Over the last several years, there have been lots of people who have argued that the world is in the midst of a golden age of television. Given all of the excellent shows that have been produced recently, it seems abundantly clear that those claims are well-founded. However, that doesn’t mean that every aspect of today’s television is superior to shows from the past. After all, there were so many beloved sitcoms that aired during the 90s that it could be argued that TV comedy was in better shape during that decade than today.
When most people talk about sitcoms from the 90s, there are a handful of shows that get brought up first and foremost. For example, a lot of people love talking about shows like Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Seinfeld to this day. Despite that, there are several beloved 90s sitcoms that lots of people still have extremely fond feelings for to this day. One of the most notable examples of a 90s sitcom that doesn’t get discussed enough anymore is Home Improvement, That fact is all the more amazing since a Tim Allen-led Home Improvement reboot has been hinted at. Unfortunately, if that reboot happens, two of the child stars from Home Improvement likely won’t be involved given the tragic events that have happened in their lives since the original show ended.
Taran Noah Smith’s Troubled Family Life
From 1991 until 1999, Taran Noah Smith starred in Home Improvement as the youngest member of the Taylor family, Mark. Absolutely an adorable kid when the show started, it was extremely easy for Home Improvement fans to feel affection for Smith and his character whenever he was on-screen during the show’s early seasons. Additionally, Home Improvement fans got to watch Smith grow up in front of the world. As a result of all that, many people wanted nothing but the best for Smith as he transitioned to the next stage of his life following Home Improvement’s finale.
Sadly, even though Taran Noah Smith has now achieved equilibrium in his life, the former child star went through a really rough patch. For example, in 2012, the former child star wound up on TMZ after Smith was charged with DUI and possession of an illegal substance. On top of that, the real problem for Smith was that he had a self-inflicted family issue to deal with.
When Taran Noah Smith was only 17-years-old, it became known that the young man had married a woman named Heide Van Pelt who was 16-years older than him. Ultimately, the couple got divorced after five years but during their marriage, Smith’s parents unsurprisingly made it clear that they didn’t approve of their union.
At around the same time, Smith’s parents expressed their disapproval of his marriage, Taran Noah Smith accused them of misappropriating his money to buy themselves a mansion. Even though there have been many legitimate instances in which child stars had their money stolen by their parents, from all accounts Smith’s accusation was completely unfounded. While talking to an interviewer for the website marinij.com in 2015, Smith admitted he was totally in the wrong to accuse his parents as he did.
“I’d gotten out of the teenage phase and realized my parents weren’t doing anything wrong but were trying to protect me,” he said. “I apologized to them, and they were very forgiving and apologized, too.” While it is wonderful that Smith and his parents made peace and are close now, it is really tragic that they were estranged for years.
Zachery Ty Bryan’s Serious Crime
At one time, it seemed like Jonathan Taylor Thomas would be Home Improvement’s breakout child star. However, even though JTT has been up to a lot since Home Improvement ended, it has been a long time since he was focused on his acting career. As a result, for a while, it seemed like Zachery Ty Bryan would be the most successful of Home Improvement’s three child stars since he worked regularly as an actor during the 2000s. However, following everything that happened in Bryan’s life during 2020, it seems likely that nobody in the entertainment industry will want to be associated with him again.
In October of 2020, the police arrested Zachery Ty Bryan following an incident in which the actor allegedly assaulted his girlfriend who was twelve years his junior. Bryan went on to be charged with eight crimes related to the assault including felony strangulation. Ultimately, District Attorney Patricia Perlow made a deal with Bryan “in the interest of closure for the victim and in recognition of the backlog of cases we have due to COVID restrictions”. As a result, Bryan pleaded guilty to two charges and he was sentenced to three years of bench probation, ordered to partake in a batterer intervention program, and to have no contact with the victim.