ENGLISH LIT 344 / COMEDY & SATIRE

Who's Who in American Comedy

Tim Allen

Allen is now peobably best known for his sitcom Home Improvement and his film roles in The Santa Clause (and its sequels) and as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story. He began doing stand-up on a dare in comedy clubs in Detroit and appeared in television commercials and on cable comedy shows. His grunting and pseudo-macho behavior formed the basis for his jokes and the sit-com. When he was 22 he was arrested for possession of cocaine and served 28 months in a Federal prison.

The following clip is from an appearance at Rodney Dangerfield's club.

[For more details on these people, check their listing in Wikipedia, but note--this is one of the rare times I can accept the use of Wikipedia as a source. I have found that most of the information there about these people is reliable.]