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NEED TO KNOW
Tim Allen revealed the inspiration behind his Home Improvement grunt on The Tonight Show on Nov. 25
The actor said that a rock musician's advice led him to develop the trademark sound
Allen also reacted to others' impressions of the grunt, which became a viral sensation
It's been decades sinceHome Improvementended, butTim Allen's iconic grunt lives on. Now, he's sharing what — and who — inspired it.
While appearing onThe Tonight Showon Tuesday, Nov. 25, hostJimmy Fallontold the sitcom star about a viral moment involving his famed grunt. Earlier this year,a TikTok userwent viral after asking her Hinge matches to send her their best impressions of Allen's grunt,sharing some of the entriesonline.
Allen, 72, not only reacted to some of the impressions, but also shared some fun insight into how he developed his character Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor's signature reaction.
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"It's odd hearing them back-to-back," Fallon, 51, said of the dating app submissions after playing several from the video, which garnered over 670,000 views.
"Well, it's horrible hearing them back-to-back, actually," added Allen, "because it's not that difficult."
TheShifting Gearsstar actually gathered the inspiration for the now-iconic grunt from men around him following a conversation with "Night Moves" rockerBob Seger.
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"It was like my new song," the comedian told Fallon. "I remember a long time ago, Bob Seger, from Detroit, saw me in concert, and he said, 'You put butts in the seats, you own it, but you got to get a hook, something that people remember.' "
After Seger's advice, Allen began doing "corporate gigs" for audiences composed of "a bunch of drunk guys eating steaks," the actor recalled. All he would hear at these gigs, he said, was a grunt very similar to hisHome Improvementtrademark — which he demonstrated for Fallon, of course.
"Thanksgiving at my house — there's seven boys and two girls in my family — and men, when they're eating, don't speak,"The Santa Clauseactor continued, adding that they "just point" and grunt.
"So I started doing that," he said, "and it became a huge deal."
The grunt still makes him chuckle because, as a staple bit on the '90s sitcom, "somebody had to write it." He noted that it was spelled, "Ough," in the script, or, when it was in question form, like so many of the Hinge impressions, "Ough?"
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Allen shot to fame with his breakout role onHome Improvement, which ran on ABC from 1991 to 1999, and the grunt remains one of his most iconic on-screen moments. In a 2020 chat with Kelly Clarkson,he said that people on the streetstill ask him to do the trademark sound.
The actor hasshown interest in rebooting the primetime mainstay, and recentlyreunited with some of his costarsfrom the beloved program.
Patricia Richardson(Jill Taylor),Richard Karn(Al Borland), and Debbe Dunning (Heidi Keppert) all made guest appearances in the season 2 premiere of his latest series,Shifting Gears, which aired earlier this fall.
The former castmatesare also scheduled for another reunion. The group is slated to take the stage for a panel at their first-ever '90s Con next March.
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