot the pilot, though, Tobolowsky was busy shooting a movie — so Karn was asked to fill in as a temporary sidekick for an episode or two.
Of course, Al — the character created for his little guest spot — became a hit with audiences, and when Tobolowsky decided that his busy film schedule wouldn’t allow him to participate in a sitcom, Karn’s casting became permanent. Karn told People that the show’s producers “basically thought of me as this guest star who stuck around” — for the series’ entire run.
Written by: Looper
