Earl Hindman - wikipedia Earl Hindman This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2011 ) Earl Hindman Earl John Hindman ( 1942 - 10 - 03 ) October 3, 1942 Bisbee, Arizona, U.S. December 29, 2003 ( 2003 - 12 - 29 ) ( aged 61 ) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. Cause of death Lung cancer Occupation Film and television actor Years active 1967 -- 2003 Spouse ( s ) Molly McGreevey ( m. 1976 ) Earl John Hindman ( October 3, 1942 -- December 29, 2003 ) was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as the kindly unseen neighbor Wilson W. Wilson Jr. on the television sitcom Home Improvement ( 1991 -- 99 ). Long before this role, however, he played villains in two 1974 thrillers, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and The Parallax View. He also appeared in the films Who Killed Mary What 's ' Er Name ? ( 1971 ), Greased Lightning ( 1977 ), The Brink 's Job ( 1978 ) and Taps ( 1981 ), and played the part of J.T. in the Lawrence Kasdan film Silverado ( 1985 ). Hindman 's most famous and enduring pre-Home Improvement role was as Bob Reid in Ryan 's Hope. He played the role in 459 episodes during the years 1975 -- 89. Ex-police officer Bob Reid was everybody 's best friend who never got the girl and was the long - suffering brother of the soap 's serial bride Delia Reid Ryan Ryan Coleridge. Hindman 's wife ( Molly McGreevey ) was also on the soap 1977 -- 81 as Polly Longworth, best friend to media tycoon Rae Woodard. His voice was heard on the Disneyland Railroad from 2002 until 2016 and on the Walt Disney World Railroad from 2002 until late 2010. Contents 1 Personal life and death 2 Filmography 3 References 4 External links Personal life and death Hindman was born in Bisbee, Arizona, the son of Eula and Burl Latney Hindman, who worked in the oil pipeline business. He studied acting at the University of Arizona. On May 21, 1976, Hindman married Molly McGreevey, with whom he later acted on Ryan 's Hope. McGreevey later became an Episcopal priest. A longtime smoker, Hindman was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003. He died of the disease on December 29 of that year, aged 61, in Stamford, Connecticut, where he was buried in Roxbury Cemetery. Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1967 Teenage Mother 1968 The Kiss of Her Flesh Don 1969 The Ultimate Degenerate Bruno 1971 Who Killed Mary What 's ' Er Name ? Whitey The Parallax View Deputy Red Shoot It Black, Shoot It Blue Garrity The Taking of Pelham One Two Three George Steever aka Mr. Brown 1977 Greased Lightning Beau Welles 1978 The Brink 's Job FBI agent # 3 1981 Taps Lieutenant Hanson 1985 Silverado J.T. Three Men and a Baby Satch Talk Radio Chet / Black John / Jerry Voice 1991 The Ballad of the Sad Café Henry Macy 1991 Fires Within Sergeant 1991 - 1999 Home Improvement Wilson the neighbor 203 episodes Final Official References Jump up ^ http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/tim-allen-says-hes-very-interested-in-a-home-improvement-reboot-exclusive/ar-BBJUHVe?li=BBnb7Kz Jump up ^ New York Times obituary. Jump up ^ Notice of Earl Hindman 's death. External links Biography portal Earl Hindman on IMDb Earl Hindman at Find a Grave BNE : XX4617319 ISNI : 0000 0001 1585 6723 LCCN : no2006005035 VIAF : 2212259 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earl_Hindman&oldid=856419523 '' Categories : 1942 births 2003 deaths People from Bisbee, Arizona American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Deaths from cancer in Connecticut Deaths from lung cancer Male actors from Arizona Male actors from Stamford, Connecticut Burials in Connecticut Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from August 2011 All articles needing additional references Articles with hCards Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia تۆرکجه Deutsch فارسی Français Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 25 August 2018, at 02 : 05 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was the actor who played wilson on home improvement
Answer: Earl John Hindman