Who are Tim Allen’s parents? All we know as actor says he forgives dad’s killer following Erika Kirk compassionate speech

Actor Tim Allen forgave the driver who killed his father after hearing Erika Kirk's speech. For those unversed, Gerald M. Dick, a real estate agent, passed away in a 1964 car accident when his car collided with a drunk driver's vehicle in Colorado. Allen, who was 11 at the time, was not present in the car during the accident.

Although Allen "struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man" who killed his dad after hearing Erika Kirk's memorial speech for her deceased husband, Charlie Kirk, he decided to forgive his father's killer.

For context, American political activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead on September 10 while speaking at an event held at Utah Valley University in Orem. During her late husband's memorial on Sunday, Erika forgave Tyler Robinson, who is accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk. Her speech seemingly moved Allen, prompting him to forgive his father's killer.

"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," wrote Tim Allen in an X post dated September 26.

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…

— Tim Allen (@ofctimallen) September 25, 2025

Tim Allen, the oldest of five brothers, was born on June 13, 2025, to Gerald M. Dick and Martha Katherine, a community-service worker. According to Allen's IMDb page, during the accident, his father was driving Martha and their children home from a football game.

Two years later, Martha remarried her high school sweetheart, a business executive, and moved with her children to Birmingham, Michigan.

Speaking about his father in an interview with Parade Magazine in 2002, Allen said:

"I loved my father more than anything. He was a tall, strong, funny, really engaging guy. I so enjoyed his company, his smell, sensibility, discipline, sense of humor—all the fun stuff we did together. I couldn't wait for him to come home."

He continued:

"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."

"It hurt like hell": Tim Allen reflects on his father's passing

During the aforementioned interview with Parade Magazine, Tim Allen remembered being "unsettled from mid-afternoon on" the day his father passed away.

"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. Why would God take my father away? Then came guilt and anger."

He added that he kept on finding someone to help him deal with these feelings, as he "needed taking care of, but nobody was going to do it," as no one in his family was speaking much about his father's passing. He also felt there was nobody in his school or the neighborhood dealing with the same issues.

"From then on, I cut myself adrift. It was like I was going down the same river as everyone else, only now I was no longer in the same vessel. I was alone. When no one dealt with it at all, the 'butchy-boy' inside me, the survivor-boy, says: 'You don’t want this to happen again, so don’t love too deeply anymore.' That’s the simple lesson I learned," he added.

Describing his father's tragic passing in the Inside the Actor Studio talk show, Allen said:

"(He) broke his neck and died in my mom's lap right there."

In other news, Charlie Kirk's suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, has been arrested and charged with the murder of the Turning Point USA founder.