Tim Allen Recalled Freaky Stalker Sitch During Early Years Of Home Improvement, And It Involved A Nude Walk Around The Studio: ‘Don’t Engage’

01.10.2025 by pricpr

Home Improvement is back in the news, largely because of Tim Allen’s new ABC comedy, Shifting Gears. The second season premiere is generating buzz, as it reunites the comedian with former co-stars Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, and Debbe Dunning. Before the episode airs, Allen spoke with his friend Howie Mandel and shared a scary story about a stalker he dealt with early in his career as a sitcom star.

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I was listening to the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast – you know, the one AGT judge co-hosts with his daughter Jackelyn Shultz – and Tim Allen went on this really fascinating, rambling story. It started with him talking about how he feels like he’s yelling at clouds because his own daughter is always glued to her phone. And then, get this, it led to him remembering when he first got a Twitter account! He said he only really paid attention to, and responded to, the negative comments he received. It’s funny how we’re drawn to that stuff, isn’t it?

So, that’s what got Allen talking about why he needed security on the set of Home Improvement. He explained it himself:

Years ago, when I was on Home Improvement, I had to hire security because of a stalker. The security expert, Gavin DeBecker, is still considered a leading authority in the field. He immediately told me, ‘Don’t respond to people like that.’ This stalker had actually called the show a few times to complain, saying I wasn’t raising my TV sons correctly.

A statement like that – and it wasn’t a joke – should immediately raise at least 1,000 red flags. However, rather than becoming extremely worried and avoiding that person completely, Allen chose to reply. Here’s how he explained it:

I replied, explaining that those weren’t my actual sons, but that I was an actor in a TV show. Then, Gavin called and told me I’d made a mistake. Apparently, someone had been writing to ask why I wasn’t looking after the child actors on the show as if they were my own children, and I had responded. He said, ‘Don’t engage with people who seem a little nutty.’ It was a big mistake to respond at all; you shouldn’t interact with people like that.

Honestly, when I told Mandel and Schultz this story, they were totally surprised! Mandel actually thought Allen might just be improvising a funny bit. Naturally, we both asked what happened next, and that’s when things got a little unsettling – you could really see this Home Improvement fan was struggling with some serious issues. It’s a shame the security guards over at Disney didn’t pick up on it, though.

He appeared outside the studio a few times. I wasn’t sure how to respond, since I’m a comedian. I tried to be polite to him. Apparently-if I understood correctly-he showed up completely naked outside the gate at Disney Studios. The security guards, thinking it was a joke, let him in.

I understand how Tim Allen, as someone not used to intense fan interactions, might have thought he was being helpful by explaining to the fan that he was mixing up a TV show with reality, even though the fan’s first message was critical of his on-screen parenting. However, in this situation, getting involved didn’t actually benefit anyone.

The Last Man Standing vet continued, sharing how his exchange with the security guards went:

So, they allowed this man to enter, and immediately he began walking around the studio. I exclaimed, ‘That person isn’t someone I know!’ They responded, ‘We assumed it was an obvious prank, so we let him in.’ Then I clarified, ‘No, he’s completely naked.’ . . . Apparently, if you plan to rob a bank, doing it naked is the way to go.

Fortunately, Allen mentioned the incident with the nude studio intrusion was the last time he had issues with that specific stalker, and they didn’t bother him again after that. However, Allen admitted that dealing with similar situations has happened occasionally. Despite this, considering he still responded to some of his most vocal critics on Twitter even years later, it seems he didn’t fully adopt the advice to ignore such people.

Thankfully, it doesn’t appear the writers of Home Improvement used that particular event as the basis for a Tim Taylor plotline, like they did with other situations. Debbe Dunning recounted a story – one of her Home Improvement “difficult moments” – about Tim Allen wanting to have Pamela Anderson return to the show, and how anxious that made her, especially since she was a new mother struggling with sleep deprivation. Interestingly, if that sounds like a familiar storyline, it’s because the writers actually *did* use that emotional experience as inspiration for the Season 6 finale, which *did* include an appearance by Anderson.

Additionally, Taran Smith previously shared that he discovered his character Mark’s goth storyline had a personal connection to the head writer. He unexpectedly met the writer’s son and realized his character’s on-screen wardrobe was directly copied from the teen’s actual clothes. It turned out the writer had based Mark’s look on his own son’s style.

Don’t miss the Season 2 premiere of Shifting Gears! It airs on ABC this Wednesday, October 1st, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Hopefully, there won’t be any uncomfortable fan interactions. You can also watch it the next day if you have a Hulu subscription.

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2025-10-01 23:11