Bob Vila Says He Was Only Paid $200 for “This Old House ”Episodes, Calls It 'Volunteer Work' (Exclusive)

Bob Vila’s sanction quickly became synonymous pinch location betterment and DIY each passim nan ‘80s via This Old House, but riches didn’t precisely travel him successful those early days. 

“I looked astatine nan 10 years that I hosted This Old House almost arsenic unpaid work. They didn't salary you. Well, they paid you a small bit,” nan erstwhile Peace Corps unpaid tells PEOPLE of nan long-running PBS show. “At nan beginning, it was $200 an episode. I deliberation I managed to get them up to astir $1,000 an episode, maybe.” 

PBS did not return PEOPLE's petition for comment.

This Old House, which premiered successful 1979, was an instant hit, peculiarly by nan 2nd season, successful which Vila, 79, restored nan Dr. Henry Jacob Bigelow House, besides known arsenic The Newton House. To this day, that's nan location repair specialist’s favourite project.

By then, Vila, contempt his meager paycheck, was a bona fide star. 

“I deliberation nan first point is that I realized was that I nary longer had anonymity, and nan full conception of fame is not thing nan mean personification ever thinks about, and I was surely nan mean personification until I wasn’t,” he says. “And that had its pluses and minuses, but successful position of, ohio wow, we've sewage thing here. It happened correct away.”

Not agelong after, Vila was appearing connected news programs, late-night shows, connected ABC’s Home Improvement opposite Tim Allen, and he moreover had a impermanent domiciled successful nan Rambo parody, Hot Shots! Part Deux. 

“That was a ‘What nan hellhole americium I doing here?’ moment,” he says of nan movie set. He adds, “I retrieve nan first clip I was an reply connected The New York Times crossword puzzle. That was cool. That 1 you save.”

For Vila, nan TV profession was “accidental,” aft his activity involving brownstone conversions was featured successful nan Boston Globe’s Design conception successful nan precocious '70s. At nan time, Vila was trying to carve retired a successful profession successful architectural preservation. After nan article was featured, though, TV producers knocked connected his doorway (literally) and explained their imagination for an acquisition programme astir restoring aged houses. 

“For nan adjacent decade, that benignant of upended our lives,” nan begetter of 3 says. “I retrieve having a toddler who was convinced location were 2 of me. One of them lived successful [the TV] successful nan den, and nan different 1 picked him up astatine school.”

Since his foray into TV, which included 1990-2007’s Home Again pinch Bob Vila, nan location restoration tv genre has exploded successful popularity. Vila, nan Godfather of location restoration, sees a quality betwixt what he did and nan HGTV norm. 

“Somebody coined nan word infotainment, and so, okay, I suppose it's infotainment,” he says of nan modern-day shows. “Ultimately, it's each a bully point successful that it inspires group to get distant from nan ‘throwaway’ nine and beryllium portion of nan ‘let's preserve’ society. I deliberation immoderate of nan programming that came on was a small spot irresponsible successful position of tempting group to do much than they perchance could do, because immoderate of these shows successful nan abstraction of a very short play of clip created these benignant of marquee projects that successful nan existent world were not going to work. I don't watch immoderate of that anymore.”

Whereas Vila was approached to look successful sitcoms and movies, location renewal shows aren’t clamoring for him to make a TV return. 

“No, nary of these shows reached retired to maine successful position of having maine participate, aliases possibly immoderate did, but I conscionable didn't travel up connected it,” he says. “Mostly from nan caller media perspective, I've sewage each nan eyeballs I want online. I'm not that willing successful TV anymore.”

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Sitting astatine his picturesque summertime location successful Massachusetts, Vila has nary regrets astir his profession and nan bequest of his name. 

“I'm gladsome we inspired a batch of group successful nan area of location betterment and preservation, and aft all, preservation is nan 1 point that I'm nan astir proud of successful position of,” he says. “I dream my obit mentions nan truth that I helped popularize nan thought of preserving our past successful redeeming places.”

He besides beams pinch realization that his profession and tv beingness person altered people's lives for nan better. 

“The astir gratifying portion of my profession is having been capable to touch group and animate them successful their ain profession paths. There were countless times erstwhile personification that met maine aliases stopped me, whether it was successful an airdrome aliases whether it was astatine a meal party, I would find retired that they had chosen this profession way because I had inspired them to do that,” he says. “Sometimes it's been an designer aliases an interior designer, but sometimes it's conscionable been a contractor. I deliberation successful position of nan eventual impact, erstwhile you study astir this nonstop power you had connected different quality being who is perchance your son's age, that is really nan astir rewarding point you tin imagine.”