This Old House
Encyclopedia
This Old House is an American home improvement
magazine and television series aired on the American television station Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) which follows remodeling projects of houses over a number of weeks.
. Weyerhauser lumber distributor, a previous underwriter, by 1989, had donated more than $1,000,000 a year to the show. This Old House is also underwritten by State Farm Insurance
and Andersen Windows
, Inc. Ask This Old House is also underwritten by GE
major appliances, Stanley Tools and the National Association of Realtors
. Other underwriters throughout the show's tenure included Parks Corporation (featuring its line of Carver Tripp paint thinners/sealants/wood stains and treatments), Glidden
paints, Montgomery Ward
, Ace Hardware
, Kohler
plumbing, Schlage
locks, Century 21 Real Estate
, Toro
lawnmowers/snowblowers
and ERA Real Estate. Two of the original underwriters were Weyerhauser and Owens-Corning.
The third series to share the name is Inside This Old House, a retrospective featuring highlights from previous episodes. Old episodes are also shown under the program name This Old House Classics and were formerly shown on The Learning Channel under the name The Renovation Guide. Only the episodes with original host Bob Vila
aired under that name. , Classics are also carried on the commercial non-broadcast DIY Network
as well as syndicated to local TV stations.
, it has grown into one of the most popular programs on the network. It has produced spin-offs (notably The New Yankee Workshop
hosted by Norm Abram
), a magazine, and for-profit web sites. The show has won 17 Emmy Awards and received 82 nominations.
Although WGBH acquired the first two project houses (6 Percival Street in Dorchester and the Bigelow House in Newton) for renovation, the series then focused on renovating older houses, including those of modest size and value, with the homeowners doing some of the work, as a form of sweat equity
. The series covering the renovation of the Westwood house (Weatherbee Farm) became something of a cult classic because of an escalating dispute between the hosts, Vila and Abram, and the homeowners over the direction the project was taking. Vila remarked at the end of the Westwood series that the owners could have contributed more "sweat equity." As the show evolved, it began to focus on higher-end, luxury homes with more of the work done by expert contractors and tradespeople.
Bob Vila
, the original host, left in 1989 following a dispute about doing commercials and created a similar show called Bob Vila's Home Again. According to news reporter Barbara Beck, Vila was fired by WGBH Boston over making TV commercials for Rickel Home Centers
, Home Depot's competitor. Home Depot, the show's underwriter, dropped its local sponsorship for This Old House after Vila made the commercials. Vila was fired in an effort to have Home Depot return as a sponsor to the show. During Vila's tenure, the show drew 11 million viewers and had won five Emmys. Weyerhauser, at this time a supplier for Home Depot, stopped underwriting the show.
Steve Thomas
took over hosting duties after Vila's departure, remaining with the program until 2003.
Time Inc.
began production of This Old House magazine in 1995. In 2001, Time Inc. bought the show from WGBH.
Kevin O'Connor
is the current host. Before O'Connor joined the cast, he was a homeowner who appeared on Ask This Old House having problems with wallpaper removal. While O'Connor has been the host, Norm Abram's role has increased to that of a near co-host. In at least a couple of season opening episodes (Cambridge, Carlisle, and Austin), Norm has appeared with Kevin to introduce the new project. Norm also filled in for Kevin when his son was born during the Carlisle project.
Beginning with the 2007-08 season, the show, as well as its companion program, Ask This Old House, has been presented in a high-definition
format.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary season, This Old House is working with Nuestra Comunidad to renovate a foreclosed home in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Nuestra Comunidad is a non-profit development corporation, and acquired this 1870s-era Second Empire home from a bank. Once the job is done, the house's two units will be sold to two local families. Two students from YouthBuild
Boston are assisting with the project, as is General Contractor David Lopes. Lopes has a great deal of experience in both historic preservation and affordable housing projects. He will take on such tasks as replacing part of the foundation, demolishing a three-story addition because it had gone far beyond repair, and rebuilding the house's decrepit interior. Much of the house's original details are beyond repair, but Lopes will work to preserve the most important ones.
Ask This Old House began in 2002 and was spun off from a section of This Old House Magazine of the same name. Readers of the magazine or viewers of the show submit questions about various home repair or improvement projects, which are answered by the experts. It has been nominated for 5 Emmy Awards. The regulars on the show are O'Connor, Tom Silva
, Richard Trethewey
and Roger Cook
. (This Old House veteran Norm Abram
does not appear on Ask This Old House due to numerous other commitments on Abram's part, notably his involvement in The New Yankee Workshop
.) Guest experts appear to answer more specialized questions. The show takes place in "the loft
" of a rural barn
somewhere in the Boston area. Most of the questions are answered in the loft, but one or two homeowners in each episode receive a visit from one of the show's three tradesmen (or a guest tradesman if the project is not construction, plumbing/heating or landscaping related such as electrical or painting projects), who assist in either starting or completing the task with the homeowners' help. O'Connor sometimes assists in these projects. There is also a feature entitled "What Is It?" in which three of the four regulars try to guess what an unusual tool is used for. The adjudicating fourth regular reveals the actual use. Beginning with the 2007/08 season, this program added a "useful tip" segment provided by a viewer of the show. The useful tip segment is a revival of a short-lived feature of This Old House when Vila hosted the show.
The opening credits feature a GMC van towing the blue Ask This Old House trailer around Boston and rural Massachusetts
before reaching its final destination, the barn. The short, twenty-five-second version shows Silva, the passenger, picking up four coffees from a drive-through
, while the driver in the longer, forty-second version is shown to be O'Connor. In both versions, after pulling into the driveway beside the barn, the footage cuts to Richard Trethewey handing out the coffees to the other three regulars.
Prior to O'Connor's installation as host, the driver was Steve Thomas
, the host for the show's first year.
The most recent spin-off of the This Old House franchise is Inside This Old House. It is shown primarily on the A&E Network
. The show is very much like Ask This Old House: it is shot mainly in the "loft", hosted by O'Connor and features the regular experts listed above and also Abram (master carpenter). However, unlike Ask This Old House, usually one or two experts are used throughout the episode and a specific theme is discussed. The theme is usually a particular topic (e.g. landscaping, installing doors, etc.). Along with the in-house expert, and sometimes a guest expert, clips are shown of past episodes of This Old House (mainly the original episodes with Vila) to further illustrate the point, as well as revisiting past projects undertaken over the previous twenty-five years to see what the homeowners have done since airing. A segment called "Inside Out" features one of two guest commentators (Jimmy Dunn or Doreen Vigue), or one of the experts, with a brief and comedic overview of what was discussed on the show.
played Tim Taylor, a character inspired by Bob Vila, while Richard Karn
portrayed Al Borland, a character based on Norm Abram
. Bob Vila
also guest starred from time to time as Tim's rival and archenemy.
Almost Live, a Seattle skit comedy show, also parodied This Old House as "This Here Place". Fox's In Living Color
featured an occasional bit titled "This Old Box" in which Damon Wayans
played a homeless person who discussed "renovating" a large cardboard box where he lived. The Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club
did a parody called "This Old Home", which featured a house made of candy. Finally, long-running sketch comedy venue Saturday Night Live
has parodied This Old House from time to time, notably in 1989 with John Larroquette
and again in 2004 with Liam Neeson
. Another 1988 SNL sketch featured Phil Hartman
hosting a fictitious PBS show called "Robot Repair." The sketch had Hartman playing a sentient robot who instructed viewers on how to repair home appliances. Out of concern that the term "Robot Repair" suggested the repair of robots and not the actual theme of the show, the robot begged the producers for a new title, only to find that with each week, the title's wording got progressively more and more confusing (e.g., "Robot Repair and You"). The poor robot's frustration finally turned to meltdown when the producers presented the show as "This Old Robot."
In the seventh season of the second series of ZOOM
, there was a parody of This Old House which was known as "This Old Place". There, "Abe Norman" (a parody of Norm Abram), played by Kyle Morrow, would fix something (example: washing machine
) that would never end up as it should. On one occasion, he put a gown in a washing machine and it came out as the shirt he was wearing currently.
Home improvement
Home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home.-Types of home improvement:...
magazine and television series aired on the American television station Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) which follows remodeling projects of houses over a number of weeks.
Overview
This Old House and its sister series Ask This Old House are often broadcast together as The This Old House Hour (originally known as The New This Old House Hour). Both shows are owned by This Old House Ventures, Inc. and are underwritten by GMC, and The Home DepotThe Home Depot
The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...
. Weyerhauser lumber distributor, a previous underwriter, by 1989, had donated more than $1,000,000 a year to the show. This Old House is also underwritten by State Farm Insurance
State Farm Insurance
State Farm Insurance is a group of insurance and financial services companies in the United States. The company also has operations in Canada....
and Andersen Windows
Andersen Corporation
Andersen Corporation is a privately owned American business that is a major manufacturer of windows; its windows are known as Andersen Windows. The company was founded in 1903 by Danish immigrant Hans Andersen and his family in Hudson, Wisconsin, where logs arrived via the St. Croix River...
, Inc. Ask This Old House is also underwritten by GE
GE Consumer & Industrial
GE Consumer & Industrial is a subsidiary of General Electric headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky at Appliance Park. GE Consumer & Industrial is one of the largest suppliers of appliances in the world. It was created in January 2004 when GE Consumer Products merged with GE Industrial Systems...
major appliances, Stanley Tools and the National Association of Realtors
National Association of Realtors
The National Association of Realtors , whose members are known as Realtors, is North America's largest trade association. representing over 1.2 million members , including NAR's institutes, societies, and councils, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries...
. Other underwriters throughout the show's tenure included Parks Corporation (featuring its line of Carver Tripp paint thinners/sealants/wood stains and treatments), Glidden
Glidden (paints)
The Glidden Company was a paint company started in 1875 by Francis Harrington Glidden, Levi Brackett and Thomas Bolles. The company started in 1875 as the Glidden-Brackett Company; and was renamed later to the Glidden & Joy Company, and in 1890 incorporated as The Glidden Varnish Company. It is...
paints, Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
, Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware Corporation is a hardware cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. ACE Hardware Corporation, with 4,444 stores, does over $3 billion in retail hardware sales annually down from its peak of $12.5 billion in 2007.-History:...
, Kohler
Kohler Company
'The Kohler Company is a manufacturing company in Kohler, Wisconsin best known for its plumbing products. Kohler also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and generators.-History:...
plumbing, Schlage
Schlage
Schlage is a lock manufacturer founded in 1920 by Walter Schlage in San Francisco. Schlage is one of the most popular brands of consumer and commercial locks in the United States. The company was acquired by Ingersoll Rand in 1974 and continues to be a subsidiary. Schlage also produces...
locks, Century 21 Real Estate
Century 21 Real Estate
Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a real estate agent franchise company founded in 1971. The Century 21 System consists of over 8,000 independently owned and operated offices. Other examples of such a system are Coldwell Banker, Engel & Völkers, ERA Real Estate, ...Century 21 has offices in more than...
, Toro
Toro (company)
The Toro Company is an American manufacturer of turf maintenance equipment , snow removal equipment and water-saving irrigation systems for golf courses, sports fields, public green spaces, commercial and residential lawns, and agricultural fields...
lawnmowers/snowblowers
Snow blower
A snow blower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is not wanted, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, rink, runway, or houses...
and ERA Real Estate. Two of the original underwriters were Weyerhauser and Owens-Corning.
The third series to share the name is Inside This Old House, a retrospective featuring highlights from previous episodes. Old episodes are also shown under the program name This Old House Classics and were formerly shown on The Learning Channel under the name The Renovation Guide. Only the episodes with original host Bob Vila
Bob Vila
Robert Joseph "Bob" Vila is an American home improvement television show host known for This Old House , Bob Vila's Home Again , and Bob Vila .-Early life:...
aired under that name. , Classics are also carried on the commercial non-broadcast DIY Network
DIY Network
DIY Network is a channel owned by Scripps Networks Interactive that focuses on do it yourself projects at home.Television stations air local versions with local hosts with segments produced by the network. Branded DIY Network programming is also broadcast in Japan and the Philippines...
as well as syndicated to local TV stations.
History
Begun in 1979 as a one-time, 13-part series on the Boston PBS station WGBHWGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
, it has grown into one of the most popular programs on the network. It has produced spin-offs (notably The New Yankee Workshop
The New Yankee Workshop
The New Yankee Workshop was a woodworking program produced by WGBH Boston, which aired on PBS. Created in 1989 by Russell Morash, the program was hosted by Norm Abram, a regular fixture on Morash's This Old House...
hosted by Norm Abram
Norm Abram
Norman L. Abram, or Norm Abram, is an American carpenter known for his work on the PBS television programs This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop. He is referred to on these shows as a "master carpenter".-Early life and education:Abram was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and raised in...
), a magazine, and for-profit web sites. The show has won 17 Emmy Awards and received 82 nominations.
Although WGBH acquired the first two project houses (6 Percival Street in Dorchester and the Bigelow House in Newton) for renovation, the series then focused on renovating older houses, including those of modest size and value, with the homeowners doing some of the work, as a form of sweat equity
Sweat equity
Sweat equity is a term that refers to a party's contribution to a project in the form of effort --- as opposed to financial equity, which is a contribution in the form of capital....
. The series covering the renovation of the Westwood house (Weatherbee Farm) became something of a cult classic because of an escalating dispute between the hosts, Vila and Abram, and the homeowners over the direction the project was taking. Vila remarked at the end of the Westwood series that the owners could have contributed more "sweat equity." As the show evolved, it began to focus on higher-end, luxury homes with more of the work done by expert contractors and tradespeople.
Bob Vila
Bob Vila
Robert Joseph "Bob" Vila is an American home improvement television show host known for This Old House , Bob Vila's Home Again , and Bob Vila .-Early life:...
, the original host, left in 1989 following a dispute about doing commercials and created a similar show called Bob Vila's Home Again. According to news reporter Barbara Beck, Vila was fired by WGBH Boston over making TV commercials for Rickel Home Centers
Rickel
Rickel was a home improvement store chain based in northern New Jersey. The Rickels' first store opened in 1953 and for three decades Rickel was the leading hardware, plumbing, heating and electrical retailer in its region...
, Home Depot's competitor. Home Depot, the show's underwriter, dropped its local sponsorship for This Old House after Vila made the commercials. Vila was fired in an effort to have Home Depot return as a sponsor to the show. During Vila's tenure, the show drew 11 million viewers and had won five Emmys. Weyerhauser, at this time a supplier for Home Depot, stopped underwriting the show.
Steve Thomas
Steve Thomas (television)
Steve Thomas is the professional name of Stephen Thomas, an author and television personality from the United States. He is currently the host of Renovation Nation on Discovery's Planet Green channel...
took over hosting duties after Vila's departure, remaining with the program until 2003.
Time Inc.
Time Inc.
Time Inc. is a subsidiary of the media conglomerate Time Warner, the company formed by the 1990 merger of the original Time Inc. and Warner Communications. It publishes 130 magazines, most notably its namesake, Time...
began production of This Old House magazine in 1995. In 2001, Time Inc. bought the show from WGBH.
Kevin O'Connor
Kevin O'Connor (television)
Kevin O'Connor is a television personality from the United States. He has been the host of the PBS home renovation series This Old House since replacing Steve Thomas in 2003. In 2008, Kevin won "The Boy-Next-Door I Would Most Like to Live-Next-Door To" award from the Football Cheerleaders League...
is the current host. Before O'Connor joined the cast, he was a homeowner who appeared on Ask This Old House having problems with wallpaper removal. While O'Connor has been the host, Norm Abram's role has increased to that of a near co-host. In at least a couple of season opening episodes (Cambridge, Carlisle, and Austin), Norm has appeared with Kevin to introduce the new project. Norm also filled in for Kevin when his son was born during the Carlisle project.
Beginning with the 2007-08 season, the show, as well as its companion program, Ask This Old House, has been presented in a high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
format.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary season, This Old House is working with Nuestra Comunidad to renovate a foreclosed home in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Nuestra Comunidad is a non-profit development corporation, and acquired this 1870s-era Second Empire home from a bank. Once the job is done, the house's two units will be sold to two local families. Two students from YouthBuild
YouthBuild
YouthBuild is a non-profit organization which provides education, counseling and job skills to unemployed young American adults , generally high school dropouts...
Boston are assisting with the project, as is General Contractor David Lopes. Lopes has a great deal of experience in both historic preservation and affordable housing projects. He will take on such tasks as replacing part of the foundation, demolishing a three-story addition because it had gone far beyond repair, and rebuilding the house's decrepit interior. Much of the house's original details are beyond repair, but Lopes will work to preserve the most important ones.
Theme song
The original theme song for This Old House was "Louisiana Fairy Tale", composed by Haven Gillespie, Mitchell Parish and J. Fred Coots and performed by early 20th-century jazz artist Fats Waller. The theme song was changed after This Old House Ventures acquired the series from WGBH. The current theme song is "This Old House '97" composed by Peter Bell.Ask This Old House
Ask This Old House began in 2002 and was spun off from a section of This Old House Magazine of the same name. Readers of the magazine or viewers of the show submit questions about various home repair or improvement projects, which are answered by the experts. It has been nominated for 5 Emmy Awards. The regulars on the show are O'Connor, Tom Silva
Tom Silva
Tom Silva is a contractor notable for his long running participation in the PBS show This Old House. He is co-owner of Silva Brothers' Construction, based in Lexington, Massachusetts.-Biography:...
, Richard Trethewey
Richard Trethewey
Richard S. Trethewey is an American plumber and HVAC contractor, who is best known as a television personality, appearing regularly on This Old House and its spin-offs, Ask This Old House and Inside This Old House...
and Roger Cook
Roger Cook (landscaper)
Roger Cook is the head landscaper on the PBS show This Old House. He also appears on Ask This Old House and Inside This Old House.Cook's journey with This Old House began in 1982, when he first appeared on the series...
. (This Old House veteran Norm Abram
Norm Abram
Norman L. Abram, or Norm Abram, is an American carpenter known for his work on the PBS television programs This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop. He is referred to on these shows as a "master carpenter".-Early life and education:Abram was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and raised in...
does not appear on Ask This Old House due to numerous other commitments on Abram's part, notably his involvement in The New Yankee Workshop
The New Yankee Workshop
The New Yankee Workshop was a woodworking program produced by WGBH Boston, which aired on PBS. Created in 1989 by Russell Morash, the program was hosted by Norm Abram, a regular fixture on Morash's This Old House...
.) Guest experts appear to answer more specialized questions. The show takes place in "the loft
Loft
A loft can be an upper story or attic in a building, directly under the roof. Alternatively, a loft apartment refers to large adaptable open space, often converted for residential use from some other use, often light industrial...
" of a rural barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
somewhere in the Boston area. Most of the questions are answered in the loft, but one or two homeowners in each episode receive a visit from one of the show's three tradesmen (or a guest tradesman if the project is not construction, plumbing/heating or landscaping related such as electrical or painting projects), who assist in either starting or completing the task with the homeowners' help. O'Connor sometimes assists in these projects. There is also a feature entitled "What Is It?" in which three of the four regulars try to guess what an unusual tool is used for. The adjudicating fourth regular reveals the actual use. Beginning with the 2007/08 season, this program added a "useful tip" segment provided by a viewer of the show. The useful tip segment is a revival of a short-lived feature of This Old House when Vila hosted the show.
The opening credits feature a GMC van towing the blue Ask This Old House trailer around Boston and rural Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
before reaching its final destination, the barn. The short, twenty-five-second version shows Silva, the passenger, picking up four coffees from a drive-through
Drive-through
A drive-through, or drive-thru, is a type of service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was first pioneered in the United States in the 1930s but has since spread to other countries. The first recorded use of a bank using a drive...
, while the driver in the longer, forty-second version is shown to be O'Connor. In both versions, after pulling into the driveway beside the barn, the footage cuts to Richard Trethewey handing out the coffees to the other three regulars.
Prior to O'Connor's installation as host, the driver was Steve Thomas
Steve Thomas (television)
Steve Thomas is the professional name of Stephen Thomas, an author and television personality from the United States. He is currently the host of Renovation Nation on Discovery's Planet Green channel...
, the host for the show's first year.
Inside This Old House
  |
The most recent spin-off of the This Old House franchise is Inside This Old House. It is shown primarily on the A&E Network
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
. The show is very much like Ask This Old House: it is shot mainly in the "loft", hosted by O'Connor and features the regular experts listed above and also Abram (master carpenter). However, unlike Ask This Old House, usually one or two experts are used throughout the episode and a specific theme is discussed. The theme is usually a particular topic (e.g. landscaping, installing doors, etc.). Along with the in-house expert, and sometimes a guest expert, clips are shown of past episodes of This Old House (mainly the original episodes with Vila) to further illustrate the point, as well as revisiting past projects undertaken over the previous twenty-five years to see what the homeowners have done since airing. A segment called "Inside Out" features one of two guest commentators (Jimmy Dunn or Doreen Vigue), or one of the experts, with a brief and comedic overview of what was discussed on the show.
Current cast
, the cast is as follows:- Norm AbramNorm AbramNorman L. Abram, or Norm Abram, is an American carpenter known for his work on the PBS television programs This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop. He is referred to on these shows as a "master carpenter".-Early life and education:Abram was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and raised in...
(Master carpenterCarpentryA carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
) - Roger CookRoger Cook (landscaper)Roger Cook is the head landscaper on the PBS show This Old House. He also appears on Ask This Old House and Inside This Old House.Cook's journey with This Old House began in 1982, when he first appeared on the series...
(LandscapeLandscape architectureLandscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
contractor) - Kevin O'ConnorKevin O'Connor (television)Kevin O'Connor is a television personality from the United States. He has been the host of the PBS home renovation series This Old House since replacing Steve Thomas in 2003. In 2008, Kevin won "The Boy-Next-Door I Would Most Like to Live-Next-Door To" award from the Football Cheerleaders League...
(Host, 2003–present) - Tom SilvaTom SilvaTom Silva is a contractor notable for his long running participation in the PBS show This Old House. He is co-owner of Silva Brothers' Construction, based in Lexington, Massachusetts.-Biography:...
(General contractorGeneral contractorA general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
) - Richard TretheweyRichard TretheweyRichard S. Trethewey is an American plumber and HVAC contractor, who is best known as a television personality, appearing regularly on This Old House and its spin-offs, Ask This Old House and Inside This Old House...
(PlumbingPlumbingPlumbing is the system of pipes and drains installed in a building for the distribution of potable drinking water and the removal of waterborne wastes, and the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures in such systems. A plumber is someone who installs or repairs piping...
and HVACHVACHVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
)
Previous hosts
- Bob VilaBob VilaRobert Joseph "Bob" Vila is an American home improvement television show host known for This Old House , Bob Vila's Home Again , and Bob Vila .-Early life:...
(1979–1989) - Steve ThomasSteve Thomas (television)Steve Thomas is the professional name of Stephen Thomas, an author and television personality from the United States. He is currently the host of Renovation Nation on Discovery's Planet Green channel...
(1989–2003)
Production team
, the television production team is as follows:- Russell MorashRussell MorashRussell Morash is a television producer and director of many television programs produced through WGBH and airing on PBS.His shows include This Old House, The Victory Garden, and The New Yankee Workshop...
(Creator) - Deborah Hood (Senior Series Producer, This Old House)
- Jennifer Wells (Producer, This Old House)
- Chris Wolfe (Senior Series Producer, Ask This Old House)
- Heath Racela (Associate Producer, Ask This Old House)
Parody
Like many successful programs, This Old House has found its way into the humorist's eye on occasion. The most famous example is Tool Time, the "show-within-a-show" on the American television situation comedy Home Improvement. Tim AllenTim Allen
Tim Allen is an American comedian, actor, voice-over artist, and entertainer, known for his role in the sitcom Home Improvement...
played Tim Taylor, a character inspired by Bob Vila, while Richard Karn
Richard Karn
Richard Karn is an American actor and game show host. He is most well known for his co-starring role as Al Borland in the 1990s sitcom Home Improvement and his tenure as the host of Family Feud during the 2000s.-Early life:...
portrayed Al Borland, a character based on Norm Abram
Norm Abram
Norman L. Abram, or Norm Abram, is an American carpenter known for his work on the PBS television programs This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop. He is referred to on these shows as a "master carpenter".-Early life and education:Abram was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and raised in...
. Bob Vila
Bob Vila
Robert Joseph "Bob" Vila is an American home improvement television show host known for This Old House , Bob Vila's Home Again , and Bob Vila .-Early life:...
also guest starred from time to time as Tim's rival and archenemy.
Almost Live, a Seattle skit comedy show, also parodied This Old House as "This Here Place". Fox's In Living Color
In Living Color
In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
featured an occasional bit titled "This Old Box" in which Damon Wayans
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, one of the Wayans brothers.-Early life:Wayans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager...
played a homeless person who discussed "renovating" a large cardboard box where he lived. The Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
did a parody called "This Old Home", which featured a house made of candy. Finally, long-running sketch comedy venue Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
has parodied This Old House from time to time, notably in 1989 with John Larroquette
John Larroquette
John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...
and again in 2004 with Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
. Another 1988 SNL sketch featured Phil Hartman
Phil Hartman
Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
hosting a fictitious PBS show called "Robot Repair." The sketch had Hartman playing a sentient robot who instructed viewers on how to repair home appliances. Out of concern that the term "Robot Repair" suggested the repair of robots and not the actual theme of the show, the robot begged the producers for a new title, only to find that with each week, the title's wording got progressively more and more confusing (e.g., "Robot Repair and You"). The poor robot's frustration finally turned to meltdown when the producers presented the show as "This Old Robot."
In the seventh season of the second series of ZOOM
Zoom (1999 TV series)
ZOOM is an American educational television series, created almost entirely by children, which aired on Public Broadcasting Service originally from January 4, 1999 to June 24, 2005. It was a remake of a 1972 TV series by the same name. Both versions were produced by WGBH-TV in Boston...
, there was a parody of This Old House which was known as "This Old Place". There, "Abe Norman" (a parody of Norm Abram), played by Kyle Morrow, would fix something (example: washing machine
Washing machine
A washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...
) that would never end up as it should. On one occasion, he put a gown in a washing machine and it came out as the shirt he was wearing currently.
External links
- This Old House official website