Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. His acting roles included Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House (1987–1995), its Netflix sequel Fuller House (2016–2020), and the voice of narrator Ted Mosby on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014). From 1989 to 1997, he was the original host of America's Funniest Home Videos.
Saget 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
Saget was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 17, 1956, to a Jewish family. His father, Benjamin (1917–2007), was a supermarket executive, and his mother, Rosalyn "Dolly" (1925–2014), was a hospital administrator. Saget lived in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles before moving back to Philadelphia and graduating from Abington Senior High School in 1975. Saget originally intended to become a doctor, but his Honors English teacher, Elaine Zimmerman, saw his creative potential and urged him to seek a career in films.
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, and was honored with an award of merit in the Student Academy Awards. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1978. Saget intended to take graduate courses at the University of Southern California but quit after only a few days. Saget described himself at that time in an article by Glenn Esterly in the 1990 Saturday Evening Post: "I was a cocky, overweight twenty-two-year-old. Then I had a gangrenous appendix taken out, almost died, and I got over being cocky or overweight." Saget talked about his burst appendix on Anytime with Bob Kushell and said that it happened on the Fourth of July, at the UCLA Medical Center, and that they iced the area for seven hours before taking it out and finding that it had become gangrenous.
Career
1987–2001
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.
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 1998, Saget made a cameo appearance as a cocaine addict in the stoner comedy Half Baked.
2001–2022
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 2014.
He was host of NBC's 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 of himself. He would later appear in the 2015 feature film based on the series.
2005 also saw him be part of "Rollin' with Saget", a song by Jamie Kennedy and Stuart Stone, about a night out with him that shows off his raunchier behaviors. Saget even does vocals on the track. 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.
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 one abbreviated season.
In 2010, Saget starred in an 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 ten episodes of Full House's sequel series, Fuller House, including its series premiere and finale.
In 2019, he was announced as host of ABC's Videos After Dark. Saget also hosted the game show Nashville Squares on CMT, and was a panelist on To Tell the Truth in an episode with Norman Lear, Rita Moreno, and Joel McHale.
In 2020, Saget launched a podcast titled Bob Saget's Here for You with Studio71. He also competed in season four of The Masked Singer as "Squiggly Monster".
Personal life
Saget married Sherri Kramer in 1982. They had three daughters, Aubrey (born 1987), Lara Melanie (born 1989) and Jennifer Belle (born 1992). The couple divorced in 1997.
In 2018, Saget married Kelly Rizzo, host of Eat Travel Rock TV.
Saget was a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation. His scleroderma efforts benefited such celebrities as Scary Movie star Regina Hall. In an interview with Ability Magazine, Saget discussed how his sister was diagnosed with scleroderma at 43 and died at 47. She had previously been misdiagnosed numerous times.
Death
On January 9, 2022, Saget was staying at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, located south of Orlando, Florida near Willliamsburg. He was in the midst of a stand-up tour and had performed in Ponte Verda Beach the previous evening. Saget was found unresponsive in his room by hotel staff at around 4 p.m. EST. He had missed his scheduled check-out time, and family members had grown concerned after being unable to contact him. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene; he was 65. No cause of death was immediately announced, but foul play and drug use were ruled out by police and the medical examiner. News of Saget's death broke during a broadcast of America's Funniest Home Videos in the Eastern and Central Time Zones, and ABC interrupted the program to announce it.
Several of Saget's Full House costars released statements of tribute after his death. John Stamos said that he was "broken" and "gutted". Candace Cameron Bure called him "one of the best human beings". Dave Coulier said his heart is broken and referred to Saget as his "forever brother". Andrea Barber said, "he had the biggest heart of anyone in Hollywood". Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen released a joint statement saying "Bob was the most loving, compassionate and generous man", and said they were deeply saddened by his death. Jodie Sweetin said, "There aren't enough words to express what I'm feeling today. Nor are they big enough to capture even a slice of who he was." Lori Loughlin said, "Words cannot begin to express how devastated I am. Bob was more than my friend, he was my family. I will miss his kind heart and quick wit. Thank you for a lifetime of wonderful memories and laughter. I love you Bobby."
Filmography
Film
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 Cocaine addict 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
2018 Benjamin Ed Also director and executive producer
TBA Killing Daniel Post-production; posthumous released
Television
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 192 episodes
1989–1997 America's Funniest Home Videos Himself/Host 191 episodes, guest-hosted 1 episode in 2009
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
1999 Sorority Dean Tinker Movie; uncredited
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
2002 The Jamie Kennedy Experiment Himself Episode #1.6
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"
2007 That Ain't Right Himself Special
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"
2013 That's What I'm Talking About Himself
Special; also writer and producer
Nominated – Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album
2014 Super Fun Night Mr. Porter Warner Episode: "Cookie Prom"
2014 Legit Himself Episode: "Licked"
2015–2016 Grandfathered Ronnie 2 episodes
2016 Robot Chicken Mike O'Malley, Galactus, Cable Guy (voices) Episode: "The Unnamed One"
2016–2020 Fuller House Danny Tanner Recurring role; 10 episodes
2017 Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy 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"
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!"
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