Replies

1. 
   rez | Sep 15, 2003 07:36am | #1

   Ya, Frisco did it to Montana. Dedication doesn't mean much anymore.

   And the gold watches are digital imports from china.

    

    

2. 
   MisterT | Sep 15, 2003 12:57pm | #2

   14 years of stupid HO type questions and sucking up to over paid designers, consultants and architects?

   I bet his lips need a rest!

   Mr T

   Do not try this at home!

   I am an Experienced Professional!

3. 
   andybuildz | Sep 15, 2003 02:08pm | #3

   And Booby Vila took the money route advertising Sears and his own show....

   You sure Norm didnt accidently <<wink wink>> knock Steve off the roof?

   Be My old house

                         andy

    The way we regard death is critical to the way we experiance life.

   When your fear of death changes, the way you live your life changes.

   http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

4. 
   Forrest | Sep 15, 2003 03:52pm | #4

   I found a NYTimes article about it. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/garden/11THIS.html?amp;ei=5062&en=e8cf7cd80448b2cc&partner=GOOGLE&ex=1063857600&pagewanted=print&position=

   Looks like Steve wanted out.

   Early this year Mr. Thomas, 50, abruptly stepped down, saying he wanted time to pursue interests like skiing and sailing. A ship captain and amateur carpenter, Mr. Thomas was only the second host in the show's long history. He took the job in 1989 after Bob Vila, a Boston builder and the show's original host, left in an acrimonious dispute with the series over a policy forbidding employees to endorse products. (Mr. Vila went on to create his own syndicated show, "At Home With Bob Vila.")

   "When Steve told us he was leaving, it was quite frightening," said Bruce Irving, a senior producer. "First of all, Steve was really good and secondly, how do you fill a job like that? I mean, we didn't want to be inundated with every guy with a plaid shirt and a pickup."

1. 
   tenpenny | Sep 15, 2003 04:18pm | #5

   every guy with a plaid shirt and a pickup

   Of course, Red Green has a van, and his own show anyway....

1. 
   4Lorn2 | Sep 19, 2003 12:21pm | #21

   What a great idea. Red Green. I like Red. Why didn't I think of this?The high end advertisers would bail out but I think the show would be much more entertaining, and any screw up could be learned from. You always learn more from errors than successes. With Mr. Green on board I'm pretty sure the show will provide a lot of "learning" opportunities.

   I propose that all good people come together and swamp Time/Warner, I thought it was PBS but maybe that is just the folks who got the good show going, with letters and e-mails demanding that Red Green be made the new host.

2. 
   fredsmart48 | Sep 15, 2003 04:51pm | #6

   I was just thinking that two shows a year @ 13 episode per show.  That is 26 weeks.  You will have a hard time telling me Ask this Old House took more then a few weeks to shoot for his part.   He sure must like boating and skiing.  Unless he was working along side tommy's crew as a carpenter when he was not on camera. 

1. 
   Ledebuhr1 | Sep 15, 2003 11:10pm | #7

   Maybe the crew got tired of his dumb questions like"which end of the hammer do you hold, Norm"?   

1. 
   bobl | Sep 15, 2003 11:13pm | #8

   Bob Villa left this old house????

   I see him on there all the time?bobl          Volo Non Voleo

1. 
   eborg2 | Sep 17, 2003 03:55am | #9

   At least they could let us know who his barber was so we could stay the hell away from a haircut like that. ;-)

   Eric

2. 
   ccal | Sep 17, 2003 04:45am | #10

   Just out of curiosity does anyone have any insight into what somebody like that makes in a year? I know Villa probably makes millions on his endorsements but what about Thomas, never saw him really advertise.

3. 
   GoldenWreckedAngle | Sep 17, 2003 05:40am | #11

   does anyone have any insight into what somebody like that makes in a year?

   By my nearest calculation they make "a fool of themselves" with this crowd approximately once a week. :-)>Kevin Halliburton

   "I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity."  - I.M. Pei -

2. 
   deadmanmike | Sep 17, 2003 07:01pm | #12

   You'd think Steve would know how to handle a tool being one himself. :^(

   Mike

1. 
   benraymond | Sep 17, 2003 07:07pm | #13

   Couldn't agree more.

   I had a chance to watch Bob Vila in action as well - he was doing a house across the street from my parent's old house. Man, he didn't win any awards. Crew would hand him a board, he'd pretend to nail it in place, f it up, and over again, 20 times per shot. Some crew member would be the one pulling the nail.

2. 
   ScottB | Sep 18, 2003 03:18pm | #16

   My dad told me a story he heard, don't know if it's true.

   Sometime back Vila sold a house.  The new owner was thrilled to be purchasing a house that was owned and worked on by such an expert.  After he moved in he discovered a whole host of problems steming from Vilas shoddy workmanhip.  He actually ended up suing Vila.

3. 
   bobl | Sep 18, 2003 04:06pm | #17

   Malibo, calif

   house had a lot of protoype stuff in it, that didn't work well

   don;t kno the whole storybobl          Volo Non Voleo

4. 
   deadmanmike | Sep 18, 2003 05:49pm | #18

   Yeah... I think I remember...wasn't that the "Smart House" that electronically linked everything together through control panels and computers? Appliances, lights, etc?

   If I recall few things worked or worked when they shouldn't.

   Mike

5. 
   bobl | Sep 18, 2003 05:52pm | #19

   think that's the onebobl          Volo Non Voleo

6. 
   stonebm | Sep 18, 2003 08:03pm | #20

   I thought Steve was alright.  At least he knew enough that he didn' t know it all.  Bob was always so cocky that he'd interupt the various tradespeople like he knew their jobs better than themselves.  Nobody could tell Bob anything... what an a$$hole. 

3. 
   andybuildz | Sep 18, 2003 12:17am | #14

   Hey.....I think I could deal with that job, although.....I can't even get an article published here at FHB or even in BT for that matter : )

   Be edgy (oh well)

                 : )~ The way we regard death is critical to the way we experiance life.

   When your fear of death changes, the way you live your life changes.

   http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

1. 
   Mongo | Sep 18, 2003 05:55am | #15

   You simply have too much knowledge to be the host of the show.

   TOH met O'Connor(sp?) when he wrote in to AskTOH to get info on how to strip wallpaper from the plaster walls in his house.

   TOH showed up, showed him how, they got along with him well enough to offer him the job when Thomas bailed.

   O'Connor has zero experience in home construction/remodeling. I think he was a loan officer or something like that for Fleet Bank.

   Still, Andrew-me-boy, TOH could have used your Zen influence to curb their insatiable appetite for exceeding construction budgets...

   Less can sometimes really be more...

5. 
   NussSherie | Nov 22, 2016 07:49am | #22

   Steve Thomas Rooney is the heart and soul of this show

   I still don't inderstand why they decided to replace Steve Thomas Rooney, since he was doing  a great job hosting the show for over 14 years. Whatever the reason may be, we can only hope that the show won't lose its value.  Steve Thomas Rooney still serves as the spokesperson for Habitat for Humanity International, and through his projects he has helped hundreds of familes, making their wishes come true. For the past 30 years he has been serving the community, and it seems likehe is not planing of slowing down anytime soon.

1. 
   florida | Nov 30, 2016 08:46am | #23

   Have you been in a time capsule? Steve Thomas has been gone for 11 years and TOH is doping just fine apparently. They din't fire him, he left because he wanted to.