Tim Allen of ‘Shifting Gears’ Reveals Skin Cancer Diagnosis
Tim Allen shared with Bill Maher that he was diagnosed with skin cancer after it was overlooked “five times” by a dermatologist.
During a conversation on the January 5 episode of the “Club Random” podcast, Allen, 72, mentioned insights from a makeup artist from The Today Show.
“The makeup artist on The Today Show pointed it out to me,” recalled Allen. “This was over two years ago when I appeared on Jimmy Fallon and then The Today Show. She said, ‘I see you haven’t addressed this yet.’”
At the time, Allen expressed his trust in his “well-known Beverly Hills dermatologist.”
“Eventually, I asked, ‘Hey, doctor, could you check this spot on my nose?’” Allen recounted, noting that the doctor put on his glasses “for the first time in 30 years” during the consultation. “He examined my nose, exclaiming, ‘Oh s***. S***, Janice, bring Paul in here and my lawyer.’”
According to Allen, the doctor admitted to making a mistake and diagnosed him with either melanoma or carcinoma, necessitating its removal.
“He said, ‘I’m going to have to remove most of your nose,’ as if it were a casual statement,” Allen recounted. “I responded, ‘Let me clarify what I do for a living. Unless I plan on doing a Blazing Saddles interpretation with a character who has a silver nose, you need to preserve some of my nose for my comedy!’”
He added, “In the end, everything turned out fine. The surgeon did an excellent job.”
Beginning his career as a comedian in the ’70s, Allen gained fame as Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on ABC’s Home Improvement, earning a Golden Globe Award, and later as Mike Baxter on Last Man Standing. In films, he famously voiced Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story series and portrayed Santa Claus in The Santa Clause films.
Allen returned to sitcoms last year with ABC’s Shifting Gears, a project he has hinted might be his last.
“I don’t want to be a [Tom] Brady about it. I retired from Home Improvement under considerable pressure because they offered me a substantial deal to return for a ninth and tenth season,” he expressed to Us Weekly in 2022 about Last Man Standing concluding. “[Wayne] Gretzky was retiring, the hockey player… A few quarterbacks retired that year. I watched sports, and many left at the top of their games. It was a remarkable moment.”
Tim Allen‘s sitcom Shifting Gears on ABC has brought together familiar guest stars, including his old colleagues from Home Improvement and Last Man Standing. The popular series, which debuted in January 2025, revolves around a car restoration workshop owned by Allen’s character, Matt, who reconnects with his estranged daughter, Riley (Kat Dennings), […]
Allen confirmed he wasn’t contemplating change.
“I love what I do. I’m unsure what I’d pursue if I weren’t doing this,” he told Us. “It’s like I have many friends who enjoy fishing. I’m not much of a fisherman myself; I can’t just sit still. Golf, on the other hand, has been more demanding than any job I’ve held. It’s incredibly stressful. [Jay] Leno and I both share this sentiment. I genuinely love what I do. To me, it’s not work.”
Allen mentioned that taking a break isn’t on his mind but later retracted that statement. “This could very well be the end for me,” he indicated to USA Today in February 2025. “That may sound disheartening, but I took on [Shifting Gears] because it seemed like a fun idea, and that’s truly the motivation.”
He acknowledged that slowing down would be challenging, adding, “I simply enjoy being around the crew, camera operators, and fellow actors so much that the thought of leaving the set for, God forbid, a round of golf, makes me uncomfortable.”
