Patricia Richardson Was Offered Only Half The Salary Of Tim Allen To Continue Home Improvement
At its peak on TV, Home Improvement was doing big things. It has great storylines, avoided some pitfalls, launched a massive child star into the stratosphere, and became a long-running show that finally concluded after 8 seasons.
Patricia Richardson was fantastic on the show, and she earned every penny she brought home. For a purposed season 9, however, Richardson received an offer that would have caused a ton of outrage in this day and age.
Let's take a look back on Home Improvement, and see what Richardson's season 9 offer looked like compared to Tim Allen's!
Patricia Richardson Didn't Like Her Home Improvement Fame
The 1990s was rich with popular sitcoms, with Tim Allen's Home Improvement being among the most popular of the bunch. The show, which also featured stars like Patricia Richardson, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and more, was everywhere, and it became a staple of living rooms nationwide.
Patricia Richardson was an acting veteran prior to landing her spot on the show, and her newfound fame became a lot to deal with.
"I really hated fame. Jonathan Taylor Thomas and I had similar reactions — he backed off, too, and went to school. I didn’t do charity events, because I was desperate for time with my kids and husband, who was always mad I was never home. Hence the divorce," the actress told Closer Weekly.
After 8 huge seasons, the show could have kept the good times rolling, but ultimately, Richardson and the rest of the cast turned down a 9th season.
Patricia Richardson Declined Coming Back For Season 9
In an interview with Closer Weekly, Patricia Richardson opened up about her career, and she stated why she departed the show.
"The reason I turned down the ninth year of Home Improvement was because I was a single parent and away from my kids too much. I left the show, and I have put my children first since then."
It's quite uncommon to see someone turn down the chance to continue their legacy show for more family time, but it just goes to show that Richardson had her values in place.
The actress also stated that she passed on another show, which was also a major success.
"I also passed up another show that won, like, 30 Emmys. But I don’t mean to sound like, “Oh, I sacrificed this huge thing for my children,” because it’s what I wanted. Granted, it’s what they needed, but it was also what I needed because I missed them terribly. Home Improvement had much longer days than most sitcoms. Because I was involved in all the writing, I was away from them more than I wanted and felt I missed so many things," she said.
Now, while this is all great, it's also worth taking a look at a bit of financial information. Not because it was the diving force behind Richardson's departure, but because it can help show that Hollywood has come a long way, with plenty more room to grow.
Patricia Richardson Was Only Offered Half Of Tim Allen's Salary
Prior to season 9, Richardson and Allen were both receiving a major offer from the network. The problem? Richardson's offer was only half of what was offered to Allen.
"According to E! True Hollywood Story (1996), Tim Allen was offered $50 million to do a ninth season of the show, and Patricia Richardson was offered $25 million," per IMDb.
Again, Richardson's family was why she left the show, but we have to imagine that this offer felt like a slap in the face to the actress. She was a star in her own right, and being offered 50% of what Allen was set to make is insulting.
We have seen actresses stand their ground and get the checks they deserve in more recent years, which is great.
Emmy Rossum, for instance, fought back to get money she felt she was owed after making less than William H. Macy for her work on Shameless.
"Rossum had in fact been offered parity to Macy and that an equal offer had been sitting on the table — but Rossum’s team was asking for more, reportedly to make up for the seasons she was being paid less," Variety reported.
Patricia Richardson ultimately made the right decision to spend more time with her family, even at the cost of $25 million. That offer, however, should have been much, much higher in the first place.
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