Earl Hindman - Biography

Who is Earl Hindman?

Earl Hindman, who is best known for the portraying supporting role of Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. in Home Improvement from 1991 to 1999 showed his face to the audience only once. 

Read more about the man with the famous role who did it all without showing his face.

Earl Hindman – Age, Parents, Siblings

Earl Hindman was born on October 20, 1942, as Earl John Hindman. His birthplace is in Bisbee, Arizona, USA, and his parents are Eula Hindman and Burl Latney Hindman, an oil pipeline businessman. He has siblings as well. His brother’s name is Burl Latney Hindman and his sister’s name is Anna Dean Shields. Growing up, he was interested in drama and still photography.

Education, Ethnicity

Hindman was a student of Amphitheater High School and graduated from the same. He then studied at the University of Arizona but dropped out to focus on acting.

His ethnicity was never clearly stated to the public.

Earl Hindman – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce

Earl Hindman dated actress Molly McGreevey and married her on May 21, 1976. The couple even had starred alongside in Ryan's Hope, McGreevey as Polly Longworth and Hindman as Bob Reid.

Even though the couple was married for more than four decades, they never had any children. They remained married until Earl Hindman’s death in 2003.

Earl Hindman attended the People's Choice Awards on March 17, 1992  (Image: Getty Images)

Earl Hindman – Career

Early Career

Earl Hindman began his career in professional acting in a Shakespearean play at San Diego's Globe Theatre followed by performances in countless repertory theaters. 

He then moved to New York. His first TV role was in Teenage Mother followed by acting in The Kiss of Her Flesh (1968) as Don, Two Into Three Won't Go (1969), in The Ultimate Degenerate (1969) as Bruno and in 1971’s Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? as Whitney.

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In the 1974 films, Earl Hindman played villains in the thrillers The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and The Parallax View. Over the course of almost two decades, Hindman appeared in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Greased Lightning (1977), The Brink's Job (1978), Taps (1981), Three Men and a Baby (1987), The Ballad of the Sad Café (1991), among numerous others. 

Breakthrough

He played Bob Reid for fourteen years on the soap opera Ryan's Hope. Finally, in 1991 he was cast in Home Improvement as Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. with Tammy Lauren, Jessica Wesson, Michelle Williams, and Debbe Dunning. 

He portrayed the role for 203 episodes ranging from the year 1991 to 1999 but never showed his full face in the series. This was followed by acting in the 2001’s since fiction movie Final.  

Among all the roles he has portrayed, Earl Hindman is best known for his portrayal of Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. in the American TV sitcom Home Improvement alongside Patricia Richardson, Tim Allen, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Richard Karn, and Taran Noah Smith. 

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Source: Decider (from left- Tim Allen and Earl Hindman behind the fence)

Face reveal

Hindman’s character Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. in Home Improvement always hid behind the fence or turned from the camera, or appeared behind the perfectly placed object. In the final episode of the series, his face was finally shown as he and the rest of the cast took a bow for the audience.

According to a fan theory, his character Wilson showed only the top of his face due to a witness protection program.

Earl Hindman – Net Worth, Salary

The net of Hindman prior to his death was estimated at around $4 million while the figure on his annual income was not known.

Earl Hindman – Health and Death

Earl Hindman was a chain smoker having smoked cigarettes most of his life. In 2003, Hindman was diagnosed with lung cancer. Although he received treatment for cancer, it was unsuccessful. He died on December 29, 2003, and was buried in Roxbury Cemetery.

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