Vila started hosting PBS’ This Old House series in 1979 after winning the “Heritage House of 1978” award from Better Homes and Gardens. House instructed home viewers on how to perform a variety of home renovations. Vila left the series in 1989, reportedly because of his involvement in outside endorsements of building equipment. Soonafter, Vila became a spokesman for Sears and began hosting Bob Vila’s Home Again in syndication. That series was renamed as simply Bob Vila in 2005.
Bob Vila has been declining in the ratings for many years, due in part to having to compete with earlier incarnations of Vila’s shows. There has been a huge growth in home-improvement shows and cable channels like HGTV and the DIY Network in the past several years. Vila hosted the weekly series Restore America from 1999 until 2004 on HGTV. DIY currently airs repeats of both This Old House and Bob Vila’s Home Again.
It’s doubtful that this cancellation will put a damper on Vila’s career. He has authored 11 books which includes a five book series entitled Bob Vila’s Guide to Historic Homes of America. He is also a regular fixture on the Home Shopping Network where he sells his own line of tools. Stay tuned!
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