Cause of death Lung cancer Years active 1967–2003 | Name Earl Hindman Role Film actor | |
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Full Name Earl John Hindman Occupation Film and television actor Spouse Molly McGreevey (m. 1976–2003) Parents Burl Latney Hindman, Eula Hindman Siblings Ray Hindman, Anna Dean Shields Movies and TV shows Similar People Richard Karn, Taran Noah Smith, Patricia Richardson, Debbe Dunning, Zachery Ty Bryan | ||
Earl Hindman
Earl John Hindman (October 3, 1942 – December 29, 2003) was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as the kindly unseen neighbor Wilson W. Wilson Jr. on the television sitcom Home Improvement (1991–99).
Contents
- Earl Hindman
- HI Debbe Dunning Patricia Richardson and Earl Hindman at the 1994 Peoples Choice Awards
- Personal life and death
- Partial filmography
- References
Long before this role, however, he played villains in two 1974 thrillers, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and The Parallax View. He also appeared in the films Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? (1971), Greased Lightning (1977), The Brink's Job (1978) and Taps (1981), and played the part of J.T. in the Lawrence Kasdan film Silverado (1985).
Hindman's most famous and enduring pre-Home Improvement role was as Bob Reid in Ryan's Hope. He played the role in 459 episodes during the years 1975–89. Ex-police officer Bob Reid was everybody's best friend who never got the girl and was the long-suffering brother of the soap's serial bride Delia Reid Ryan Ryan Coleridge. Hindman's wife (Molly McGreevey) was also on the soap 1977–81 as Polly Longworth, best friend to media tycoon Rae Woodard.
His voice was heard on the Disneyland Railroad from 2002 until 2016, and on the Walt Disney World Railroad from 2002 until 2011.
HI - Debbe Dunning, Patricia Richardson and Earl Hindman at the 1994 People's Choice Awards
Personal life and death
Hindman was born in Bisbee, Arizona, the son of Eula and Burl Latney Hindman, who worked in the oil pipeline business. He studied acting at the University of Arizona.
On May 21, 1976, Hindman married Molly McGreevey, with whom he later acted on Ryan's Hope. McGreevey later became an Episcopal priest.
A longtime smoker, Hindman was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003. He died of the disease on December 29 of that year, aged 61, in Stamford, Connecticut, where he was buried in Roxbury Cemetery. In addition to his wife, he was survived by a brother, Ray; a sister, Anna Dean Shields; and his mother, Eula Hindman (1916-2011).