Tim Allen is one of America’s most beloved comedians. Like most celebrities, he had his share of embarrassing jobs before he made to the big time. He made money by working at a radio station that was run by students and then he became a salesman for a sporting goods store. But none of those made enough money for him so he tried his hand at a new game.

Allen moved on from his sales position to become one of the top drug dealers in Michigan. If you did anything with cocaine in Michigan during the late 70’s chances are pretty good that it came from or through Tim Allen. The end of that career came when he was arrested at the Kalamazoo airport with nearly a pound and a half of cocaine. If you want to talk about a previous job that was embarrassing that has got to be it. It led to a nearly two-year prison stay for Allen and since he couldn’t get a real job after that he turned to comedy.

He had started a comedy career before he was arrested, but he hadn’t yet made a name for himself. When he was forced to straighten out his life, it’s clear that choosing comedy was the right decision for Allen.