Allen’s father was killed in a car accident when the “Toy Story 5” actor was 11 years old.

Tim Allen reflects on his dad being killed by a drunk driver: ‘I kind of turned into a different person after’

Allen's father was killed in a car accident when the "Toy Story 5" actor was 11 years old.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Popsugar.

EW's editorial guidelines

June 11, 2026 5:45 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Tim Allen attends the 'Toy Story 5' premiere on June 9. Credit:

Jesse Grant/Getty

- Tim Allen looks back on how he became 'a different person' after his father's death when he was 11 years old.

- The *Toy Story 5* star's father was killed in a car accident involving a drunk driver in November 1964.

- "I turned into my spiritual or metaphysical or religious self," Allen tells *Us Weekly* in a cover story.

Over 60 years after the death of his father, Tim Allen is looking back on the incident that changed his life.

The *Toy Story 5* star, who recently reprised his voice role as Buzz Lightyear for the Pixar franchise's latest installment, opened up about his father's death in conversation with *Us Weekly* for a cover story.

In November 1964, when Allen was just 11 years old, his father was killed in a car accident involving a drunk driver. Reflecting on that tragic period in his life, the actor told the outlet: "I kind of turned into a different person after that. Trauma has that effect."

"I turned into my spiritual or metaphysical or religious self," he continued. "My blood father was really involved in pruning the car [and] all the stuff I really like now. My dad got me into that. I really missed that connection. I didn’t have that with my stepfather, but he was an extremely wonderful guy."

Tim Allen poses backstage of 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on Nov. 25, 2025.

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

The tragedy derailed Allen's life. The comedian admits floundering in his mid-20s and winding up behind bars.

"I’d lost focus after college, where I got into criminal stuff," he told the outlet of being arrested at Michigan's Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport for possession of over 650 grams (1.43 pounds) of cocaine when he was 25. At the time, the state of Michigan had recently passed the "650-lifer law," in which anyone convicted of selling the amount of cocaine Allen had faced a life sentence, without the possibility of parole.

Although Allen pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficking charges, he received a sentence of three to seven years in prison rather than life after providing the names of other dealers in exchange. He subsequently served two years and four months in the Federal Correctional Institution in Sandstone, Minn., and was released in 1981.

"When I was incarcerated, I started reading books [about] men and women who had been successful out of nowhere, and I started focusing on where I wanted to be," Allen recalled. "I did not want to do that ever again. I humiliated my family and friends and myself. I did not want to make that mistake [again]."

Tim Allen addresses Jenna Elfman's future on 'Shifting Gears' after she joined new show

Tim Allen says 'personality problems' with onscreen sons has halted 'Home Improvement' revival

After another stint of trouble with the law in 1998 —he was arrested for a DUI in Birmingham, Mich., and sentenced to one-year probation — Allen entered rehab for alcohol abuse as part of his court obligation and has been sober since.

He then went on to become the esteemed television star and voice actor known by kids and adults alike.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

The *Home Improvement* actor previously spoke about his dad's death after being "deeply affected" by the words of Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, at the memorial service for her conservative activist husband last year. At the time, Allen said Erika inspired him to forgive the man responsible for his father's death.

"When Erika Kirk spoke the words on the man who killed her husband: 'That man… that young man… I forgive him.' That moment deeply affected me," Allen wrote in an X post at the time. "I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad. I will say those words now as I type: 'I forgive the man who killed my father.'"

The comedian concluded his note, "Peace be with you all."

- Celebrities & Creators

- Celebrity Friends and Family

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Celebrity”