Tim Allen Explains the Origin of His Trademark Irritating Grunt

Tim Allen rocketed to superstardom in the ‘90s, thanks in large part to that grunting noise he kept making all the time. After all, there had been a lot of family sitcoms before Home Improvement, but it was the first to star a guy who routinely sounded like a neanderthal having an orgasm while going over a speed bump. 

Before the hit ABC show, the noise was a big part of Allen’s stand-up act. “Don’t even bother speaking, just grunt like the pigs you are,” he recalled his mother saying to him and his brothers during an extended routine about men grunting.

Where did his trademark grunt actually come from? Apparently, it exists because of ‘70s rock star and a bunch of boozed-up tire salesmen. 

Allen recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he learned that a woman on Hinge recently suggested that she’s compatible with people who can do “an impression of the Tim Allen grunt from Home Improvement.” Fallon then played a number of amateur grunts from would-be suitors, which even Allen seemed to find annoying, thus giving him a taste of how we all feel. “It’s horrible hearing them back to back,” he observed.

The Santa Clause star went on to reveal the origin story of the grunt. “I remember a long time ago, Bob Seger from Detroit saw me in concert,” Allen recalled. “And (he) said, ‘You put butts in the seat, you own it. But you’ve got to get a hook. Something that people remember.’” Unfortunately for Allen, belting out “Night Moves” was already taken.

After getting random comedy advice from the “Like a Rock” guy, inspiration struck Allen after he performed at a corporate gig for Goodyear Tires. “Bunch of drunk guys eating steaks,” Allen explained. “And all I see (is) the back of them, and they’re not doing anything, all I hear is (low grunting sounds).”

He realized that the noise was familiar to him, having grown up in a household with mostly boys. “Men when they’re eating, they don’t speak, they just point and go (grunt),” Allen told Fallon. “So I started doing that, and it became a huge deal.”

“On Home Improvement, somebody had to write it,” he added. “O-U-G-H.”

After getting an impromptu grunting lesson, Fallon remarked, “It’s the greatest thing man, it’s so funny” – a statement that seems about as genuine as his passion for Royal Kingdom.