# Whatever Happened To The Original Cast Of This Old House



## tonyc56 (Nov 9, 2008)

Just curious.

Norm Abram
Bob Vila
Steve Thomas


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## JR Shepstone (Jul 14, 2011)

tonyc56 said:


> Just curious. Norm Abram Bob Vila Steve Thomas


Norm retired. 

Bon Vila does infomercials. 

Isn't Steve still there? He hosts Ask This Old House. Or is that some other guy?


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

They got old


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## TRMolnar (Mar 19, 2012)

I heard years back that norm had nerve damge or something similar in his hands. In some of his final episodes of yankee workshop it was visible that he was experianing pain in his hands. 

Its a real shame. I used to watch shows like his every weekend, while other kids were watching cartoons. 

... i never really cared for bob villa or steve thomas, but Ill admit it was funny when bob vila made apperiances on Home Improvement - with Tim Allen.


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## SticksandStones (May 13, 2013)

This Old House and New Yankee Workshop are the main reasons I do what I do! Growing up with a Dad that was "Renovationally Challenged" , I kind of looked up to Mr Abrams as a second father.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

Bob Vila.

Norm Abram.

Steve Thomas.

Damn, that was hard. :laughing:


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

JR Shepstone said:


> ........Isn't Steve still there? He hosts Ask This Old House. Or is that some other guy?


Kevin O'Conner.


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## sunkist (Apr 27, 2012)

Steve Thomas was not part of the original cast. He pops up on the history channel now and then. I would love to see norms blooper reel.


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## JR Shepstone (Jul 14, 2011)

480sparky said:


> Kevin O'Conner.


I knew I was wrong. Thanks for the clarification.


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## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

I always enjoyed watching that show. I thought Norm was a true crafts man. Norm knew stuff. Bob, not so much. I thought Bob was more of a in-front-of-camera man. Bob kind of reminds me of that Holmes guy. 

I think their show was the first of the kind and brought about the DIY (wanna-bees) revolution. Pioneers.


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## EmmCeeDee (May 23, 2010)

I always thought Tom Silva and Roger Cook were the guys I would expect to bust out with some cursing on the bloopers.


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## tedanderson (May 19, 2010)

TRMolnar said:


> Its a real shame. I used to watch shows like his every weekend, while other kids were watching cartoons.


I was forced to watch his show by default because cartoons went off after a certain time Saturday morning and there were no cartoons Sunday. Everything else on TV was news magazines and political discussions.



cdkyle said:


> I think their show was the first of the kind and brought about the DIY (wanna-bees) revolution.


You are absolutely right. Back in the late 80's we used to talk bad about Bob on the forums like we talk about Holmes today. :laughing:



EmmCeeDee said:


> I always thought Tom Silva and Roger Cook were the guys I would expect to bust out with some cursing on the bloopers.


I thought about Tom Silva when I read the OP. He came a long way from being one of the workers with a couple of speaking parts to being a full time host. 

But overall I think these guys saw the handwriting on the wall and knew their days were numbered when the Discovery channel started showing full basement tear-outs that seemingly happened in a single day. Nobody wanted to see a full renovation stretched out over 13 episodes anymore. Now everyone expects to see it inside of a 45 minute episode.


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## mski (Apr 4, 2013)

tedanderson said:


> You are absolutely right. Back in the late 80's we used to talk bad about Bob on the forums like we talk about Holmes today. :laughing:


Talk on forums in the 80's? 
You had internet in the 80's?

Al Gore is going to be pissed if he finds out you had the internet before he "invented" it. :laughing:


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

tedanderson said:


> I was forced to watch his show by default because cartoons went off after a certain time Saturday morning and there were no cartoons Sunday. Everything else on TV was news magazines and political discussions.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think this is part of the whole DIY problem. I enjoy watching it play out in a reasonable time frame. Some customers don't though. Takes me two months, but Holmes did it in 3 days, I should only charge three days. :laughing:


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## tedanderson (May 19, 2010)

mski said:


> Talk on forums in the 80's?
> You had internet in the 80's?


Yes we did. Those of us who had computers back then were considered to be part of a strange eclectic sub-culture that not many people knew about. Mainstream society thought we were strange. People would ask, "What the heck are you guys typing back and forth about anyway? It couldn't be anything interesting."


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## EmmCeeDee (May 23, 2010)

tedanderson said:


> Yes we did. Those of us who had computers back then were considered to be part of a strange eclectic sub-culture that not many people knew about. Mainstream society thought we were strange. People would ask, "What the heck are you guys typing back and forth about anyway? It couldn't be anything interesting."


Ha! That was the old school internet. My buddy and I used to access the BBSs on his Commodore Vic 20, back when it was done over a telephone handset modem. The long distance charges were insane, until he figured a work around....


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## Anti-wingnut (Mar 12, 2009)

tonyc56 said:


> Just curious.
> 
> Norm Abram
> Bob Vila
> Steve Thomas


I think the cast the first decade was Norm and Bob, Steve came along after their corporate overlords fired Bob.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Anti-wingnut said:


> I think the cast the first decade was Norm and Bob, Steve came along after their corporate overlords fired Bob.






If memory serves,Bob was fired for promoting products that ran contrary to their sponsor (the pink fuzzy stuff) also doing stuff with Sears.


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## tccoggs (Dec 17, 2008)

While the sears thing was one part of bobs demise, the season prior to his last was involving a 1700s farmhouse that the owner later sued the show because he felt pressured into doing additional work on the house for the sake of the show. Tommy appeared on a segment that season on another job and then appeared in bobs final season as the gc which was the bed and breakfast. In was in high school at the time so I want to say this was about 1989. The following season was the concord barn and was Steve Thomas first season.


There actually has been more than 1 lawsuit surrounding the show. I believe on one of Steve's seasons where they were working on Nantucket there were massive cost overruns and the family who was involved ended up having to give up on moving there and had to rent and later sell the house.

One aspect of the show that is probably over looked is that while manufacturers will typically donate expensive materials for the sake of getting them on air, the homeowner still has to pay tax on the materials as if it was income as well as any increased labor incurred. This is where I feel the show got away from its roots more recently.


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## tedanderson (May 19, 2010)

EmmCeeDee said:


> Ha! That was the old school internet.The long distance charges were insane, until he figured a work around....


Yeah.. the good old days of phreaking, blue boxes, red boxes, diverters, loops, etc.. Those were the days when an unmarked cruiser coming into the neighborhood could make you sweat bullets! :laughing:



tccoggs said:


> One aspect of the show that is probably over looked is that while manufacturers will typically donate expensive materials for the sake of getting them on air, the homeowner still has to pay tax on the materials as if it was income as well as any increased labor incurred. This is where I feel the show got away from its roots more recently.


You're right because the show was initially built on the PBS business model and I recall a couple of times when I've heard either Norm or Steve say something to the effect of "This is public television so I can't recommend this product by name but this is what it does..."


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

Silva was my favorite. 

I dug New Yankee Workshop. Read two of Norms books


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## Tylerwalker32 (Jun 27, 2011)

I watched where norm spoke at the festool connect last year and he talked about the original this old house. Norm is still around on the show. I live watching Tom and Norm. I loved watching this and home time as a little kid, pretty sure that's why I love construction and carpentry.


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

I love Norm.....Give that guy a bucket of pine combs and he can make a coffee table to die for..I still try to catch this old house on Sunday mornings ..I listen to the talk radio home improvement shows on the way to work every weekend ..those can be very funny. The callers asking simple questions ,and the host has no answer ! Funny stuff!!! :laughing:


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## MJconstruction (Jun 17, 2013)

i still watch the show its on WLIW on sundays and also on you tube. Norm still shows up pretty frequently on the new episodes. This is the link to their youtube channel. And I think tom silva is the best guy. he knows his stuff and i think you could actually work with him and not want to go crazy. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUtWNBWbFL9We-cdXkiAuJA


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## Anti-wingnut (Mar 12, 2009)

All the women from "Hometime" sext me continually.


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## Anti-wingnut (Mar 12, 2009)

How about them "Property Brothers"?

'nough said


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Norm is retired from NYW, nothing about hand pain. He still makes furniture and renovates his own home as well as works a bit on TOH.

As said Bob Vila is out hocking his tool line.

Steve now works for Habitat for Humanity and does renovations from time to time for magazines and tv specials.


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

TNTSERVICES said:


> Norm is retired from NYW, nothing about hand pain. He still makes furniture and renovates his own home as well as works a bit on TOH.
> 
> As said Bob Vila is out hocking his tool line.
> 
> Steve now works for Habitat for Humanity and does renovations from time to time for magazines and tv specials.


So When do you start up your show? :jester:


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

tccoggs said:


> There actually has been more than 1 lawsuit surrounding the show. I believe on one of Steve's seasons where they were working on Nantucket there were massive cost overruns and the family who was involved ended up having to give up on moving there and had to rent and later sell the house.


I remember that one. I remember Bob talking to the HO and saying something to the effect of "Our original budget was 150,000 dollars, but we are about 150,000 dollars over budget right now." The house was a shambles and I remember thinking, "This can't be good". :laughing:


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## Marven (Jul 15, 2013)

They are still filming the show. I tape/watch every episode. They just finished 3 houses in New Jersey storm area.

Norm is still on the show but my favorite is Tom Silva. They are both real craftsman. I went to Tommy's website (the silva brothers are still contracting) and ordered a T shirt. Tom always comes up with a new trick.


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

blacktop said:


> So When do you start up your show? :jester:


I like what I do, ask Matt, he would be the one to get a show. :thumbsup:

I would show up on his show every now and then as comedic relief, Matt's a little too serious...


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## Sharkman (Dec 27, 2013)

I recently re-watched the first few seasons of "Home Again" with Bob Vila. (All available on Hulu) Bob Vila was/is a joke. He was a face for the camera and knew very little about swinging a hammer. A few times he was very arrogant to subs he was interviewing, and made a fool of his ability while attempting certain tasks. I'm sure by the 10th season he picked up a few things and nowadays isn't completely clueless. With that said, I think he auditioned for for whatever show he could get and ran with the home improvement gig.

The real spine of the show was his lead carpenter, Bob Riley. He went by Riley on the show to avoid confusion. This guy was a legitimate carpenter/contractor. In the first season, I picked up on some tension between Riley and Vila. Anyone else who has watched notice that?

As for Norm, he is the man. Impressive how he got the gig. He was contracted to build the barn,in which "New Yankee Workshop" was filmed, for the producer of This Old House. The producer was so impressed with his work ability and ethic, leaving very small waste on the project, that he signed him for his own show. He's a true American carpenter,no question. 

Silva, and the rest of the guys on the current seasons of TOH seem pretty legitimate. I could deal with less of the "town history" and architect interviews and more of the real hands on construction. 

A network, other than DIY, would surely have my interest on a 10-15 episode season show, with nothing but the true construction. I wanna see the foundation, to the stick build, to the actual power service installed, full plumbing and electrical, roofing, etc. I know it, work it, love it, and do it everyday but still would enjoy seeming how other guys do it, and the latest materials that are being used.

I also always wondered, "if someone owned the extent of all the tools in the New Yankee Workshop, why would they need an instructional?" But I guess it's for the young guys who don't, and have a passion for that type of work. Still good exposure for our passion, and is a hell of a lot better than the DIY crap shows out there.

My 2 pennies.


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## Anti-wingnut (Mar 12, 2009)

The women of Hometime have a dungeon of weird stuff they want my help to use.


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## Anti-wingnut (Mar 12, 2009)

TNTSERVICES said:


> And yes, I am not afraid to admit I like Mike Holmes!


I'm afraid old Mike just ain't into you.

He really likes the "Property Brothers"


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