Tim Allen has said he was in a bad place before he turned his attention to stand-up comedy, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
After struggling with addictions to drugs and alcohol, the sitcom star found a new obsession – thanks to one specific inspiration.
In 1978, Allen was arrested at the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport in Michigan for possession of over 650 grams of cocaine.
He only avoided the possibility of serving life in prison by cutting a deal to plead guilty to felony drug trafficking charges while also providing the names of other dealers.
In return, he was sentenced to three to seven years, of which he actually ended up serving two years and four months in a federal correctional facility.
Free from prison, Allen told Closer he was wandering through life until he saw a stand-up act from legendary comedian Richard Pryor.
Allen reflected: “That guy made me laugh so hard that deep in me it opened up a pathway. It cleared out everything. I wanted to do what he did on stage.”
The Shifting Gears star said it couldn’t have happened at a better time.
“I needed that,” he continued. “At that time, I was really in a lot of trouble. But I came back from it and said, ‘What could I do? I could do that. Or at least try.’
“I will never think I am as funny as Richard.”
Allen went on to become a sitcom staple, finding success in a slew of hits including Home Improvement, Last Man Standing and his current hit, Shifting Gears. Not to mention going to infinity and beyond as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story.
But the loud and proud conservative was convinced he was going to be politically canceled before any of his shows were.
Insiders previously told RadarOnline.com Allen’s political views were the death knell for Last Man Standing, which was canceled in 2017 after six seasons at ABC, despite the series being the network’s second-most-watched sitcom.
Allen expressed his displeasure with the cancellation at the time, writing: “Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years.”
An outcry of support from fans led conservative-leaning Fox to pick the show back up. It would air for another three seasons on the network.
An insider told Radar: “That turn of event speaks to the fact Hollywood may hate him, but the rest of the country loves him.”
In 2023, the beloved sitcom dad found himself at the center of a career-threatening sex scandal after being accused of flashing two former Home Improvement co-stars, Pamela Anderson and Patricia Richardson.
The star told pals that he was being targeted because of his “conservative beliefs.”
Allen also took hits from woke warriors by declaring, “saying ‘Merry Christmas to all’ has suddenly become problematic,” on his Disney+ show The Santa Clauses.
The exasperated star has addressed his frustration in the past.
“You’ll get beat up if you don’t believe what everybody believes. It’s like ’30s Germany,” Allen once told Jimmy Kimmel.
