Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and television host. He portrayedDanny Tanner on the sitcomFull House (1987–1995) and its sequelFuller House (2016–2020). Saget was the original host ofAmerica's Funniest Home Videos (1989–1997), and the voice of narratorTed Mosby on the sitcomHow I Met Your Mother (2005–2014). He was also known for his squeaky-clean family-sitcom image and at the same time profane comedian persona,[1] with his 2014 albumThat's What I'm Talkin' About being nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Comedy Album.[2]
Early life
Robert Lane Saget was born into a Jewish family inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 17, 1956,[3] the son of hospital administrator Rosalyn[4] and supermarket chain executive Benjamin Saget.[5] Early in his life, his family moved toNorfolk, Virginia, where he briefly attendedLake Taylor High School. He later said that his sense of humor developed while he was a rebellious student at theConservative synagogue Temple Israel in Norfolk.[6][7] Due to a lack of family in Norfolk, he returned to Philadelphia for hisbar mitzvah.[8] The family later moved from Norfolk to theEncino neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, where Saget metLarry Fine ofThe Three Stooges and listened to him tell stories.[9] The family then moved back to the Philadelphia area prior to his senior year,[8][10][11] and he graduated fromAbington Senior High School.[12][13][14] Saget originally intended to become a doctor, but hisHonors English teacher saw his creative potential and urged him to pursue an acting career.[1][15]
Saget attendedTemple University's film school, where he createdThrough Adam's Eyes, ablack-and-white film about a boy who received reconstructive facial surgery; he received an award of merit in theStudent Academy Awards. While attending university, he took the train to New York City and performed at comedy clubs such asThe Improv andCatch a Rising Star; his act included a section where he played theBeatles song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", using a water bottle to make his guitar appear to actually weep.[9][11] He graduated from Temple with aBA in 1978.[16] He intended to take graduate courses at theUniversity of Southern California, but quit after only a few days. He later described himself at that time as a "cocky, overweight 22-year-old" who "had agangrenousappendix taken out, almost died, [and] got over being cocky or overweight".[17] He further discussed hisburst appendix onAnytime with Bob Kushell, revealing that it happened on theFourth of July at theUCLA Medical Center, and that surgeons put ice on the area for seven hours before taking his appendix out and finding that it had become gangrenous.[18]
Following a short stint as a member ofCBS'The Morning Program in early 1987, Saget was cast asDanny Tanner inFull House, which became a success with family viewers, and landed in theNielsen ratings' Top 30 beginning with season three. In 1989, Saget began as the host ofAmerica's Funniest Home Videos, a role he held until 1997. During the early 1990s, Saget worked on bothFull House andAFV simultaneously. In 2009, he returned toAFV for the 20th-anniversary one-hour special co-hosted withTom Bergeron.[19]
Saget performing in 2007
Saget directed the 1996ABC television filmFor Hope, which was inspired by the life story of his sister, Gay Saget, who had died fromscleroderma three years earlier.[1] In 1998, he directed his first feature film,Dirty Work, starringNorm Macdonald andArtie Lange. Released one year after he left his role as host ofAmerica's Funniest Home Videos, the film received broadly negative reviews from critics and earned low box office returns.[20][21] However, it has since become acult favorite, due partially to Artie Lange's later popularity onThe Howard Stern Show where the film is sometimes mentioned, often in unflattering terms.[22] In 1998, Saget made acameo appearance as acocaine addict in the stoner comedyHalf Baked.[8]
In 2001, Saget took on another widowed-dad role, starring onRaising Dad onThe WB. It co-starredKat Dennings,Brie Larson, andJerry Adler and lasted only one season, from October 5, 2001, to May 10, 2002.[23] He served as the voice of the futureTed Mosby, who narrated theCBS sitcomHow I Met Your Mother, which ran for nine seasons from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014.[24] He was host of theNBC game show1 vs. 100 from 2006 to 2008.[25] HisHBO comedy special,That Ain't Right, came out on DVD on August 28, 2007. It is dedicated to his father, Ben Saget, who died at age 89 on January 30, 2007, due to complications fromcongestive heart failure.[26] From 2005 to 2010, Saget had a recurring role in four episodes of theHBO TV seriesEntourage playing a parody version of himself.[27] He later appeared in the2015 feature film based on the series.[28] 2005 also saw him partake in "Rollin' with Saget", a song byJamie Kennedy andStuart Stone, about a night out with him that shows off his raunchier behaviors. The video appeared on theMTV seriesBlowin' Up, and he came to use it as a pseudo-theme song on his stand-up tours and website.[29]
Saget wrote, directed, and starred inFarce of the Penguins, a parody of 2005'sMarch of the Penguins, which was releaseddirect-to-DVD, in January 2007.[30] Saget appeared in theBroadway musicalThe Drowsy Chaperone for a limited four-month engagement. He played "Man in Chair" whileJonathan Crombie, who normally played the character on Broadway, was with the national tour of the musical. On January 4, 2008, Saget'scaricature was unveiled atSardi's Restaurant.[citation needed] In April 2009, he debuted in a new sitcom along with his co-starCynthia Stevenson onABC calledSurviving Suburbia.[31] The series, which was originally slated to air onThe CW, ended after a single abbreviated season.[32] In 2010, Saget starred in theA&E seriesStrange Days, in which he followed others in different activities and lifestyles, documenting their adventures in unusual ways.[citation needed]
In 2014, his bookDirty Daddy was released, in which he writes about his career, comedy influences, and experiences with life and death. He embarked on a small tour in support of the book, including thePemberton Music Festival, where he introducedSnoop Dogg prior to performing his own set. In the same year, he toured Australia for the first time with a stand-up show calledBob Saget Live: The Dirty Daddy Tour. The show was performed in the major cities ofMelbourne,Sydney,Brisbane, andPerth.[33]
In 2015 and 2016, he guest-starred in two episodes ofGrandfathered, starring and produced by hisFull House co-starJohn Stamos.[34] From 2016 to 2020, Saget reprised his role as Danny Tanner for fifteen episodes ofFull House's sequel series,Fuller House, including the series premiere and finale.[35]
In 2017, he released another stand-up special,Bob Saget: Zero to Sixty.[36]
In 2020, Saget competed inseason four ofThe Masked Singer as "Squiggly Monster".[41] Saget also launched apodcast titledBob Saget's Here for You withStudio71.[42] Its 130th and final episode, with comedianDane Cook, was released posthumously on January 31, 2022.[43]
He also made an appearance onNikki Glaser'sE! seriesWelcome Home Nikki Glaser? in an episode that aired on June 5, 2022.[44]
Personal life
Saget married Sherri Kramer in 1982, and they had three daughters Aubrey (b. 1987), Lara Melanie (b. 1989), and Jennifer Belle (b. 1992) before divorcing in 1997.[45][46] He was later married to television presenter Kelly Rizzo from 2018 until his death in 2022.[47][48][49]
Saget was a board member of theScleroderma Research Foundation. His efforts benefited celebrities such as actressRegina Hall.[50] In an interview withAbility, he discussed how his sister was diagnosed withscleroderma at 43 and died at 47. She had previously been misdiagnosed numerous times.[51]
Death
At about 4 p.m.ET on January 9, 2022, Saget was found dead in his room at aRitz-Carlton hotel nearWilliamsburg inOrange County, Florida.[52] At the time of his death, Saget was on a stand-up tour and had performed inPonte Vedra Beach the previous evening.[53] Anautopsy report released on February 9 found that Saget hadblunt head trauma from an accidental blow to the back of his head, most likely from a fall, and had subsequently died from the resulting injuries (subdural hematoma andsubarachnoid hemorrhage) in his sleep. He was infected withCOVID-19 at the time,[54] though there were no signs that it played a role in his death.[55][56][57] His funeral took place on January 14, and he was buried atMount Sinai Memorial Park near the graves of his parents and sister.[58][59] On February 15, Saget's family sued to prevent county officials from releasing additional documents from the investigation of his death, arguing that their graphic content would present privacy violations. On March 14, a permanentinjunction was issued against releasing the documents.[60]
Tributes
News of Saget's death broke during a broadcast ofAmerica's Funniest Home Videos, of which he was the original host, and ABC interrupted the program to announce it.[61] A tribute video was posted on the show's official YouTube channel, and a dedication to Saget was added before the credits of the following episode. Clips of Saget's hosting of the show were run from January 16 to the end of 2021–22 season onAmerica's Funniest Home Videos as tribute as well.
Saget had been honored with donations and offers to help the charityScleroderma Research Foundation (SRF), whose board of directors Saget served on since 2003.[62] According to a statement made by the foundation's executive director on January 13, 2022, the foundation received donations from more than 1,500 donors from all over the world, totaling more than $90,000. Additionally, a donation of $1.5 million was awarded to the charity by one of its board members in the form of a grant, which will match every donation made in memory of Saget.[63]
A tribute special was filmed atThe Comedy Store by Saget's longtime friendMike Binder on January 30; titledDirty Daddy: The Bob Saget Tribute and featuring footage from a private memorial held atJeff Franklin's home, it was released on Netflix on June 10, 2022.[64]
Filmography
Comedy specials
Year
Title
Notes
1990
Bob Saget: In the Dream State Comedy Special[citation needed]
