Patricia Richardson, best known for her role as Jill Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement, was cast as a replacement for Frances Fisher in 1991. The decision to recast Jill was made due to the chemistry between Tim Allen and his on-screen wife, Patricia Richardson. Richardson’s portrayal of Jill was seen as “whiny and pleading”, and she was ultimately chosen as her replacement.
Jill is the problem-solver of the Taylor family, constantly having to keep everyone in check. She has a different approach to parenting from Tim, but sometimes opposites attract and give their kids a well-balanced life. Richardson was never approached about a possible reunion despite Allen’s previous comments.
In the three-part finale that ended with the Taylors relocating to Indiana for Jill to pursue a new career, emotions and feelings were intense. Richardson, who played Allen’s onscreen wife Jill in the 1990s sitcom, said she was never approached about a possible reunion despite Allen’s previous comments.
The debates surrounding a different Jill in Home Improvement remain unresolved, but they have significantly impacted the fandom. For example, in the “Family Unties” episode, Jill complains about her husband’s lack of attention. Patricia Richardson, who played Jill Taylor, has no interest in a Home Improvement reboot.
📹 Home Improvement Top Ten Tim and Jill Fights Part 1
Here are, in my opinion, the top ten Tim and Jill fights from the 90s sitcom Home Improvement. This one is #s 10-6. Hope you …
Who played Jill’s mother on Home Improvement?
Lillian Patterson, Jill’s mother and Tim Taylor’s mother-in-law, is played by Polly Holliday. She is married to COL Fred Patterson and often has to be strong and hard with her daughters, creating distance between them. Her first appearance is in Season 2’s “Much Ado About Nana”, where she is implied to be overweight and dieting to lose weight. During her visits, she takes a firm handle on Jill when she feels out of line, such as her bossiness and miss treatment of Tim.
Who was the first Jill Taylor on Home Improvement?
The writers planned for a strong voice for Tim Taylor’s wife, Jill, from the start. Frances Fisher was initially cast, but was released during final rehearsals due to the audience’s perception of her portrayal. Patricia Richardson was chosen as her replacement. Richardson initially feared Jill would be another “perfect” TV sitcom mother, but was reassured after seeing scripts and talking to producers. Richardson aimed for Jill to be imperfect, making mistakes and being the wrong one in relationships.
Jill and her siblings grew up in a rigid environment due to her father’s military service. They appear together in “Jill and Her Sisters” and “Taps”. Jill serves as the voice of reason for her husband and children, known for her common sense and understanding of emotions. She is described as “the epitome of understanding”.
Why did they replace Lisa on Home Improvement?
Pamela Anderson played Lisa, Tim’s Tool Girl, on Tool Time for two years before leaving to focus on Baywatch. She replaced her role with Debbe Dunning in the third season, starting with “Maybe Baby”. Anderson reprised her role in the sixth-season finale episode “The Kiss and the Kiss-Off”.
In the eighth and final season, middle child Randy left for an environmental study program in Costa Rica in the episode “Adios”. Jonathan Taylor Thomas wanted to take time off to focus on his academics. His last appearance was the eighth season Christmas episode “Home for the Holidays”. He did not return to the show for the series finale due to his education and filming the movie Speedway Junky.
The series ended after eight seasons in 1999. Richardson and Allen declined offers for a ninth season, and the series ended.
Why was Frances Fisher replaced on Home Improvement?
Fisher was initially cast as Jill Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement but was replaced after initial filming due to her performance not testing well with the audience. She was cast in the unaired pilot to the 1992 ABC summer series Human Target. In 1991, she was cast as Lucille Ball in the television film Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter, which aired to strong ratings and good reviews. From 1994 to 1995, she starred in the Fox drama series Strange Luck.
In 2000, she portrayed Audrey Hepburn’s mother, Ella Hepburn, in the biographical film of the actress. Fisher had recurring roles in the CBS sitcom Becker and Fox’s Titus, and in 2002, The WB series Glory Days. In 2003, she starred in The Lyon’s Den on NBC. In 2005, she appeared on the ER episode “Just As I Am” as Helen Kingsley, the long-lost birth mother of Dr. Kerry Weaver. Fisher also starred in a pilot for NBC/USA entitled To Love and Die.
In 2008, she appeared in a recurring role on the Sci-Fi Channel television series Eureka, portraying Eva Thorne. Fisher has guest-starred on Grey’s Anatomy, The Shield, Two and a Half Men, Private Practice, Sons of Anarchy, Torchwood: Miracle Day, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Cold Case, and Castle.
Why did Eileen leave Home Improvement?
Actress Jennifer Lawrence has revealed that she turned down the ninth season of Home Improvement due to being a single parent and being away from her children too much. She has since put her children first and shares her children Roxanne, Joseph, and Henry with ex-husband Ray Baker. Despite turning down numerous opportunities, she doesn’t regret quitting the industry. She also passed up a show that won 30 Emmys, but she didn’t feel obligated to sacrifice it for her children.
Why was Jill from Home Improvement recast?
In 1991, Jennifer Richardson replaced Frances Fisher in the ABC sitcom Home Improvement, receiving four Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. She hosted the Emmys with Ellen DeGeneres, starred in the miniseries Undue Influence, and earned an Independent Spirit nomination in 1997 for her first major theatrical film role in Ulee’s Gold. In 2002, she replaced Janine Turner in the Lifetime medical drama series Strong Medicine, where she was nominated for two Prism Awards.
After three seasons, she was cast in a recurring role as Sheila Brooks, campaign manager for Republican presidential candidate Arnold Vinick in the final two seasons of NBC’s political drama The West Wing.
Richardson also appeared in the first season of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, was the executive producer of the video documentary Long Story Short, and appeared in the NBC made-for-TV film The Jensen Project in 2010. She also appeared in the Lifetime television film Bringing Ashley Home in 2011, and starred in the coming-of-age film Beautiful Wave in 2012. Since then, she has filmed several small independent films and two more Hallmark Channel TV movies, Friend Request and Snow Bride.
Is Cal really Al’s brother?
The character’s name is a pun on Tim Allen, the actor who plays Tim Taylor in the television series Home Improvement. In the Season 1 DVD set, “Cal” was a fan from Texas who submitted a photograph in conjunction with a fan letter. The producers subsequently incorporated this image into the series, featuring it as a photograph of Al’s brother. Al’s original name was Glenn.
How did Jill leave Home Improvement?
In an interview, Patricia Richardson, who played Jill Taylor on the sitcom Home Improvement, revealed that her unequal remuneration was a contributing factor in the series’ conclusion. Richardson stated that the network presented her with an ultimatum following the offer of an additional $1 million to Tim Allen for the continuation of the series. She asserted that the program was intended to be her own, yet she and the other principal were not compensated equitably or accorded equal credit.
How many sisters did Jill Taylor have on Home Improvement?
Jill, a young woman with a father who was a Colonel in the US Army, has four sisters and a strong interest in the arts. She enjoys opera, theatre, ballet, and museums, and occasionally tries to understand her husband’s hobbies, such as sports, cars, and tools. Jill also enjoys match-making, with mixed results.
Bradley Michael “Brad” Taylor (Zechery Ty Bryan) is the oldest and most athletic of the three boys, often seen throwing Randy around. He gets into trouble, having a run-in with the police and being found in possession of marijuana. His attitude and inflated ego have caused problems, such as being temporarily kicked off his high school’s soccer team for mouthing off to his coach.
Brad is the only Taylor son to co-host an episode of Tool Time and is seen doing the most extensive work on Tim’s Hot Rod. Despite struggling with school work, he has extraordinary athletic ability, especially playing soccer. He was offered numerous opportunities to make a career out of soccer, including playing for a professional team in England. However, his parents refused to allow him to give up college to play professional soccer. Despite a knee injury, he earned a college scholarship to UCLA.
Brad has a prominent attraction to women, including his innocent infatuation with Tool Time’s Tool Girl Heidi. He and Tim enjoy working on classic cars.
Why did Jonathan Taylor Thomas leave Home Improvement in Season 8?
Thomas portrayed the character of Tom in the television series Home Improvement from 1991 to 1998. He exited the series at the outset of the eighth season, relocating to Costa Rica in the second episode. In his personal life, Thomas sought to prioritize his academic pursuits and international travel. He subsequently returned to the entertainment industry, appearing in four episodes and directing three between 2013 and 2015, alongside his former TV father, Tim Allen, in the sitcom Last Man Standing.
Why did Randy leave Home Improvement?
Thomas began his television career in 1990, playing Kevin Brady on The Bradys. He later appeared in Fox’s In Living Color and later on ABC’s sitcom Home Improvement. Thomas was a month older than Zachery Ty Bryan, who played his elder brother Brad. He left Home Improvement in 1998 to focus on academics. Since then, Thomas has acted only occasionally, with guest appearances on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, Smallville, Veronica Mars, and The E!
True Hollywood Story. In 2013, Thomas guest-starred on the second-season finale of his third ABC sitcom, Last Man Standing, and reunited with his TV father, Tim Allen. In 2015, he had a small cameo on the fourth season of Last Man Standing. Thomas also appeared in many films during and after his time on Home Improvement, and had a few voice acting roles in Disney’s animated feature The Lion King.
📹 “Jill Taylor” was FIRED From “Home Improvement!” Here’s Why!
Correction: it was Frances Fisher who appeared on Roseanne, not Patricia Richardson “Jill Taylor” was FIRED From “Home …
His show last man standing is just like home improvement but instead of boys it’s three girls and he even brought home improvement back to the show a little bit making fun of it. Seeing Tim and Tim Taylor together even with some of the actors, and having Patricia back as a widow in his new show was like a respect to home improvement. That was also a great show.
Never knew Jill Taylor was fired from home improvement never knew this or the woman that played her before had no idea about this however I never watched home improvement I’ve seen certain clips and scenes from it here on YouTube the one where Tom wopat guest starred on the show in a episode those scenes and all Patricia Richardson I know of her absolutely love Tim Allen his comedy is hilarious so he would attack her his wife in the show wow thanks for sharing all the news info and updates on this always learning from you rick your the man thanks need to watch home improvement great article thanks for sharing 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
There is a great episode with Tim Allen, and Patricia Richardson on Tim’s show, “Last Man Standing.” And Patricia Richardson has a ‘son’ played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas (he is in four episodes character names: ‘John Baker’ / ‘Randy’). They are hilarious together! Patricia Richardson actually is in two episodes and her character’s name is ‘Helen Potts.’
I remember Frances Fishers from some soap operas in the 70s and 80s (the Edge of Night and Guiding Light, to be specific). And she was much more of a dramatic character (in fact, in one she was being gaslighted by her crazy stepmother). I couldn’t see Frances fitting into this kind of a series. Although that never stopped DeNiro, John Lithgow or Leslie Nielsen from doing both genres great.
It’s interesting. Tim Allen and Jill Taylor did seem like a married couple for sure their chemistry was so great, so did Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore on the Dick Van Dyke Show and in the old Polaroid commercials James Garner and Mariette Hartley seemed like a real married couple. A lot of people thought they were married. It would have been great to have them in a real sitcom together instead of a commercial. No they made the right decision to replace Frances Fisher just as they did when they replaced Eric Stoltz with Micheal J Fox. Both are great actors but just not comedic enough.
I like Home Improvement alot. Good article, Rick. There is another show. That sort of had the same with two actor and actress on Days of our Lives. My mom got me hooked on it. Anyway, the Actor Stephen Nichols who played Steve Johnson. And his wife Kayla on the show, had problems in real life too. Stephen Nichols was married in real life on Days. Maybe they both were. Anyway, Stephen Nichols had to leave Days because his real wife was jealous of his relationship he had with the actress who played Kayla. The problem was they had been on Days of our lives so long. No one could replace them. So they both left for several years. Kayla came back but no Steve for awhile. There was an additional problem. According to the story Steve lost his eye in a fight in the series. So he always wore a patch over one eye. This was starting to affect his vision in real life. So, they changed Stephen Nichols character to make it where he had a fake eye . That worked for awhile. But everyone was use to Steve Johnson having a patch. So, he went back to it. Eventually Stephen Nichols came back on Days of our Lives. And he has been on there currently. Did he get divorced in real life. I don’t know. But Home Improvement is a real good family comedy. I agree. Thanks! Take care.
Home Improvement to me still has some of the best Halloween episodes in sitcom history. “The Haunting of Taylor House” where Tim decks out the basement into the “Catacombs of Terror” for Brad’s party and “Crazy for You” with Rose the obsessed fan stalking Tim at ‘Tool Time’ and their Halloween party are my absolute favorites. It doesn’t hurt that I absolutely love Halloween too lol
I agree that the show works better when the wife is not a victim but can fight back as her husband’s equal. The same is true for shows like THE HONEYMOONERS. If Alice had played the victim to Ralph, the show never would’ve lasted, but because she could give better than she got, Alice & Ralph had great chemistry, as did Jill & Tim.
ABC, Tim Allen and the producers all wanted to do another season. Patricia Richardson didn’t want to because she wanted to do serious episodes where it showed the real struggles of marriage. It’s a comedy, nobody wants to see that, they see the miseries of marriage in their own lives. They offered her $20 million to do another season and she wouldn’t do it so Tim Allen ended it. She said later she regretted that decision.
The producers claimed that Tim and Frances had no chemistry but if Tim said that he already made friends with her and liked working with her and that it was rude that they fired her without telling him first, i think he knows better than the producers do. Patricia’s performance as Jill Taylor was really uncomfortable and cringy to watch. The way she played the character made her look like an emotionally abusive wife to her husband. For about 90% of the show, Jill was a horrible wife to Tim by making his life miserable with her constant criticism and verbal abuse. There ever was hardly an episode where she was actually nice and getting along with Tim. She wasn’t even funny on the show. I hated that the writers made Jill completely dominant and controlling on the show out of fear of making her look vulnerable because it would had made Tim look “abusive”. Unlike in the 90s, women in modern television are actually written as vulnerable and most importantly, very HUMAN. Complicated vulnerable women are far more interesting and realistic than the women in the 90s television. The 90s female characters, Jill Taylor for example, were like dictators. If I have to compare, I would say Ross and Rachel from Friends were far more healthier and functioning relationship than Tim and Jill ever were.
Francis F. was not suitable for a comedy. It wasn’t something she could do, especially in front of a live audience and for TV. As you stated, she had drama as her background. Now, she could have played an uptight neighbor or mother-in-law perfectly……but to be part of a comedy team, it would have been too much of a “fish out of water” scenario for her. She also has a “serious face” and a serious personality, which would not mesh with Tim Allens personality at all. There have been rumors that Tim Allen and Richard Karn are working on bringing back Home Improvement. Would you happen to know if this is true or false? It would be a whole new scenario with Tim and Jill as grandparents!!!
If Patricia could survive the Rosanne show and fit in with that group it was almost a no-brainer. Although she didn’t know Tim Allens style at first anyone who followed him did and it seems like almost anything Tim touches turns to gold. Side note: they are revamping Tims show on History with Richard Karnes (?) and I can’t wait. They still have that same kind of chemistry its nice to see.
I think “fired” is to strong of a word. The show probably would not have lasted 8 seasons if Patricia wasn’t put into that role. But I’m just guessing here… 😂…but we all know how it worked out. I really loved seeing Patricia show up on Tims other show “Last Man Standing”. When Tim walks in and sees her, they still had that “connection”, they couldn’t hide it!! 😆
Patricia Richardson was a perfect foil for Tim. Glad she got and took the role. Frances Fisher is a terrific actress. She was in one of the best Law and Order episodes ever, a psychopathic college professor who is willing to do anything to get the man she wants. You can see the terror in the face of the professor she is after. Incredibly well written, incredibly well acted, one of the finest episodes of the entire series.
Hi do you ever do older things like gun smoke? Cause I would like to know about kitty, doctor, what happened to Thad big tall blonde boy. His dad was a sheriff and he died because of excitement. Thad went to find the three men that caused so much trouble. Then he lives in Dodge City. It seems there’s some information missing in that somewhere.
Not everyone can pull off comedy. Patricia nailed IT! She was reluctant @ 1st because she’d been on multiple failed either pilots/shows. She didn’t even know the previous actor had been fired until I think the day before the shoot. They were amazing together. Isabel Sanford & Sherman Hemsley cliqued also. Ironically, my last name is taylor & I used a lot of power tools. NOT clumsy like Tim though. Francis went on to do many great roles.
Very creative topic! The firing of a television character and not the usual story of an actor being canned. Although tv actors used to be canned all the time when film was the medium at large! Get it? Film? Film can? Lol. I crack myself up! 🤣 Ok, seriously the Taylors were indeed a great tv couple. No Fred and Ethyl mind you, but still.. Thanks for another great article Rick. Your articles never cease to amaze!
Melanie Griffith was cast in Shining Through because she had just won many accolades for her role in Working Girl. It was a HUGE mistake. The producers should have gone with someone else. Just because you are Oscar material in one film doesn’t mean you can act in ALL roles-the right person has to be in the right role. The producers for Home Improvement chose well.