February 11, 2009 8:19 PM
- Text
'Home Improvement' Actor Dies
(AP)
Actor Earl Hindman, best known for playing a neighbor whose face was forever obscured by a fence on the television show "Home Improvement," died of lung cancer Monday in Stamford, Conn. He was 61.
As Wilson, the neighbor of Tim Allen's character on the long-running sitcom, Hindman dispensed folksy advice from behind a white picket fence, with only his eyes and forehead visible to audiences. Before appearing on the show, he played Detective Lt. Bob Reid for 16 years on the daytime drama "Ryan's Hope."
Hindman made his name in New York theater, appearing in "Dark of the Moon" off Broadway in 1970 and in "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" at the Public Theater in 1971. He also acted in two short-lived Broadway plays and in several movies, including "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" (1991) and "Final" (2001).
He was born in Bisbee, Ariz., and studied acting at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
As Wilson, the neighbor of Tim Allen's character on the long-running sitcom, Hindman dispensed folksy advice from behind a white picket fence, with only his eyes and forehead visible to audiences. Before appearing on the show, he played Detective Lt. Bob Reid for 16 years on the daytime drama "Ryan's Hope."
Hindman made his name in New York theater, appearing in "Dark of the Moon" off Broadway in 1970 and in "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" at the Public Theater in 1971. He also acted in two short-lived Broadway plays and in several movies, including "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" (1991) and "Final" (2001).
He was born in Bisbee, Ariz., and studied acting at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Popular Now in Entertainment
- Adele in Whitney's shadow as Grammys start
- Leslie Carter dead at 25
- Adele wins 6 Grammys, including Album of the Year
- Zsa Zsa at 95: Husband releases birthday photos
- Beyonce, Jay-Z post photos of Blue Ivy Carter
- Watch: Whitney's final performance
- "Idol": Carrey's daughter out, and then disaster
- Bobbi Kristina on alleged coke snorting photos
- Whitney Houston's final performance
- Beyonce shows off her post-baby body
- Whitney's mother: "We are devastated"
- Mariah Carey on Twitter: "Heartbroken"; Others react
- Schwarzenegger, Stallone have hospital run-in
- Remembering Whitney Houston 1963-2012
- Whitney Houston's body moved from hotel
- Gender-bending model a runway sensation
- Celebs mourn Whitney Houston at Clive Davis event
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News
- Early Glance: Utilities companies
- Early Glance: Staffing companies
- Early Glance: Telecom companies
- Early Glance: Specialty Retail companies
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News






