He Didn’t Hide It
It would be fun to claim that Bob Saget had a secret double life. And it’s partly true—he did have a double life, but he made no secret about it. Some days you’d get the nice dad character who was full of hugs and appeared on Full House and America’s Funniest Videos. On other days there’d be Saget the stand-up comedian, with a shocking, curse-filled set that could make your toes curl.
But the biggest secret Saget had was his shocking—and still unsolved—last night alive.
1. There Was No Show Biz
Robert Lane Saget was born on May 17, 1956, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There was nothing “show business-y” about the Saget household. His mother worked in hospital administration and his father was an executive in the supermarket business. Saget found his humorous side in a very unlikely place.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
2. He Learned To Be Funny
Saget later said that he found humor when his family moved to Virginia. Here they attended a conservative synagogue, and Saget’s resistance to the traditional status quo took the form of humor. Then, when the family moved to California, he met The Three Stooges member Larry Fine. Fine told him hilarious stories, and Saget’s affinity for all things funny grew.
But despite his developing love of comedy, he had a much more serious career planned for himself.
3. He Took Home A Trophy
Saget initially turned his back on his humor and decided to pursue a career in medicine. But when one of his teachers saw that he had the potential to be funny, he encouraged him to look into acting. Saget listened to his teacher and enrolled in film school, where he went on to win a Student Academy Award for his very first short film.
But even with that early success, he just couldn't shake his love for making people laugh.
4. He Made Them Laugh
Coincidentally, the film school was just a train ride away from New York City. So with his comedy dreams still lingering in his thoughts, he took advantage of the opportunity. Whenever he could, he went to the Big Apple to perform in comedy clubs. In one of his more memorable gags, he played the Beatles song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” while managing to use a bottle of water to make his guitar actually "cry".
But before long, a freak medical issue stopped him in his tracks.
5. He Was in Trouble
Saget had already enrolled in graduate courses at the University of Southern California when he became horribly ill. He went to the UCLA Medical Center on July 4, and doctors realized that not only had his appendix erupted, but it was also gangrenous. Luckily for him, they managed to get it out just in time, essentially saving his life. The harrowing experience changed his life forever.
Coolcaesar, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
6. He Had A Life-Changing Experience
Before his close brush with the end of his life, Saget described himself as both overweight and overconfident. But after that close call, his attitude changed completely. He made serious changes, putting in the work to restore his health. And soon, a slimmer and more confident Saget was ready to take his career more seriously—and just in time too.
A major network was waiting in the wings.
7. They Wanted Him
Saget started his career with CBS as part of their morning show, but after a short time, another network approached him with a much more starry offer. ABC was making a family-focused show called Full House, and they wanted Saget. But because of his commitment to The Morning Program, he couldn’t do it. ABC went ahead with the pilot for Full House with actor John Posey.
In the end, they weren't happy with the pilot or with Posey.
Jim.henderson, Wikimedia Commons
8. He Was One Of Two
The creator of Full House still wanted Saget, but he also had someone else in mind—Paul Reiser. After all was said and done, Reiser ended up choosing to work on My Two Dads, which had a similar storyline to Full House. And luckily for Saget, he managed to wrangle his way out of his other commitment and jump on board the new show.
Interestingly enough, he turned out to be a total natural—in more ways than one...
Comedy Dynamics, Mad About You (1992-2019)
9. He Had The Same Job
In an amusing turn of events, Saget didn't end up changing course completely. In his new role on Full House, his character raised his many daughters with the help of his oldest friend and brother-in-law. And his day job? Working as a co-host on a morning show called Wake Up, San Francisco. That surely sounds like a perfect fit, but there was one thing about Saget that didn’t work quite so well on his new set.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
10. He Had A Foul Mouth
Even with his new starring role, Saget still hadn’t given up on his stand-up comedy career. But it soon started causing problems on the Full House set. Between takes of the family-oriented show, he often told adults-only kind of jokes right in front of the child actors. And while that's notably inappropriate, considering some of those children weren't even older than three years old, even more disturbing problems brewed on set.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
11. They Didn’t Get Along
Despite the fair success of the first season, Saget didn't feel too happy about his working conditions. He felt that he and his two male co-stars—John Stamos and Dave Coulier—weren’t getting along as well as they should. The solution to this was for the three guys to hit the road to Las Vegas. Things didn’t go quite as planned.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
12. He Couldn’t Play
Saget, Stamos, and Coulier headed out on their male bonding trip, but soon encountered an unexpected flaw in the plan. Back in 1982, Saget married Sherri Kramer. As a happily married man, he couldn’t do all the “Vegas type” activities that the two single guys came up with. So while Stamos and Coulier hit the town, Saget stayed behind in the hotel room.
Though Saget ended up missing out on lots of the actual bonding time, the three guys did find one thing in common. They all had the same complaint about Full House.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
13. He Was Jealous
Twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen played Michelle Tanner, the youngest child on Full House. Saget and his co-stars got jealous because the twins were getting too many scenes. The three guys ganged up on the little girls, marching up to the producers to complain.
But Saget needn’t have worried, he was about to get very very busy.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
14. He Was The Second Choice Again
Though he didn't get as much shine as he wanted on his hit sitcom, an unexpected opportunity soon came knocking. Back at ABC headquarters, executive producer Vin Di Bona cooked up a new idea. He had seen a Japanese TV show where they played funny video clips sent in by viewers, and decided to make a US version of the show. At first, he wanted Three's Company star John Ritter for the host. But when that fell through, he landed on Saget as his second choice.
Strangely enough, Di Bona didn't know the first thing about his backup option...
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
15. He Didn’t Know Him
When Di Bona approached Saget to host America’s Funniest Videos (AFV), he only knew about Saget from his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Somehow, he had no idea about Saget’s leading role on Full House, despite the fact that by then the show proved a major success. As such, Di Bona faced more resistance than he likely expected. In other words, he had some major convincing to do.
David Livingston, Getty Images
16. He Was A Dork
Di Bona worked to convince Saget by claiming he needed to change his reputation from the “dorky dad” on Full House. Perhaps Saget nursed his own private doubts about his geeky mage, as he eventually saw the light. He signed on to host America’s Funniest Home Videos, debuting in 1989. But with a hit sit-com and a new hosting gig, he soon found himself burning the candle at both ends.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
17. He Got Busy
Between the two shows, Saget began appearing on a very regular basis in living rooms across America—but he still wanted to do more. For AFV, he insisted on writing some of his own material to introduce the video clips. At one point, he was so busy that he had to write for AFV while still in his dressing room on Full House. Unfortunately, life back at home didn't turn out to be too smooth either...
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
18. He Knew Misery
Back in 1985, Saget lost one of his sisters, Andrea, to a brain aneurysm. But heartache like this was something familiar to the Saget family. You see, Saget should have grown up twin brothers, but they both passed at birth. That's a heavy burden for any family to carry. But sadly, his heartache didn't end there. In 1991, his sister, Gay, got a chilling diagnosis.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
19. He Lost A Sister
Saget’s sister, Gay, had scleroderma—an incurable autoimmune disease. Helping Gay during this debilitating disease was a full-time job. Later, he wondered how his parents coped with caring for her on top of all the other tragedy they'd already endured. Sadly, two years after her diagnosis, Gay succumbed to her illness.
A troubled Saget had to do something with his pain.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
20. He Wanted To Let People Know
Saget had to find a healthy way to deal with the loss of his sister. As such, he became a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation. He felt grateful for the chance to to raise awareness about this horrible disease, but it wasn’t enough. Saget was still dealing with his emotions, and he knew he had to do more.
In the end, he turned to an old love to get him through it...
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
21. He Made It Dramatic
About two years after his sister's passing, Saget wrote and directed a film about the illness that had takenher life. The result is the ABC television movie called For Hope. The film aired in November of 1996 and did very well with audiences. In fact, it hit the top of the ratings for its time slot. Not only did Saget find a way to memorialize his sister, but he also revisited a skill he learned and loved back in film school. Perhaps he'd been waiting for that type of validation about his work behind the camera, considering the direction he went in next.
22. He Needed Convincing
In 1998, funny man Norm MacDonald had written a comedy called Dirty Work and needed a director. When the producer, Bob Simonds, told Macdonald that he had lined up Saget to direct, Macdonald was not at all impressed. He knew Saget from Full House and didn’t want the guy who played a dorky father on TV to direct his raunchy comedy. That is, MacDonald didn't want him until he learned about one serious throwback from Saget's past.
23. The Past Came Back
To get MacDonald on board to hire Saget as a director, the producer ended up doing something fairly unusual. He told the comedian about Saget’s old film school debut—Through Adam’s Eyes. From the outside looking in, it's hard to see why this might convince MacDonald. For one, the short film was several years old by that time. Furthermore, the documentary about a boy’s illness stood in stark contrast to the proposed comedy.
And yet, somehow, it worked! Saget got the job, but he got off to a dubious start.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
24. He Wasted Money
As director, Saget hired insult comedian Don Rickles to join the cast of Dirty Work. Saget seemed to be somewhat in awe of Rickles, so much so that he showed his respect in a costly way. He spent a hefty chunk of the budget just filming Rickles mouthing off for the camera for one entire shooting day. That landed him in some hot water with the heads of production, but he didn't stop there. When he finally got around to filming the actual story, there was another problem.
25. It Was R-Rated
The script that Macdonald had written was definitely for adults only, and, of course, Saget didn’t hold back on amping up the raunchier aspects. Furthermore, another well known comedian who also appeared in the film, Chevy Chase, loved the inappropriate nature of the story so much that he pressed to make sure that MGM didn’t ask for cuts. But when the film received an R rating from the MPAA, MGM had a tough decision on its hands, leaving the possibility of Saget's success as a director hanging in the balance.
26. They Got It Back In
Like most major studios, MGM really just wanted to make sure Dirty Work made money, so it began to cut the raunchiest scenes from the film. When they’d finished, the MPAA downgraded the film to PG-13. In a sly move, Saget and the guys managed to slip some of their favorite parts back in and maintain the less restrictive rating.
The film was ready for theaters, and Saget stood by awaiting the audience response to his first major studio project as director. Unfortunately, it didn't go like he hoped it would.
27. He Blamed Basketball
Sadly, Dirty Work did not do well in its opening weekend. Saget soon came up with a reason that, not surprisingly, had nothing to do with him or the movie itself. Reportedly, he blamed the disappointing opening weekend on the fact that their target audience was teenage boys, and that same weekend basketball’s Michael Jordan was playing his final game.
And speaking of finals, two major things were about to come to an end for Saget.
28. He Had A Wandering Eye
By the late 1990s, Saget was a Hollywood staple, and should have been riding high on his success. But two dramatic life events were about to change everything. Behind the scenes of his success, Saget's marriage to Sherri Kramer crumbled. And although the details are a bit hazy, it seems their issues definitely included Saget's tendency to give other women way more attention than any married man should. In the end, he blamed himself for the end of their over a decade long of marriage in 1997. He couldn't blame himself for the other major end in his life, but that didn't make it any less devastating.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
29. The Gravy Train Stopped
After seven seasons on ABC, Full House finally started to slow down. Many of the key cast reported they wouldn't return after an eighth season, and plans to have a ninth season on a smaller network fell through. With that, Saget's regular role on the popular sitcom came to an end with the eighth season in 1995. As such, Saget found himself single in more ways than one, and looking for something new. He spent one season on what you could call a bit of a Full House knockoff, Raising Dad. But what he really needed was another hit show. And, luckily, one did come his way—though not in the way you might expect.
30. His Face Was Hidden
Saget's next regular TV role came along in the mid 2000s, with CBS's hugely successful sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. If you've seen the show, you probably realize you've never seen Saget's face on it, but he played an integral role. He provided the voice of the future Ted Mosby, the show's main character. Interestingly enough, though, Saget also had another, much weirder connection to the hit sitcom.
CBS, How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)
31. He Wasn’t Wearing Much
One of the more popular characters on How I Met Your Mother is the womanizing Barney, hilariously played by Neil Patrick Harris. Back when Harris was a young actor and teenager, he got an invite to a party at the Saget household. When he arrived at the party he got the shock of his life. He discovered the TV star standing in the middle of a huge room, surrounded by barely clothed women, wearing only a pair of woman's underwear on his head.
Harris never forgot what Saget said next...
CBS, How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)
32. He Asked Him To Join
When the unclothed Saget saw 18-year-old Harris staring at him in awe, he just had one thing to say: “Suit up”. Saget then motioned to one of the women, who pulled off her underwear and threw it to Harris. Harris immediately put the tiny underwear on his face and partied on. It was an eye-opening experience for the young boy (probably among many other things). But the story doesn't stop there.
vagueonthehow, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
33. He Stole His Words
Harris eventually left the wild party, but the encounter with Saget stayed with him. Years later, Harris used his memories of Saget to inspire his character on How I Met Your Mother. He even used Saget’s line “Suit up” as Barney’s catchphrase. Of course, it took several years for him to admit he got the line from another star. But there was something Saget had to admit to as well.
CBS, How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)
34. He Hid It
Saget's run on Full House gave many fans the impression that he himself lived a life more like that of his character, Danny Tanner. But there's actually tons of evidence that the opposite was true. Saget liked to hide inappropriate jokes in his comments on America's Funniest Videos. One time, when a guy on a video fell on a pie, Saget made a joke about the guy getting a facial.
But how did he actually get away with it?
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
35. He Had A Clean Reputation
Because of Saget’s squeaky clean reputation from AFV and Full House—both very family friendly shows—most people didn’t expect racy humor from him. So, when he made these adult-only jokes on air, most people just didn’t get them. Or maybe they thought they had just heard him wrong.
What about his family, you may ask? Well, they found things out the hard way.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
36. They Called Him Sick
One thing that was difficult for Saget was dealing with his adult comedy and his daughters. Of course, when they were young, he ensured his girls didn’t see any of his dirty stand-up comedy. But, unsurprisingly, other kids at school did find out and informed the girls how "sick" their father was.
But As it turned out, Saget came by his sick and twisted humor pretty honestly.
Warner Bros., Full House (1987-1995)
37. He Blamed His Dad
Saget often spoke about his father in his standup routine, crediting his patriarch for his version of humor. He called his father “sick” and “creepy” and even wrote about his dear old dad in his book called Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian. Among many other things, he often joked that his dad “touched a lot of people, and they’re all pressing charges now”. So by his own admission, he'd always liked his laughs dirty, even while managing to somewhat keep it separate from his TV dad persona.
Before too long, though, Saget couldn't help but show the world exactly who he really was.
Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images
38. He Played Himself
In the mid to late 2000s, Saget played an unusual role in the HBO series Entourage. In the comedy parody, he actually played a version of himself. In it, he paraded as a foul-mouthed, woman-hating, TV star. Since he uses his own name, it might be easy for many watchers to assume the show finally gives a glimpse into his most authentic personality. But after the show aired, Saget made sure to set everyone straight—mostly.
39. He's Undefined
Saget was very clear about one thing. The character he played on Entourage was not him. Not exactly, anyway. He ultimately did confess that the real Bob Saget was somewhere between the Entourage character and his character on Full House. Just where the line is, is anyone’s guess.
All things considered, one person who might have known the real Saget was the woman he finally settled down with.
40. He Found True Love
In 2015, Saget was flipping through social media when he came across a page he couldn't ignore. He discovered a beautiful food blogger, Kelly Rizzo. He liked what he saw, but he decided to ask a friend of a friend about her before he went any further. When he got the go ahead, he decided to message her himself. And before long, Saget set up a date with Rizzo, and they reportedly fell hopelessly in love. In 2018, the two tied the knot on the beach.
The two looked very much in love, but fate had other plans for this newly wedded couple.
Michael Tullberg, Getty Images
41. He Was Very Happy
In January 2022, Saget traveled throughout the United States on his "“I Don’t Do Negative” tour. By all reports, Saget was in a good place. Fans reported him very happy to stop to take photos, and even jovial with the hotel staff and guests during his stays. But when he returned to his hotel room after a Florida show on January 8, everything changed.
42. They Found Him
Saget turned in for the night at the Ritz Carlton Orlando after his January 8 show. The following afternoon, they found the comedian in his room with no signs of life. Authorities rushed to the scene and confirmed that Saget had passed. Of course, everyone was desperate to know what had killed Bob Saget...
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43. There Was Nothing
Authorities painstakingly searched Saget’s hotel room. In the end, they left with more questions than answers. They found nothing conclusive—including any sign of drug use. They concluded that he probably fell and hit his head. But they had no idea what he'd hit his head on, considering the floors were mostly carpeted, and the headboard of the bed wasn’t hard. They kept looking, and what they found proved heartbreaking.
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44. There Was No Trace
Next, the authorities turned to the bathroom. The floor was marble, which is a very hard surface. Although they found no trace of his hair or blood on the floor, it seemed to be the most likely possibility. But there was a problem. When they found Saget, he wasn’t in the bathroom. He was snug in his bed.
If he’d fallen in the bathroom, how did he end up in bed?
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45. He Got Hit
If you find a lifeless body in bed and there’s head trauma, one likely conclusion would be that someone entered his bedroom and struck the victim on the head with a heavy object. But no one could come up with a person who wanted to end Saget’s life. Eventually, another, much more likely theory surfaced.
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46. The Truth Hurt
The most plausible explanation for Saget's untimely end is a lot less dramatic. In that version of events, Saget fell on his head in the bathroom, but remained conscious. He likely knew that he’d injured himself, but suspected that he could sleep it off. He went to bed, but he had no idea that this would be his last night alive. And while that explanation is sad in its own way, one other detail really makes it even harder to stomach.
47. His Last Words Were Heartbreaking
Saget’s wife, Kelly Rizzo later announced what Saget’s last words to her were. She said that he’d told her that he “loved her endlessly”. And that seemed to be what Saget was all about. He often told friends that he loved them. And most people felt that he meant it.
As it turned out, the love flowed both ways.
48. They Loved Him
Yes, Saget had two very different sides, but this didn’t mean there was a shortage of love. Candace Cameron Bure, his co-star on Full House, left a tweet after his passing that stated "Bob was one of the best human beings I've ever known in my life". Costar Stamos said he would “never ever have another friend like him”. It seems that Saget’s family and friends loved him an awful lot.
Enough to keep his secrets.
49. We May Never Know The Cause
The public still isn’t entirely satisfied with the authorities' explanation of what happened on Saget’s last night. To help stop certain things from becoming public, the Saget family took county officials to court. They didn’t want the public to know the details of Saget’s last night alive. A few months later they sealed the truth up tight with an injunction. Because of this, the actions of Saget’s last night will be unclear forever.
If you're a fan of the spooky and unexplainable, you'll want to hear one final mystery connected to his passing...
Everett Collection, Shutterstock
50. There May Have Been A Curse
Remember, back in 1996, Saget had made the TV movie For Hope. Well, Saget wasn’t the only one who worked on this film who's life ended around January 2022. Louie Anderson and Peter Scolari who both had cameos in For Hope passed around the same time. And just a few months earlier, John Ritter, who appeared in the film uncredited, had an unexpected passing as well.
Even so, we may never know the truth about what took's Saget's life. Fortunately for his family and fans, he left lots of laughter to remember him by.
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Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
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