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.
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