You probably know him as the guy who grunts at power tools or the voice of a space ranger who thinks he's actually a space ranger. But before the "To Infinity and Beyond" era and the "Tool Time" fame, there was just a kid named Timothy Alan Dick.
Tim Allen was born on June 13, 1953.
He didn't start out in Michigan, though that's where most people associate him. He was actually born in Denver, Colorado. If you're doing the math, that makes him a Gemini, which some might say explains the duality of his career—going from a federal prison cell to being the face of Disney’s Christmas franchise. Honestly, it’s one of the most wild turnarounds in Hollywood history.
Denver Roots and a Life-Changing Tragedy
Tim was the third of five brothers. His parents, Gerald and Martha Dick, were raising a pretty standard mid-century family until everything fell apart in 1964. Tim was only 11 years old when his father was killed by a drunk driver.
That’s a heavy hit for a kid.
Two years after the accident, his mother married her high school sweetheart. This led to a massive move. The whole crew—six kids in total—packed up and headed to Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. This move is basically why we think of Tim Allen as a "Michigan guy." It’s where he found his love for cars, his trademark humor, and eventually, his path to Western Michigan University.
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When Was Tim Allen Born and Why Does It Matter?
People ask about his birth date often because his "prime" years seemed to happen a bit later than your average starlet. By the time Home Improvement premiered in 1991, Tim was already 38. He wasn't some 20-something overnight sensation. He had a lot of "life" happen before he ever stepped onto a soundstage.
The 1970s: A Dark Turning Point
In 1978, at the age of 25, Tim made a choice that nearly ended his career before it began. He was arrested at the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport with over 650 grams of cocaine. Back then, Michigan had some of the toughest drug laws in the country. He was looking at life in prison.
He didn't stay in for life, obviously. He struck a deal, testified against other dealers, and ended up serving about two years and four months in a federal prison in Sandstone, Minnesota. He was paroled in June 1981, just one day before his 28th birthday. Talk about a "born again" moment.
The Triple Crown Year: 1994
If June 13, 1953, was his first birth, November 1994 was his professional rebirth. This is the year Tim Allen did something basically no one else has ever done.
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- The #1 Movie: The Santa Clause was topping the box office.
- The #1 TV Show: Home Improvement was the king of the Nielsens.
- The #1 Book: Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man was a New York Times bestseller.
He hit this "Triple Crown" at 41 years old. It’s a testament to the fact that your 20s don't have to define you. He took the "macho man" persona he developed during his stand-up days in Detroit and turned it into a billion-dollar brand.
Quick Facts on Tim Allen's Timeline
- Birth Name: Timothy Alan Dick (He later changed it to Tim Allen for the stage).
- College: Graduated from Western Michigan University in 1976 with a degree in Communications.
- First Stand-Up Set: 1975 at Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle (on a dare).
- The Grunt: That famous "Arrr-arrr-arrr" actually started as a way to poke fun at men who couldn't express emotions.
What He's Doing Now
As of 2026, Tim Allen is still very much in the game. He's moved on from Mike Baxter in Last Man Standing to new projects like Shifting Gears and the highly anticipated Toy Story 5. Even in his 70s, he’s still working with the same energy he had when he was just a kid in Denver dreaming about cars.
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Knowing when Tim Allen was born gives you a better perspective on his "second act." He’s a guy who took a tragic childhood and a messy young adulthood and turned it into a legacy of family entertainment.
If you're looking to dive deeper into his filmography, start with the original Toy Story (1995) to hear how he voiced a character that defined a generation, or check out Galaxy Quest for what many consider his best comedic performance. Watching his early stand-up specials from the late 80s also helps you see exactly how the "Toolman" persona was crafted from the ground up.