To his role as the voice of space-age action figure Buzz Lightyear, Tim Allen brings a lifetime of fascination with gadgets, tools, and all things mechanical. Allen, of course, played Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor on television's immensely popular sitcom "Home Improvement." His book, "Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man," has topped the best-seller lists with its send-up of macho male posturing and the pursuit of power tools.

As Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger, he explores the wonders of "crystallic fusion" as he attempts to repair his spaceship in time to "protect the galaxy from the threat of invasion by the evil emperor, Zurg, sworn enemy of the galactic alliance." Allen's mock-serious style gives the character just the right touch of spaced-out righteousness. It comes as a harsh awakening to Buzz to learn that he's only a toy.

Born in Denver and transplanted at the age of 13 to the Detroit suburb of Birmingham, Allen was one of seven brothers raised by his mother. In school Allen's favorite class, naturally, was shop, and his first true love was cars. He once traded a whole summer's work at a local speed shop for a custom-built dune buggy -- and spent the entire winter motoring around the icy streets of the Motor City in the tricked-out vehicle. Not very practical ... but funny. That's Tim Allen.

Allen graduated from Western Michigan University in 1975 with a degree in TV production and went to work as a creative director for a small advertising firm in Detroit. In 1979, on a dare from a friend, he performed his first stand-up routine at Detroit's Comedy Castle.

Fifteen years on the stand-up circuit eventually led to national attention with a series of HBO specials, which in turn led to the "Home Improvement" series. Allen won a Cable ACE award in 1990 for Best Performance in a Comedy Special at the "Just for Laughs International Comedy Festival" in Montreal. He has won two Golden Globes and a mantleful of People's Choice Awards, and has twice been nominated for Emmys® as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

In 1994 Allen starred in "The Santa Clause," the year's biggest comedy hit. Other starring roles include "Jungle2Jungle" and "Galaxy Quest."

"It's Buzz. Buzz Lightyear. To infinity and beyond. That's what I say."
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