Who was Tim Allen’s father and what happened to him? Actor says Erika Kirk’s speech inspired him to forgive his dad’s killer

Actor and comedian Tim Allen took to the social networking site X on September 24 and wrote that Erika Kirk’s memorial speech for her late husband and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk inspired him to forgive his own father’s killer.

Tim Allen’s father, Gerald M. Dick, died in a car crash in November 1964 in Colorado after a drunk driver collided with his vehicle. Dick, who was a real estate agent, died at the scene. Tim Allen was 11 years old at the time.

“When Erika Kirk spoke the words on the man who killed her husband: ‘That man… that young man… I forgive him.’ That moment deeply affected me. I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my dad,” the comedian wrote on his Wednesday post.

He continued, “I will say those words now as I type: ‘I forgive the man who killed my father.’ Peace be with you all.”

Tim Allen

@ofctimallen

When Erika Kirk spoke the words on the man who killed her husband: “That man… that young man… I forgive him.” That moment deeply affected me. I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad. I will say those words now as I type: “ I forgive the man who killed my father.” Peace be with you all.

Likewise, Erika Kirk spoke at the public memorial service of Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, on September 21. She said she forgave her husband’s shooter “because it was what Christ did,” and what “Charlie would do.”

Charlie Kirk’s widow also mentioned that “the answer to hate is not hate” but rather “love,” citing it was in the Gospel.

Exploring further about Tim Allen’s late father and his journey through grief

Tim Allen, whose real name is Timothy Alan Dick, was born on June 13, 1953, in Denver, Colorado. He is the third of six children of Martha Katherine Fox, a community service worker, and her realtor husband, Gerald M. Dick.

Allen has two older brothers, two younger brothers, and a younger sister. In November 1964, Gerald M. dick was driving his wife and kids home from a football game in Colorado.

However, a drunk driver swerved into the median on the I-70 highway and crashed into the Dick family car. During a 2006 appearance on the talk show Inside the Actors Studio, Allen shared:

"(He) broke his neck and died in my mom's lap right there. As many times as I'd relive this — if you haven't had a death in your family, I don't suggest it — but it certainly changes every single thing. From your cells and DNA, it turns a different color."

Tim Allen mentioned that the tragedy changed “every single thing” in his life, and he had to undergo therapy. The 72-year-old actor added that ever since then, he had hated the fall season and the month of November and developed a guilt for not being in the car when his father died.

According to nickiswift.com, Tim Allen shared a close bond with his dad up until his demise. They used to attend football games and car races together. On his website, he even called his father “one incredible Dick,” who was responsible for the way he was, adding he was “just born lucky.”

Speaking to Parade Magazine in 2002, the Home Improvement star described his relationship with his late father.

"When you're 6 or 7, your father becomes this wonderful presence in your life. I really responded to my father. And then, the very moment I realized that I loved him unconditionally, that life was going to be great just because he was in it, he was gone," he stated.

The comedian continued, "That day, I was unsettled from mid-afternoon on, before I even knew my father's life was leaving him as the sun was going down. The State Police called. All of a sudden... Bam! It hit me hard. I didn't see it coming, didn't understand it, and it hurt like hell."

The Golden Globe winner mentioned how he had nobody to take care of him or help him deal with his bereavement. According to Tim Allen, his family did not speak much about the tragedy, nor was there anybody in school or his neighborhood.

The actor also told Parade Magazine that losing his dad made him feel like an “outsider” and “different from everybody else,” who never felt connected. At the same time, he also developed guilt and anger and went on a “self-destructive” path.

Later, Allen told AARP in 2012 that the incident “changed everything forever” and made him develop trust issues about whether “things are going to work out all right.” While he acknowledged that his father was dead, he mentioned never having peace about “why he was dead.”

“I wanted answers that minute from God. 'Do you think this is funny? Do you think this is necessary?' And I've had a tumultuous relationship with my creator ever since,” Tim shared.

During his appearance on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Tim Allen recalled how his dad’s death pushed him to play “games with people,” especially adults, and then steal their alcohol and other stuff.

In 2011, the Last Man Standing star told Esquire in an interview that he had many “irrational fears” dating back to his father’s death, and he never got over them.

"As children, your world is yours. That day taught me that it's really not your world. Somebody else is in control — fate, God, whatever it is. It is not your show. And the show can be brutal. Brutal in its coldness. Brutal in its love and affection. Sh*t can hit you straight between the eyes, and you never saw it coming," Tim Allen explained.

Later, he told the Los Angeles Daily News that he remained an “angry adult adolescent” until he was arrested at 25 for trying to smuggle cocaine through the Michigan airport. Tim Allen spent two years in the Minnesota Club Federal Prison for drug trafficking and was later paroled.

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Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot in the neck while speaking during a stop of The American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10. The event was organized by his conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA.

The suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, 22, is now in custody, as the probe is ongoing. Charlie Kirk is survived by Erika Kirk and their two children.

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