Voyager Actor You Forgot Had Cameo In Home Improvement

Robert Picardo is an accomplished singer and actor whose career spans 45 years and shows no signs of slowing down. He has been performing professionally since college in the mid-1970s, appearing on stage in top-notch productions such as Leonard Bernstein's “Mass” and singing in his college a cappella choir. After college, he received acclaim for his performance in the 1976 David Mamet production of “Sexual Perversion in Chicago.”

His progression into television was a natural one for the hard-working actor, beginning with small roles on notable hit shows. He appeared in two Kojak series in 1977 and has never had a down period since. He went on to appear in Taxi, Silver Spoons, Alice, Benson, 21 Jump Street and 15 episodes of The Wonder Years as tough Coach Cutlip, as well as dozens of other TV shows that are too too many to list here. On the big screen, Picardo became the “good luck charm” of director Joe Dante, appearing in most of the director's films; he was a werewolf in 'The Howling', multiple characters in 'Explorers', a cowboy in 'Innerspace', took out the trash in 'The Burbs' and got even with a Gremlin in 'Gremlins 2: The New Batch'. He also starred in Ridley Scott's Legend, was a robot cab driver in Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall, and appeared in several other hit films.

In other words, Picardo is one of the hardest working and most reliable characters in the business. Until he was cast as the holographic doctor in “Star Trek: Voyager” In 1995, he was already the beloved “Hey, that's the guy!” an actor. However, “Voyager” made his name memorable, and it remains his longest-running and most recognized concert.

Right before Voyager, Picardo even had guest spots in a couple of Season 3 episodes. hit comedy “Home Improvement”. He played the character Joe Morton, who met Tim (Tim Allen) twice in his garage.

Picardo first appeared in the “Home Improvement” episode “A Sew, Sew Evening” (October 6, 1993). He played Joe Morton, Tim's new neighbor who had something of a domineering personality. They are both obsessed with cars, and Joe accidentally damages Tim's car, causing some tension between them. Picardo's only job was to be annoying and cocky, Tim's two least favorite qualities in other people. Joe Morton was a broad archetype, but Picardo played the role in a cheesy manner.

The character returned in “Blow Up” (November 3, 1993), but in it he played only a small role. According to the episode's IMDb details page, Picardo was slated to become a semi-regular on “Home Improvement,” and producers already thought they'd have him in multiple episodes. However, in 1994, Picardo began the audition process for Star Trek: Voyager and was instead cast in the science fiction series. Picardo wasn't sure at first if he should take part in the second installment of “Star Trek” or if he would have more success with the already popular “Home Improvement”. Tim Allen, a Trekkie, seems to have encouraged him to the first one.

However, Picardo was not one to rest on his laurels. While auditioning for Voyager, Picardo landed the role of Lee Harvey Oswald in the TV movie Tales from the Crypt, the sequel Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love, and Rebel. Highway', a TV thriller called 'The White Mile' and an episode of 'ER'. He was also on 'Wagons East!' and 'The Pagemaster' during this time. He went on to appear in 172 episodes of 'Voyager' between 1995 and 2001.

Picardo didn't stop there either. Even after Voyager, his TV credits number in the dozens. He continued to work with Dante (he appeared in “Looney Tunes: Back in Action”) and even participated in future “Star Trek” projects. He has also lent his voice to video games and reprized the role of the Doctor in the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy. He is also scheduled to appear at the time of writing the upcoming Star Trek show Starfleet Academy.

“Home Improvement” was only one hundred concerts for Picardo.