JTT Can't Go "Home" Again

Teen star "miffed" at Tim Allen; skips Home Improvement series finale

By Joal Ryan May 14, 1999 4:15 PMTags
Wondering why Jonathan Taylor Thomas won't appear in the soon-to-air Home Improvement series finale?

A TV-land family feud.

"He was a little miffed at me," Tim Allen says of his tube-land spawn in the new TV Guide.

The source of the fake-family friction were remarks Allen made shortly after Thomas bailed on Home's eighth (and final) season--supposedly to hit the books and prepare for college.

"He said it was about going to school, but then he did some films," Allen says in the mag. "Did he want to do films? Did he want to go to school?"

Tensions on the Home Improvement set reportedly ran high when Thomas, 17, returned to tape a holiday episode last year.

"I mentioned that I was confused [about the reasons for his departure]," Allen says. "I don't think he liked that."

It was Thomas' call to skip the sitcom's swan song.

Said series producer Gayle Maffeo, in a statement: "Every attempt was made to invite Jonathan to be in the last episode. We did not want to leave him out of it and we would have loved to have had him with us."

Certainly, Thomas' costars don't sound happy he skipped the finale, to air May 25.

"It's a pretty sore point around here," TV mom Patricia Richardson says in TV Guide. "...I don't think it's a good idea that he didn't show up, but I don't always think he gets the best advice."

Thomas is said to be between publicists and could not be reached for comment.

JTT, by the way, will not be entirely absent from the Home Improvement closer. He'll appear in series of clips looking back at the show's once-top-rated run. Thomas debuted on the series at age 10, playing middle son Randy Taylor. He'll next be seen in the indie film, Speedway Junky.

Also in TV Guide, it's revealed that Allen and Richardson almost considered un-pulling the plug on the series. The two were offered a combined $75 million ($50 million for Allen; $25 million for Richardson) to return. But they just couldn't do it--Richardson didn't want to take the gig for money alone; Allen didn't want to do the show without Richardson.

"This is a kind of decision that at some point you will regret," Richardson says.