The fans of the 90s sitcom ‘Home Improvement’ breathed a fresh air of nostalgia on Thursday after a reunion photo was released by actor Patricia Richardson. The 75-year-old actor, who played Jill Taylor on the TV show, was flanked by Taran Noah Smith and Jonathan Taylor Smith, her onscreen sons on the show.
Event Context
The photo sparked a lot of buzz, especially with the sightings of Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Taran Nolan Smith, both of whom left acting after the show aired its last episode on May 25, 1999, after eight seasons. The former child actors, once household names given how big a hit the ABC show was, left their screen careers and largely stayed away from the public, except for rare appearances.
As fans were surprised with the reunion photo posted by Patricia Richardson, interest reignited in what Taran Nolan Smith and Jonathan Taylor Smith did after the show ended and what they currently do now. Let’s take a look at what we know.
Also read: Bryan Johnson says he may have gone ‘too far’ with longevity experiment
Unlike Taran Nolan Smith, who found his vocation elsewhere, Jonathan Taylor Thomas kept working in Hollywood intermittently even as he largely kept a distance from the industry. By the time ‘Home Improvement’ ended, Thomas had already left a mark in the industry beyond the sitcom, having voiced the character of young Simba in Disney’s blockbuster “The Lion King”.
Between 1997 and 2004, he appeared in “Ally McBeal” (1997) “Smallville” (2001), “8 Simple Rules” (2002), “Veronica Mars” (2004). JTT then chose the path of higher education. He graduated from Columbia University in 2010 with a bachelor’s in arts (BA) and also briefly studied at Harvard University.
His last screen appearance was between 2013 and 2015 on Tim Allen’s sitcom “Last Man Standing”. Allen, notably, played his father on the show.
This is the part where Jonathan Taylor Thomas’s life gets a big sketchy. It is unclear if Jonathan Taylor Thomas pursued any other profession beyond his work in Hollywood.
He, however, has a steady stream of earnings from royalties from the work he has done in Hollywood so far. He reportedly has a net worth of around $12 million and still owns a home in Westlake Village in California. No other investments or ventures by the former teen star have been publicly documented. There are also no records of children or marriage in the public domain.
Also read: 5 Best Sam Neill movies and TV shows to watch as Jurassic Park actor dies at 78
Taran Nolan Smith left acting and pursued many different ventures successfully after “Home Improvement” ended. He got married to Heidi Van Pelt and, in 2005 started a vegan food company based out of California called Playfood. The business shut after they divorced in 2007.
