Jonathan Taylor Thomas photographed with fans in December of 1995 at a cinema in Louisiana, USA.
Jonathan was possibly in the area to attend the opening theatrical release of "Tom and Huck," which he stars in.
(Photography sourced by "April Hill" via Facebook)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas photographed by Ron Galella whilst he arrives at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California on April 18, 1997.
(Ron Galella, Ltd/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
A rare note of thanks
March 17, 1998
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Many people contribute to causes or appeals, not for a thank-you but because something has moved them to help someone in need. The cause may be disaster relief after a hurricane or tornado strikes a community. Or it may be to help a family or an individual dealing with a special problem.
Thank-your from those affected are unexpected and rare. So, when one is received, it’s usually a surprise. When it’s from a young person, the surprise is doubled.
Megan An Harmon, 16, of Englewood has been in the news because she is rapidly losing her sight. She had two wishes for visual experiences: to see the Grand Canyon and to see JONATHAN Taylor Thomas, who stars in the television show Home Improvement.
Thanks to a generous response from the community, she realized both dreams this month. People who helped pay for the trip were happy just to make it possible.
As she traveled, Megan An personally signed thank-you notes, which were mailed from Arizona. The notes let people know that her dream had come true, and that she has been raised with good manners.
Thank-you notes shouldn’t be such a surprise. In another era they were expected, a part of etiquette. Brides don’t always remember to send them anymore, nor do other adult recipients of gifts. However, Megan An did write the notes, at a time when every hour of sight is precious.
Thank you, Megan An.
Town helps teen losing sight
The money raised will send Megan Harmon to Baltimore, where she’ll find out if she qualifies for a “bionic eye.”
By Matthew Henry
July 12, 1999
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sixteen-year-old Megan Harmon is lucky in some ways.
Unlike many people her age, Harmon has visited the Grand Canyon and cruised around Alaska.
She even got special permission to watch a taping of the television show “Home Improvement,” where she met teen celebrity Jonathan Taylor Thomas. And she’s felt the embrace of her home community of Englewood.
But the reason Harmon took those trips — and what sets her apart from most of her peers — is her impending blindness. Every day, Harmon’s vision shrinks a little more until the day when her world will fade to black.
On Sunday, hundreds of Englewood residents turned out for a pig roast benefit for Harmon at Sonny and Jan’s Country Store on State Road 776. Proceeds from raffle tickets and food and beverage donations will be spent on an upcoming nine-day trip to the Wilmer Eye Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Doctors will examine Harmon to determine if she’s a viable candidate for surgery, which is so risky it won’t be attempted until her vision is gone.
Harmon was born 3 1/2 months premature, before her eyes had fully developed. Her left eye is sightless and a cataract has been growing steadily on her right eye.
A series of benefits and publicity about her condition last year, when doctors expected her sight to close down at ant moment, led to vacations meant to give her a lifetime of memories.
Despite the dark projections for her future, don’t expect to hear gloom and doom from Harmon. She’s fiercely proud of the things she shares with other teens.
This is the girl who once stood at the front of her school bus and gave a short speech to her Lemon Bay High School classmates: “I’m not the blind girl. I have a name. I prefer to be called Megan.”
The Englewood teen points out proudly that she rides a bicycle, in-line skates, holds a yellow belt in tae kwon do and works at McDonald’s.
Dark future doesn’t daunt Englewood teen
Although she attends St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind, her best friend is a sighted girl, Heidi Peschke.
Peschke hangs out with Harmon “because she’s a cool person.” “We can relate to each other and talk about our problems,” Peschke said. The giggling girls say they love to talk on the phone, go to the movies and hit the mall — “typical teen-ager stuff,” Harmon says.
“I can’t think of anything we can’t do,” Peschke says. When pressed, Harmon admits to being depressed about 15 percent of the time, when she gets mad and cries to the Lord, wanting to know why she and her friends at the St. Augustine school are going blind. “I’ve never been around her that 15 percent,” Peschke says. “You’re always happy,” she tells her friend.
Harmon says her vision-impaired and hearing-impaired friends in St. Augustine talk about the same things as Peschke, “especially at the dorm.”
Harmon’s mother, Tammy Tolley, said they don’t know how much longer her vision will last or if she’s a good candidate for surgery. The operation being considered would give Harmon a computer chip to replace her retina, “like a bionic eye,” Tolley said.
Her daughter has beat worse odds before, Tolley said. When she was born, doctors didn’t expect her to last through the night. At best, they thought she would be retarded.
They were wrong on both counts. Harmon earned a 3.75 gradepoint average last year, Tolley said.
Tolley was full of praise Sunday for the people who helped organize Sunday’s benefit, including Cheryl Shelton, Stacey Trent, Joe McCarthy, Randy Burch and Sonny and Jan Miller.
Teen keeps level head, eyes ahead
Jonathan Taylor-Thomas is interested more in making a quality movie than making the cover of a teen magazine.
By Michael H. Price
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
They snaked around the block at Planet Hollywood — some 2,000 teenage and pre-teen girls, all intent on receiving an autograph and maybe a smile from Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Some brought cameras, and many dragged their parents along. Thomas, schoolboy star of “Home Improvement” and the movie “Wild America,” showed up right on time, but the crowd assured that he wouldn’t finish on time.
Not that things got unruly, however giggly. As if emulating the intelligent and restrained characters Thomas plays in the movies, his admirers kept calm and orderly. When he finally retreated to a conference room upstairs at the show-biz restaurant, Thomas was still receiving requests from outside for just one last autograph. Not even Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger has drawn more enthusiastic crowds at Dallas’ Planet Hollywood. “I can’t figure it, myself,” Thomas said after his appearance. “I never set out to get this kind of attention, but if it makes people happy — well.”
Thomas said he was grateful that the Planet Hollywood crowd remained sedate. “Kind of intimidating, y’know, to see ‘em all lined up around the block like,” Thomas said. “But at least they’ve been calm about it here. I’ve had ‘em gather around where were trying to shoot a scene, and it’s kind of distracting. “And I’m grateful for their enthusiasm, too, but I’m in this business to act — not to be famous.”
That’s why Thomas chose not to do another movie right after “Wild America.”
“When you don’t have a movie to promote, you don’t have to be on these P.A. (personal appearance) tours, and you don’t have to have your picture plastered over the fan magazines as often,” he said. ‘I need time to myself, too.”
Beating the odds
Thomas possesses that rare and classic kid-star combination of wise-beyond-the-years eyes; a nuanced, mature speaking voice; and the bearing of an adult stranded in a child’s body.
Macaulay Culkin had it, and Robert Blake in his early days, and Shirley Temple. But they outgrew the quality rapidly and had to struggle to keep acting once that precious air was gone. Thomas, at 15, still has it; he said he intends to beat the odds and keep working in film for the long term. “I understand that the system has to address the fans, and at my age, my pictures’ publicists are going to concentrate on getting me written up in the teen-age-girl magazines. I’m more interested in film magazines than fan magazines,” he said. “But you’ve got to put up a front for the fans, I guess — just don’t try to make everybody happy, like trying to answer every fan letter personally. That’s a sure formula for failure.”
“Wild America” is Thomas’ fifth big-screen picture in only three years, and his first star vehicle. In “Wild America,” the 5-foot-3 actor plays 12-year-old Marshall Stouffer, youngest member of a team of brothers who (in real life) became prominent wildlife photographers. The movie tells of the summer of 1967, when Marshall stowed away on his big brothers’ moviemaking expedition and proved himself the most resourceful member of the team. “It’s a story that I could believe in, right from the start, because I believe in the whole animal-rights thing, anyway,” said Thomas, a vegetarian. “The story is not some simple coming-of-age thing, but it’s about how these brothers learned first-hand how you’ve got to respect nature and do all you can to help preserve it.”
The movie is an ensemble piece, with Scott Bairstow and Devon Sawa as the big brothers, but the action unfolds through Thomas’ eyes. “It required the kind of stretch I’ve been looking for, the opportunity to carry a picture,” he said.
Skills of an adult
His “Wild America” character builds upon the “Home Improvement” sitcom role that Thomas has played on television for six years: He’s the level-headed kid in comedian Tim Allen’s hectic household.
His big-screen roles, gained first through his mother’s savvy management and ultimately through popular demand, have been similarly adult like:
Actor relates to roles, but not to girls
The 13-year-old star of ‘Man of the House’ has a hard time accepting his status as a teen heartthrob.
By Janet Weeks
Los Angeles Daily News
Jonathan Taylor Thomas is a smooth talker. The 13-year-old star of “Home Improvement” and the movie “Man of the House” loves to chat. And he’s very good at it. He has a big vocabulary, an easy way and an arsenal of well-thought-out answers.
Touchy subject? But there is one subject over which he tends to lose his cool: girls.
Thomas is a teen-scene heartthrob. The mere mention of his name elicits squeals from the 13-and-under set. Every week, he is deluged with fan mail — a lot of it from girls with crushes on their blond, blue-eyed idol. Mention that, however, and Thomas gets a bit tongue-tied. “I never really expected that,” he said when asked about his pinup-boy status. “It’s not anything I ever planned for. I guess people are fascinated by people on TV.”
In fact, Thomas would much rather talk about fly fishing or acting or his plans than about being the object of affection. Girls, he says, just aren’t on his agenda. “I go to the movies with a group, but no one-on-one dating yet. That’s not something I really want to do now.”
Starting out: What he really wants to do is act — something he’s been doing since age 8 when he landed the part of Greg Brady’s son on “The Bradys,” a short-lived series based on the adult lives of grown-up “Brady Bunch” characters. It died after seven episodes. A month after the show’s last broadcast in 1990, Thomas was cast as Tim Allen’s middle son, Randy, on “Home Improvement.” The show landed at No. 9 on the top 10 list of shows after only its first week.
“I have a goof time,” said, Thomas, one foggy morning before the start of his 9 a.m. work day on the “Home Improvement” set. Typical boys his age, Thomas wore jeans, a striped T-shirt, and oversize green sweat shirt and chunky black shoes. “It’s a lot of work and a lot of long hours,” he said. But it is rewarding, he added. “Seeing people watch and respond — that’s why we make the show. For people to enjoy it, to sit down on Tuesday at 9 o’clock and laugh for 22 minutes.”
In the movies: “Man of the House” is Thomas’ first in-front-of-the-camera movie role (The gravelly-voiced teen provided the voice of Young Simba in “The Lion King.”) In the new film, he plays Ben Archer, the only child of a single parent (Farrah Fawcett). When his mother gets engaged to a federal prosecutor (Chevy Chase), jealous Ben tries to scare off the fiancé by forcing him to join the Indian Guides.
Thomas, who lives in the San Fernando Valley with his single-parent mother and 17-year-old brother, says he enjoyed playing Ben because he could relate to the character’s dilemma. “I come from a single-parent home and the character, Ben Archer, comes from a single-parent home,” he said. “We’re both very precocious and active and curious. He’s very intelligent. He’s rough on the outside but vulnerable inside.”
The real world: In real life, Thomas and his mother, Claudine, are quite close, he said. A former social worker, his mother stays with him on the “Home Improvement” set and waits nearby during press interviews. But because Thomas has an older brother, he has never felt obliged to be “the man of the house,” he said. Still, he understood the character’s motivations for trying to frighten away his mother’s suitor. “It’s not him being a bad kid. He’s protecting the most important thing in his life. Everything he does is out of fear and vulnerability.”
Thomas not your average teen idol
By Barry Koltnow
Orange County Register
Tom Sawyer envied Huck Finn’s independence. Huck Finn envied Tom Sawyer’s sense of security. Jonathan Taylor Thomas doesn’t envy either one of them. “Tom and Huck were all about the grass looking greener on the other side of the fence,” the young actor said. “But I’ve never envied anybody else’s grass. My grass is green enough for me.”
His grass would be green enough for just about any actor. For the last five years, he has played the middle child on the hit television show “Home Improvement,” starred with Chevy Chase in the box-office smash “Man of the House,” was the voice of young Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King” and now is the name above the title in the new film “Tom and Huck.”
Maybe that’s not quite at the level of, say Jim Carey, Tom Hanks or even Tim Allen. Then again, they aren’t 14. Thomas, who plays Tom Sawyer opposite Brad Renfro’s Huck in the latest retelling of the Mark Twain classic about two boys growing up along the Mississippi River, comes across in person like a manchild without the usual accompanying precociousness. He speaks like an adult, acts like an adult even eats like an adult. Munching on a salad of mixed greens — including, yuck, radicchio — Thomas hits on a wide range of topics, from how he got into the business (modeling) to what he plans to do when he gets tired of acting (Writing, directing and producing, of course).
One gets the distinct feeling that this is not another child actor who will suffer an unwanted career burnout. “I don’t want to escalate too fast in my career because you can get really lost,” he said. “I like the pace it’s been going at: no big explosions and no disappearing acts. “My career could end suddenly, that can happen to any actor. But I think I’m better prepared than most child actors. I have been concentrating on my education so I have something to fall back on. You can’t put all your eggs into one basket flips over, you’ve got nothing. If my career goes kerplunk, I’ll be ready to do something else.”
You said things like that when you were 14, didn’t you?
Thomas, a native of Bethlehem, Pa., moved with his family to Sacramento when he was 5. He says he was intrigued by a young model in a TV commercial and asked his mother if he could give it a try. He was soon modeling for local clothing stores.
His agent sent him to Los Angeles when he was 8 to audition for television shows. Within three weeks he won a spot on the short-lived series, “The Bradys.” The following year, he returned to L.A. for more auditions and got the role of Randy on “Home Improvement.” “I really have grown up on that show, and I mean that literally,” he said. “The reruns are like watching really well-done home videos. We really were little guys when that show started, weren’t we?”
3 young stars end salary dispute
The ‘Taylor boys’ held out for two days for a higher salary.
By Ray Richmond
Los Angeles Daily News
The “sick-out” that held up production this week for the third season of the hit ABC comedy “Home Improvement” ended uneventfully Wednesday when all three of the show’s child stars — Zachery Ty Bryan, Taran Smith and Jonathan Taylor Thomas — returned to work after a salary dispute of two days.
As holdouts go, it wasn’t exactly a blockbuster. Representatives of the three reportedly were demanding that the boys have their salary doubled for each of the coming season’s allotment of 30 episodes. But once “Home Improvement” producers Touchstone Television and Wind Dancer Productions put out a casting call searching for replacements, the brief battle of wits ended.
Miraculous recovery: The agents for the boys all had called in to report that their clients were “ill” and unable to report for the beginning of work on “Home Improvement’s" third season. But by Wednesday, all of them evidently were feeling better. “There are no indications of health problems, Wind Dancer president Rick Leed told the Associated Press. “It’s the miracle of antibiotics, I guess.”
No specifics: Judy Savage, the agent for Taran, said that each of the three boys wound up with a “fair bump” in salary, though she declined to cite specifics. She did, however, note that a previously published report that the boys each make $8,000 per episode and were seeking a raise to $25,000 was “way off” and that “all three receive different amounts.” As for the new agreement, Ms. Savage added, “We’re not ecstatically happy, but at least it’s resolved.”
Not unusual: Ms. Savage also said that the request for more money was hardly out of the ordinary. “In the third year of a show, it’s generally the industry practice to renegotiate the child contracts and double what they received in the second season.” But Disney “wouldn’t budge,” stressed Ms. Savage, “until the kids got the flu. We were left with no other choice.”
Star says he’s a lot like his television character
By Corrie Hoenig, David Monaco and Michael Riggio
Kidsday
We interviewed 12-year-old Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who plays Randy on ABC’s hit series, “Home Improvement.” You’ve also probably heard him this summer as the voice of Young Simba in the Disney film “The Lion King.”
Q: How do you handle the way people treat you?
A: As far as what? People are generally very nice. Giving autographs is part of the job.
Q: How many pets do you have?
A: I have a Lhasa Apso dog named Mac and two cats, Samantha and Simba.
Q: Do you like working with tools?
A: I like working with my hands. I like anything like hammers and saws that gets the job done.
Q: Do you ever wish you didn’t have to work so much?
A: Not really. But sometimes I am on the set and I wish I were with my friends at a movie.
Q: Are you like your character?
A: Oh yes. We are always thinking and scheming. I have a 16-year-old brother so I am always trying to think of ways to get him back for things he did to me. But I wouldn’t steal money for charity, and I couldn’t put my 16-year-old brother in a garbage can.
Q: Do you play sports?
A: I’ve played on a soccer team since I was 4 years old. I play basketball and I ski. But my favorite thing to do is fishing.
Q: Is it hard to memorize your lines?
A: Not really. Once you get into the rhythm of reading the script, you can interrupt it very easily.
Q: Do you have a girlfriend?
A: No, do you?
Q: How did you get this part?
A: I was born in Bethlehem, Pa., but I moved to Northern California and began doing a lot of print work. Then I got the role of Kevin, Greg Brady’s son on “The Bradys.” That helped get me this part.
Q: Do you wear makeup?
A: No. If I have a scratch they will cover it up.
Q: How do you manage school?
A: Our TV schedule is that we shoot three weeks, and have one week off. When we are shooting, the public school sends the work to the set. We have a tutor there. When we are not shooting, I go to public school.
Q: What advice can you give to kids?
A: You can’t slack off in the acting business. You have to use all your energy in every role you try out for.
Q: Do you have a laugh track?
A: No, all the laughs are real. It is taped before a live audience. We have microphones that hang out over the audience and it picks up the laughter.
Q: Do you get a lot of fan mail?
A: I guess I get about 200 a week.
Q: Is Tim Allen really funny?
A: Yes. He’s been doing stand up comedy for 13 years.
Q: Did you think your series would be so successful?
A: They guaranteed us for seven episodes, which was good. We were just picked up for three years.
Q: You began this at age 9. Have they changed your character?
A: Yes. They are developing all of the characters now. I play the middle son, yet I am the oldest. I am still growing, but everyone grows at different stages. I think I will grow.
Q: Do you wear your own clothes?
A: No. They supply all the clothes, but if there is something we don’t like, we do have a say. I was allowed to tell them the clothes I like. In beginning we didn’t have that much to say.
Q: Do you do anything special to calm yourself before the show?
A: You can do this a million times and you are still going to be nervous. You can’t beat stage fright. I watch a TV show for example to mentally take that pressure away.
(If you want to write to Jonathan Taylor Thomas, send a letter to him in care of “Home Improvement,” 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA, 90067.)
Kidsday, which is staffed by student reporters, is a service of Newsday, a newspaper on Long Island, New York.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas gets needed rest
“Home Improvement’s” rising star Jonathan Taylor Thomas is getting in some rest and relaxation before the launch of his July 19-debuting “Adventures of Pinocchio” — and he can definitely use it after wrapping production of “Wild America.” Making the Morgan Creek feature proved to be wild indeed. Recreating the 1960s journey of the teenage Stouffer brothers to film endangered species, “Wild” took Thomas and co-stars to “every sort of life zone in North America, from the deepest swamp to the highest snowy mountain peek,” reported producer Mark Stouffer.
“It was a rough project — physically demanding, long days with not much sleep. I’m used to no hotels and no food, but some of these people weren’t,” added Stouffer, a National Geographic documentarian — whose older brother Marty hosts PBS’s “Wild America” series, and whose younger brother Marshall is a wildlife photographer. “We certainly didn’t have the comfort zone of other films, but there was no complaining.”
Taylor Thomas, who stole last year’s big screen “Man of the House” from Chevy Chase, had his pick of film offers for this summer’s hiatus. He chose the modestly budgeted “Wild America,” he said, because he liked its wildlife preservation aspect.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas: A real Tom Sawyer for the ’90’s
By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service
Jonathan Taylor Thomas especially remembers that summer day when he white-washed the fence. He was playing Tom Sawyer in “Tom and Huck,” and was recreating one of the most famous moments from Mark Twain’s great novel. “It was kind of eerie, white-washing that fence,” he says. “It goes down in history, it’s classic American literature.” “There’s a bit of pressure in that, too. We have to live up to what Twain wrote,” Thomas says. “This is going to affect the interpretation of ‘Tom Sawyer’ for all who see this film, especially young kids; so you have to live up to the story and give your best performance.”
If they seem like especially astute observations for a child actor, two points must be made. First, Thomas no linger is a child actor. Despite his short stature and baby face, the star of TV’s “Home Improvement” is already 14. Second, Thomas is smarter than the average actor, child or otherwise. He’s carrying a straight-A record in school, is a vociferous reader, understands the importance of education, and takes a practical approach to his beginning career as a film actor.
His role model is Ron Howard, who began his career as a little kid named Opie, and is now being mentioned as a best director Oscar nominee for “Apollo 13.”
Fortunately, though, Thomas remains enough of a kid that his fondest memories of the “Tom and Huck” set are racing co-star Brad Renfro with the gold carts they’d been provided to get to the locations. “Brad and I got along, which helps in a film having to do with loyalty and friendship,” Thomas says.
Renfro, who made his debut in “The Client,” plays Huck Finn in the film.
Asked if he thinks his fellow teenagers should be able to identify with Tom Sawyer, Thomas has no worries. “Tom wanted to be free and independent, and was an adventurer. He wanted to be free of society’s hold, just like teenagers of today. If kids are skeptical about relating to the character, they’ll find they have a lot of similarities. “He’s got a lot of great leadership qualities, and he’s there when you need him.” “This movie also deals with a lot of moral issues, too; and we need morality in the ‘90s. Tom has to make the right decision at the key point in the film. That’s important.”
Thomas also thinks today’s teens will appreciate that “Tom and Huck,” isn’t a fluffy, cleaned-up version of Twain. “I think this movie is different than the previous Tom Sawyers. It’s grittier and more realistic; it’s got an edge to it. It’s like the book; the book is dirty and gritty and rough and tough.”
As an actor, Thomas also is growing out of childhood roles and into adolescent parts. Not all child stars make the transition. “I’ve been aware of it and there’s concern. But there will always be projects for a wide variety of ages, and hopefully they will be quality projects,” he says. “If I don’t do a movie this year, that’s fine, too. Life goes on. I’m aware that acting careers can end like that,” he adds, with a snap of his fingers. “You just have to have an education to fall back on. And that’s why I’m going to a good school now and getting the best education I can get. I want to take advantage of that.”
Meet Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays Randy, the middle son, on “Home Improvement.”
This is the second TV series Jonathan has been in. He played Kevin on the show “The Bradys” a few years ago. Jonathan was born in Bethlehem, Pa. He now lives in Sacramento, Calif.
Before starting to act in 1989, Jonathan was a model. He also has been in many commercials. In his free time, he likes collecting sports cards and listening to rap music. He also likes fishing, snow skiing, and playing soccer and basketball. He is a New York Mets fan. Jonathan has an older brother, Joel.
Teen gets wish to meet young sitcom star
Nearly blind Megan Harmon is welcome on the set of “Home Improvement.”
By Bryan Long
As Walt Disney’s Jimminy Cricket sang, “When you wish upon a star…”
Nearly three weeks after revealing her wish to see TV teen heartthrob Jonathan Taylor Thomas, 15-year-old Megan Harmon has been told she’s welcome on the set of “Home Improvement.” The young actor plays “Randy” on the long-running ABC sitcom, which is filmed on the Walt Disney lot in Burbank, Calif.
For Megan — who is losing her eyesight from a congenital defect — its a dream come true. The Engle-wood teen and her mother, Tammy Tolley, will visit the set March 3. They will be the only visitors allowed on the set. Megan’s first day at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine was Wednesday. Her mother told her the news Tuesday night. “She was really excited,” Tolley said. “I’m just ecstatic that they agreed.”
The show is bending its rules to allow Megan’s visit. Generally, one visitor per week is allowed onto the set of the popular series, which stars Tim Allen as the host of a cable access tool show. Megan will be the first visitor not sponsored by the Make a Wish Foundation, a charitable organization that tries to fulfil wishes for children with terminal illnesses, or the Starlight Foundation, a children’s charity dedicated to brightening the lives of critically ill children. Maria Stasi, publicist for “Home Improvement,” said the meetings are usually not publicized because they are intended to be “private moments for the children and not an advertisement for the show.”
Rich Unger, a Sarasota resident, heard about Megan’s story through SNN6 and took it upon himself to fulfil Megan’s wish. Producers read stories published in the Englewood/AM edition of the Herald-Tribune that were faxed by Unger, then made their decision. The story also revealed Megan’s wish to see Thomas.
Doctor’s said Megan — who was born without sight in her left eye and is now losing sight in her right eye because of the combination of a detaching retina and a fast-growing cataract — may be completely blind by the end of March.
Young actor dislikes violent films
Jonathan Taylor Thomas says he prefers starring in movies children can learn from — not violent films. “There’s enough bloodshed in the world. Do you need more in the cinema?” the 14-year-old actor asked in a recent interview.
Thomas said his latest movie, “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” has a message for children all over the world. “Every kid has to learn the difference between right and wrong at some time,” said Thomas, who stars on TV’s “Home Improvement” and was the voice of Simba in “The Lion King.”
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Toby) in Showtime's "COMMON GROUND" in 2000.
©Showtime Networks/courtesy Everett Collection
Magazine article (Summer 1997)
Okay, so maybe he’s the number one cute guy on your own personal list of heartthrobs or perhaps he stands alone as the one and only cute guy on your list. Whatever the case, Jonathan Taylor Thomas certainly didn’t get to be your main man over night! …
IT ALL STARTED WITH HOME IMPROVEMENT…
A little cutie by the name of Jonathan Taylor Thomas first came to our attention in September of ’91 when a sitcom called Home Improvement premiered. The show revolved around Tim Taylor, host of a fix-it-yourself TV show called Tool Time, and husband and father of three sons. It was those three rambunctious yet adorable sons, Brad, Randy and Mark, who kept us tuning in.
THE START OF SOMETHING BIG!
One year later, on summer break from Home Improvement, Jonathan landed another gig—the voice of a lion cub named Simba in Disney’s newest animated feature, The Lion King. We remember Jonathan being totally psyched as he shared with us the plot of what would become a blockbuster hit for Disney—and, unbeknownst to him, the start of something really big for Jonathan!
“I think the character of Simba is a lot like me,” Jonathan said around the time The Lion King was released. “He’s real energetic, and always looking around for a new adventure.” Jonathan’s next new adventure came in the form of his first live movie role. The movie was a comedy titled Man Of The House starring Farrah Fawcett and funnyman Chevy Chase. Jonathan starred as Ben Archer a youngster who does his darnedest to prevent his mom from remarrying.
THE HARDEST WORKING TEEN IN THE BIZ!
And so, JTT, as he came to be known by fans far and wide, had taken off like a shot. Home Improvement was flying high in the ratings and Jonathan was pleased as punch to be making movies during the show’s hiatus. He was working harder than ever and loving every minute of it!
In 1995, Jonathan took on his biggest challenge to date—filming two movies back to back during his break. First he headed to Huntsville, Alabama to star in the title role in The Adventures Of Tom And Huck. JTT was the rascally Tom Sawyer and Brad Renfro his best friend Huck Finn. The movie marked another challenge for Jonathan—his first big screen kiss which he shared with the pretty Rachael Leigh Cook as Becky Thatcher. When the film wrapped, Jonathan was off to Europe and the Czech Republic to film The Adventures Of Pinocchio.
GOIN’ WILD!
And now for the film we’ve all been waiting for. That would be Wild America. Jonathan’s next movie, filmed on location in Georgia and parts of Canada, is the story of the Stouffer brothers, three brothers from Arkansas who grew up to become famous wildlife photographers. Fans are anxiously awaiting this movie for two major reasons—JTT, who stars as the youngest Stouffer brother, Marshall, and his cool co-stars, Devon Sawa and Scott Bairstow who star as Mark and Marty. Get set to go wild when Wild America comes to cheaters this summer!
HE WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING!
Looking back on his career and all he’s accomplished so far, Jonathan has said he “wouldn’t change a thing.” And, lucky for us, this talented and terrific teen star hopes to stick around for the long run. “I think I want to stay in the industry,” he says. “It’s something I’m comfortable with. I’d like to direct, but if I don’t, then maybe I can produce, write or do something else.”
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (1998) DVD advertisement featured in BOP Magazine.
Join the stars of Home Improvement for lunch at Planet Hollywood!
When Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Zachery Ty Bryan came to New York, Tutti took these two cuties out for lunch at Planet Hollywood. Here are some cool pics!
Hey, here’s a cool fact: Did you know that although Jonathan plays the younger of the two sons, he’s actually a month older than Zach?! Interesting stuff…
Hey guys, dig your groovy new threads! Jon ’n’ Zach had a blast checking out Arnold’s Terminator motorcycle!
They might have different tastes in ice cream but they’ve got the same taste in hats!
Jonathan is pretty health conscious and doesn’t really eat meat…so he opted for a veggie pasta dish. He also split a Caesar salad with his mom. Yum!
Zachery poses with his little sister Sarah!
Hey…take human bites! Jonathan, Zachery and Sarah pig out on famous PH sundaes!
These two kids are pals both on and off the set…and they’re constantly giving each other compliments! “Jonathan has the coolest voice,” sez Zachery. And you’ll be able to hear it in the upcoming Disney animated feature King Of The Jungle!
‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ featuring Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Pinocchio), Martin Landau (Geppetto), and others… released July 26, 1996 by ...
