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Bob Saget
Bob Saget, Behind The Velvet Rope TV .05.jpg
Saget in 2015
Birth name Robert Lane Saget
Born (1956-05-17)May 17, 1956
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died January 9, 2022(2022-01-09) (aged 65)
Orange County, Florida, U.S.
Resting place Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
Genres
Spouse
  • Sherri Kramer
    (m. 1982; div. 1997)
  • Kelly Rizzo
    (m. 2018⁠–⁠2022)
Children 3

Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget portrayed Danny Tanner on the sitcom Full House (1987–1995) and its sequel Fuller House (2016–2020). He was the original host of America's Funniest Home Videos (1989–1997), and the voice of narrator Ted Mosby on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014). He was also known for his adult-oriented stand-up comedy, and his 2014 album That's What I'm Talkin' About was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.

Early life

Robert Lane Saget was born into a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 17, 1956, the son of hospital administrator Rosalyn and supermarket chain executive Benjamin Saget. Early in his life, his family moved to Norfolk, Virginia, where he briefly attended Lake Taylor High School. He would later say that his sense of humor developed while he was a rebellious student at the Conservative synagogue Temple Israel in Norfolk. Due to a lack of family in Norfolk, he returned to Philadelphia for his bar mitzvah. The family later moved from Norfolk to the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, where Saget met Larry Fine of The Three Stooges and listened to him tell stories. The family then moved back to Philadelphia prior to his senior year, and he graduated from Abington Senior High School. Saget originally intended to become a doctor, but his Honors English teacher saw his creative potential and urged him to pursue an acting career.

Saget attended Temple University's film school, where he created Through Adam's Eyes, a black-and-white film about a boy who received reconstructive facial surgery; he received an award of merit in the Student Academy Awards. While attending university, he would take the train to New York City and perform at comedy clubs such as The Improv and Catch a Rising Star; his act included a section where he would play the Beatles song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", using a water bottle to make his guitar appear to actually weep. He graduated from Temple with a BA in 1978. He intended to take graduate courses at the University 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 a gangrenous appendix taken out, almost died, [and] got over being cocky or overweight". He further discussed his burst appendix on Anytime with Bob Kushell, revealing that it happened on the Fourth of July at the UCLA 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.

Career

Bob Saget, Rolland Smith, Mariette Hartley, Mark McEwen
Saget with Rolland Smith, Mariette Hartley, and Mark McEwen in 1987

Following a short stint as a member of CBS' The Morning Program in early 1987, Saget was cast as Danny Tanner in Full House, which became a success with family viewers, and landed in the Nielsen ratings' Top 30 beginning with season three. In 1989, Saget began as the host of America's Funniest Home Videos, a role he held until 1997. During the early 1990s, Saget worked on both Full House and AFV simultaneously. In 2009, he returned to AFV for the 20th-anniversary one-hour special co-hosted with Tom Bergeron.

Bob Saget
Saget performing in 2007

Saget directed the 1996 ABC television movie For Hope, which was inspired by the life story of his sister, Gay Saget, who had died from scleroderma three years earlier. In 1998, he directed his first feature film, Dirty Work, starring Norm Macdonald and Artie Lange. Released one year after he left his long-running role as host of America's Funniest Home Videos, the film received broadly negative reviews from critics and earned low box office returns However, it has since become a cult favorite, due partially to Artie Lange's later popularity on The Howard Stern Show where the film is sometimes mentioned, often in unflattering terms.

In 2001, Saget took on another widowed-dad role, starring on Raising Dad on The WB. It co-starred Kat Dennings, Brie Larson, and Jerry Adler and lasted only one season, from October 5, 2001, to May 10, 2002. He served as the voice of the future Ted Mosby, who narrated the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which ran for nine seasons from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014. He was host of the NBC game show 1 vs. 100 from 2006 to 2008. His HBO 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 from congestive heart failure. From 2005 to 2010, Saget had a recurring role in four episodes of the HBO TV series Entourage playing a parody version of himself. He would later appear in the 2015 feature film based on the series. 2005 also saw him partake in "Rollin' with Saget", a song by Jamie Kennedy and Stuart Stone, about a night out with him that shows off his raunchier behaviors. The video appeared on the MTV series Blowin' Up, and he would come to use it as a pseudo-theme song on his stand-up tours and website.

Bob Saget Traveling Virus Worcester 2006
Saget during the 2006 Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour

Saget wrote, directed, and starred in Farce of the Penguins, a parody of 2005's March of the Penguins, which was released direct-to-DVD, in January 2007. Saget appeared in the Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone for a limited four-month engagement. He played "Man in Chair" while Jonathan Crombie, who normally played the character on Broadway, was with the national tour of the musical. On January 4, 2008, Saget's caricature was unveiled at Sardi's Restaurant. In April 2009, he debuted in a new sitcom along with his co-star Cynthia Stevenson on ABC called Surviving Suburbia. The series, which was originally slated to air on The CW, ended after a single abbreviated season. In 2010, Saget starred in the A&E series Strange Days, in which he followed others in different activities and lifestyles, documenting their adventures in unusual ways.

In 2014, his book Dirty 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 the Pemberton Music Festival, where he introduced Snoop Dogg prior to performing his own set. In the same year, he toured Australia for the first time with a stand-up show called Bob Saget Live: The Dirty Daddy Tour. The show was performed in the major cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth. In 2015 and 2016, he guest-starred in two episodes of Grandfathered, starring and produced by his Full House co-star John Stamos. From 2016 to 2020, Saget reprised his role as Danny Tanner for fifteen episodes of Full House's sequel series, Fuller House, including the series premiere and finale. In 2017, he released another stand-up special, Bob Saget: Zero to Sixty. In 2019, he was announced as host of ABC's Videos After Dark. Saget also hosted the game show Nashville Squares on CMT, and made his first of three appearances as a panelist on To Tell the Truth. In 2020, Saget competed in season four of The Masked Singer as "Squiggly Monster". Saget also launched a podcast titled Bob Saget's Here for You with Studio71. Its 130th and final episode, with comedian Dane Cook, was released posthumously on January 31, 2022. He would also make an appearance on Nikki Glaser's E! series Welcome Home Nikki Glaser in an episode that aired in June 2022.

Personal life

Saget married Sherri Kramer in 1982, and they had three daughters before divorcing in 1997. He was later married to television presenter Kelly Rizzo from 2018 until his death in 2022.

Saget was a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation. His efforts benefited celebrities such as actress Regina Hall. In an interview with Ability, he discussed how his sister was diagnosed with scleroderma at 43 and died at 47. She had previously been misdiagnosed numerous times.

Death

Saget died on January 9, 2022; he was 65 years old. At the time of his death, Saget was on a stand-up tour and had performed in Ponte Vedra Beach the previous evening. His funeral took place on January 14, and he was buried at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery near the graves of his parents and sister.

An autopsy report released on February 9 found that Saget had blunt 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 and subarachnoid hemorrhage) in his sleep.

Tributes

News of Saget's death broke during a broadcast of America's Funniest Home Videos, of which he was the original host, and the network interrupted the program to announce it. 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 on America's Funniest Home Videos as tribute as well.

Saget had been honored with donations and offers to help the charity Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF), whose board of directors Saget served on since 2003. 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.

A tribute special was filmed at The Comedy Store by Saget's longtime friend Mike Binder on January 30; titled Dirty Daddy: The Bob Saget Tribute and featuring footage from a private memorial held at Jeff Franklin's home, it was released on Netflix on June 10, 2022.

Filmography

Comedy specials

Year Title Notes
2007 That Ain't Right Writer
2013 That's What I'm Talkin' About
  • Writer and producer
  • Nominated – Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album
2017 Zero to Sixty Writer

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1977 Through Adam's Eyes Documentary short, writer/director
Student Academy Award – Documentary Merit
(Temple University)
1979 Spaced Out Wurlitzer Uncredited voice role in US version
1980 Devices Therapy Patient
1981 Full Moon High Sportscaster
1987 Critical Condition Dr. Joffe
1993 For Goodness Sake Surgeon
1997 Meet Wally Sparks Reporter #4
1998 Half Baked Uncredited
1998 Dirty Work Director
2003 Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd Walter Matthews
2004 New York Minute Himself Cameo (no lines)
2005 The Aristocrats Himself Documentary
2005 Madagascar Zoo Animal (voice)
2007 Farce of the Penguins Carl (voice) Direct-to-video; also writer, director, and producer
2015 I Am Chris Farley Himself Documentary
2016 A Stand Up Guy Mel
2017 Gilbert Himself Documentary
2018 Benjamin Ed Also director and executive producer
2022 Daniel's Gotta Die Lawrence Posthumous release

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1981 Bosom Buddies Bob the Comic Episode: "The Show Must Go On"
1983 The Greatest American Hero Rook Episode: "Wizards and Warlocks"
1985 New Love, American Style Various 4 episodes
1986 It's a Living Dr. Bartlett Episode: "The Doctor Danny Show"
1987–1995 Full House Danny Tanner Main role; 192 episodes
1989–1997 America's Funniest Home Videos Himself/Host 191 episodes, guest-hosted 2 episode in 2009 and in 2019; cameo in 2015
1989 The All-New Mickey Mouse Club Danny Tanner Episode: "Guest Day"
1992 Quantum Leap Macklyn "Mack" MacKay Episode: "Stand Up – April 30, 1959"
1992 To Grandmother's House We Go Win-O-Lotto Lottery Host Movie; uncredited
1994 Father and Scout Spencer Paley Movie; also executive producer
1995 Saturday Night Live Himself (host) Episode: "Bob Saget/TLC"
1996 For Hope Movie; director and executive producer
2000 Becoming Dick Bob Movie (uncredited); also director
2000 The Norm Show Mr. Atkitson Episode: "Norm vs. Schoolin'"; also director
2001–2002 Raising Dad Matt Stewart 22 episodes
2004 Joey Himself Episode: "Joey and the Road Trip"
2004 Huff Butch Episode: "Flashpants"
2005 Listen Up Mitch Episode: "Coach Potato"
2005–2010 Entourage Himself 4 Episodes
2005–2014 How I Met Your Mother Ted Mosby (in 2030) 208 episodes; Voice-over narration
2006–2008 1 vs. 100 Himself/Host Game show (28 episodes)
2006 Casper's Scare School Dash (voice) Movie; voice role
2006 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Glenn Cheales Episode: "Choreographed"
2008 The Life & Times of Tim Party Marty Episode: "Mugger/Cin City"; voice role
2008 The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget Himself Special
2009 Surviving Suburbia Steve Patterson 13 episodes
2010 Strange Days with Bob Saget Himself/Host 6 episodes
2011 Law & Order: LA Adam Brennan Episode: "Van Nuys"
2011 Louie Himself Episode: "Oh Louie/Tickets"
2014 Super Fun Night Mr. Porter Warner Episode: "Cookie Prom"
2014 Legit Himself Episode: "Licked"
2015, 2016 Grandfathered Himself/
Ronnie
Episode: "Pilot"/
Episode: "The Sat Pack"
2016 Robot Chicken Mike O'Malley, Galactus, Cable Guy (voices) Episode: "The Unnamed One"
2016–2020 Fuller House Danny Tanner Recurring role; 15 episodes
2017 Michael Bolton's Big, *** Valentine's Day Special Himself Variety special
2017 Nightcap Himself Episode: "Bringing Up Baby"
2018 The Good Cop Richie Knight Episode: "Did the TV Star Do It?"
2018 Shameless Father D'Amico Episode: "Face It, You're Gorgeous"
2018 Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell Himself 1 episode
2019 Videos After Dark Himself/Host 2 episodes
2019 Historical Roasts Abraham Lincoln Episode: "Abraham Lincoln"
2019 Nashville Squares Himself/Host 10 episodes
2019–2021 To Tell the Truth Himself 3 episodes
2020 The Masked Singer Squiggly Monster Eliminated after second appearance
2021 Nickelodeon's Unfiltered Himself Episode: "Dreaming of an Awful Waffle!"
2022 Phat Tuesdays: The Era Of Hip Hop Comedy Himself Documentary series; posthumous release
2022 Welcome Home Nikki Glaser? Himself Episode TBD; posthumous release

Book

Saget, Bob. Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian. 2014: It Books. ISBN: 978-0-062-27478-6.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Bob Saget para niños

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