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Star of iconic ’90s sitcom looks unrecognizable with slim figure as he steps out in LA – can you guess who?
Massachusetts

Star of iconic ’90s sitcom looks unrecognizable with slim figure as he steps out in LA – can you guess who?

He starred in one of the biggest sitcoms of the 1990s.

From 1991 until the series’ successful finale in 1999, he played an important supporting role for Tim Allen.

This actor also looks back on a varied career, which included working for several years as the host of a popular game show in the 2000s.

And as of 2019, he enjoyed a career resurgence with a recurring role on the acclaimed Hulu series Pen15.

Can you name this veteran television and film actor?

Star of iconic ’90s sitcom looks unrecognizable with slim figure as he steps out in LA – can you guess who?

He starred in one of the biggest sitcoms of the ’90s, became the fourth host of Family Feud, and enjoyed a late-career renaissance on Hulu’s PEN15. Do you know who he is?

It is 68-year-old film and television actor Richard Karn, best known for his co-starring role with Tim Allen (R) in the ratings series “Home Improvement” (pictured) from 1991 to 1999

It is 68-year-old film and television actor Richard Karn, best known for his co-starring role with Tim Allen (R) in the ratings series “Home Improvement” (pictured) from 1991 to 1999

He is 68-year-old Richard Karn, best known for playing Tim Allen’s loyal sidekick on the classic ’90s sitcom Home Improvement.

Karn was pictured earlier this month with his wife Tudi Roche as they went shopping in Los Angeles.

The actor was dressed casually in a blue and rose gold melange short-sleeved golf shirt along with navy shorts and gray slip-on sneakers.

He looked noticeably different than he did in his 90s heyday. Karn had become slimmer, a departure from his stockier character in Home Improvement, but it was his mostly white beard and gray hair that made her look strikingly different from his Home Improvement character.

He played Al Borland, the co-host of the show-within-a-show Tool Time, a fictional home improvement series hosted by Allen’s character Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor.

Al was the less telegenic of the duo, but he was also the true expert in tools and construction, unlike Tim.

Karn had an immediately recognizable uniform for the series: a sort of plaid flannel shirt and a thick beard that was sometimes the butt of Allen’s jokes.

The actor began as a recurring character on the series after filling in for Groundhog Day actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who had to drop out of a film project he was working on following a conflict with recording the pilot episode.

Despite being a replacement, Karn proved to be a hit with audiences and was added to the main cast in the second season of Home Improvement.

Karn wore a red and blue golf shirt and navy shorts with gray slip-on sneakers. He was slimmed down from his beefy '90s physique, but his white beard and gray hair made him unrecognizable compared to the thick, dark hair he sported on Home Improvement

Karn wore a red and blue golf shirt and navy shorts with gray slip-on sneakers. He was slimmed down from his beefy ’90s physique, but his white beard and gray hair made him unrecognizable compared to the thick, dark hair he sported on Home Improvement

He played Al Borland, the less prominent co-host of Tim Allen's Tim

He played Al Borland, the less prominent co-host of Tim Allen’s Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor

Al, who also wore plaid flannel shirts and sported his bushy beard, was a lovable four-legged friend but less telegenic than Tim, although he was the true tool expert

Al, who also wore plaid flannel shirts and sported his bushy beard, was a lovable four-legged friend but less telegenic than Tim, although he was the true tool expert

After Home Improvement concluded after eight seasons in 1999, Karn took on the role of Family Feud’s fourth solo host in 2002.

He left the series in 2006 when Seinfeld actor John O’Hurley replaced him.

He later hosted another game show, Bingo America, from 2008 to 2009 and remained a sought-after guest actor on television.

Karn had one of his most high-profile roles in years as of 2019, appearing on the critically acclaimed Hulu comedy series PEN15.

The series was created by writers and stars Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, who played fictional versions of themselves from the age of 13.

The women were both in their early 30s, which was a surreally hilarious contrast to the rest of the age-appropriate child actors who populated their middle school.

Karn appeared in several episodes as Maya’s father, a drummer for struggling cover bands who was often on the road and away from home. (In reality, Erskine’s father is respected jazz drummer and former Weather Report member Peter Erskine.)

In 2021, the creators and stars announced that the second season of the series would be its last.

He experienced a career resurgence with a recurring lead role in Anna Konkles and Maya Erskine's acclaimed Hulu comedy PEN15. He played Erskine's father (R)

He experienced a career resurgence with a recurring lead role in Anna Konkles and Maya Erskine’s acclaimed Hulu comedy PEN15. He played Erskine’s father (R)

Karn later hosted the series

Karn later hosted the series “Family Feud” from 2002 to 2006 and reunited with Tim Allen on the home repair competition “Assembly Required” in 2021 and the tool series “More Power” in 2022. pictured in 2017 in Burbank, California.

This year, Karn reunited with Allen for the pandemic-era-inspired series “Assembly Required,” which was a home repair competition.

The two hosted with April Wilkerson, and she joined them again in 2022 for the series “More Power,” in which the three traced the evolution from classic tools to some of the latest tech-inspired gadgets on the market.

Although Karn appeared in supporting roles in several films, it was not until 1998’s Legend Of The Mummy that he appeared in his first film, although he has appeared in films regularly since then.

Last year, Karn appeared in two episodes of the revived Jonathan Frakes-hosted series Beyond Belief, and he has several low-budget films and shows in the pipeline.

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