Richard Karn
Richard Karn as host on Family Feud.
Born	Richard Karn Wilson February 17, 1956 (1956-02-17) (age 53) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Occupation	Actor/Game show host
Years active	1990–present
Spouse(s)	Tudi Roche (1985-present) 1 child

Richard Karn (born February 17, 1956) is an American actor and game show host. He is probably best known for his role as Al Borland, the sidekick of Tim Allen's character, on the sitcom Home Improvement (1991–1999).

Contents 1 Early life 2 Show business career 3 Other pursuits 4 Selected filmography 4.1 Films 4.2 TV series 5 Books 6 Notes 7 External links

[edit] Early life

Karn was born as Richard Karn Wilson in Seattle, Washington. Karn's father, Gene, was a Seabee who served in World War II. He graduated from Roosevelt High School and the University of Washington. He was also a member of the Fraternity Beta Theta Pi. His character on Home Improvement, Al Borland, was portrayed as a Navy Seabee, probably as a tribute to his father.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Show business career

In 2002, Karn replaced Louie Anderson as host of the game show Family Feud. 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.

Karn is sometimes referred to as "Richard Jr."^{[citation needed]} because he and original Feud host Richard Dawson share the same first name. Karn left Family Feud in 2006 and was replaced by John O'Hurley.

On October 6, 2008, Karn replaced Patrick Duffy as host of Game Show Network's Bingo America.^[1] Karn is also a substitute host on GSN Radio.

[edit] Other pursuits

In 2008, Karn became the national spokesman for the "Mr. Handyman" franchise chain of professional handymen. He is touted as a "Handyman Guru," borrowing on his TV persona. He has also served as the spokesman for the Little Giant ladder system, a product of Wing Enterprises.

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] Films

• Picture Perfect (1995) – George Thomas
• Legend of the Mummy (1997) – Brice Renard
• The Pooch and the Pauper (1999) – Agent Dainville
• MVP 2: Most Vertical Primate (2001) – Ollie Plant
• Sex and the Teenage Mind (2002) – Stanley Heitmeyer
• Reality School (2002) – Victor Cayanne
• Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch (2002) – Patrick
• Air Buddies (2005) – Patrick
• Mr. Blue Sky (2006) – John
• Snow Buddies (2008) – Patrick

[edit] TV series

• Home Improvement (1991–1999) – Al Borland
• WOW! The Most Amazing Acts on Earth (1996) – Host
• Dirt (1 episode, "Ties That (Don't) Bind") – Holt McLauren's Father
• Boy Meets World (1 episode, "This Little Piggy") – Animal Control Officer
• That '70s Show (1 episode, "Bye Bye Basement") – Theo
• Foot Soldier (1998) – Host and narrator
• Family Feud (2002–2006) – Host
• Bingo America (2008–present) – Host

[edit] 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)

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richard Karn

• Richard Karn at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard Karn at TV.com

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