By India McCarty
For Tim Allen, comedy is a lifesaver. The actor recently reflected on how his sense of humor aided him after he was arrested in 1978.
“I was put in county jail right away,” he shared on an episode of the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast.
Allen was arrested at the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport in Michigan for possession of over a pound of cocaine.
“[I made] horribly stupid jokes because I was in there going, ‘I’m going to kill myself, I can’t deal with this,’ because I’m in [with] 11 people in a cell,” he explained. “[The] comedy part of me goes, ‘Okay, how are we going to do this?’ My comedy part is always funny at the weirdest times.”
Allen said he even thought about committing suicide by hanging but then thought, “People are going to spin you around like a pinata when they come back.”
“And I burst out laughing,” he concluded. The HOME IMPROVEMENT star would go on to spend two years in prison.
Related: Why Tim Allen Says He Should Have Joined the Military
“I don’t say this lightly, and anybody who has been incarcerated [knows] it’s surprising what the human being will get used to,” the actor said on an episode of comedian Marc Maron’s podcast. “Eventually after eight months, I got used to it. There were okay times. Saturday we got better food. Eventually, I went from a holding cell arrangement to my own cell.”
Following his time in prison, Allen moved to Los Angeles and began pursuing a career in comedy. He made a name for himself as a stand-up comedian before scoring the starring role on hit sitcom HOME IMPROVEMENT, which led to bigger and better roles in movies like the TOY STORY franchise and THE SANTA CLAUSE series.
Allen also got sober in 1998, following an arrest for DUI.
“It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a day-to-day thing,” he said of his sobriety journey on THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW. “But giving back what somebody gives you…I see this happen right here, this is a miracle.”
Speaking to Closer Weekly, Allen said he has “nothing but gratitude” for his sobriety.
“Somebody said if you’re going to do things that you have to say you’re sorry for tomorrow, don’t do it. So I don’t do things like that. It’s been a struggle because not being able to hide behind drugs and alcohol was difficult for me. Now I deal with stuff,” he explained. “It’s moment by moment.”
Through good times and bad, Allen has relied on his sense of humor to get him through even the toughest situations.
Read Next: Tim Allen Reveals How Sobriety Changed His Relationship With His Daughters
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