Bob Saget, comedian and 'Full House' star, dead at 65

Comedian and actor Bob Saget, known by audiences as the outright patriarch Danny Tanner in the sitcom "Full House," has died, his family confirmed in a statement to CNN.

He was 65 years old.

"We are devastated to confirm that our beloved Bob passed away today," the Saget family said in a statement. “He was everything to us and we want you to know how much he is loved by his fans, performing live and bringing in people from all walks of life with laughter. Although we ask for privacy at this time, we wish you Invite you to join us in remembering the love and laughter Bob brought to the world."

Saget was found dead in a hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando on Grande Lakes on Sunday, according to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

"The man was identified as Robert Saget and pronounced dead on the spot," the sheriff's statement said. Detectives found no indication of any malpractice or drug use in the case. "

The cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner, the sheriff's office said.

Saget was in Florida as part of his comedy tour. They performed at Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida on Saturday night, according to tour dates pinned on their Twitter account.

Loved tonight’s show @PV_ConcertHall in Jacksonville. Appreciative audience. Thanks again to @RealTimWilkins for opening. I had no idea I did a 2 hr set tonight. I’m happily addicted again to this shit. Check https://t.co/nqJyTiiezU for my dates in 2022. pic.twitter.com/pEgFuXxLd3

— bob saget (@bobsaget) January 9, 2022

He tweeted after the show, "Loved @PV_ConcertHall tonight's show in Jacksonville. Appreciate the audience. Thanks again to @RealTimWilkins for the opening. Didn't know I had a 2 hour set tonight. Me Happily addicted to this s-t again."

Saget, although known for his raucous humor on stage and among his friends, was previously known to audiences on family-friendly programming. He starred as the widowed father of three girls on ABC's "Full House" and then as the host of the network's "America's Funniest Home Video" clip show.

As Saget recalled to Jake Tapper in a July 2021 interview, his career track was unpredictable.

"'Full House' was an accident," he said. "I was fired on CBS and told to be on 'Full House'."

The sitcom, which starred Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, and twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, ran for eight seasons. It lived in syndication with strong enough nostalgia surrounding it that Netflix picked up a spin-off in 2016 of "Fuller House," starring Bure but featuring frequent appearances from the original stars, including Saget, Dave. Collier and John Stamos. It ran for five seasons, culminating in 2020.

Saget told Tapper, "I'm close to all the kids. It doesn't happen a lot in a world where you're close to all the people." "We're such an unusual cast in a way that I've been able to be close with everyone, because I don't take eight years of my life lightly and then the other five or six years, six seasons."

His "Full House" co-star Stamos expressed grief over the loss of his friend and former colleague on Sunday.

Stamos wrote on Twitter, "I'm broken. I'm disappointed." "I am in complete shock. I will never have another friend like him. I love you so much Bobby."

I am broken. I am gutted. I am in complete and utter shock. I will never ever have another friend like him. I love you so much Bobby.

— John Stamos (@JohnStamos) January 10, 2022

After his first round of sitcom fame, Saget continued into film and television roles, but became known to a new generation of sitcom fans on CBS's "How I Met Your Mother", starring narrator and future Ted Mosby. acting as the voice of The show ran till 2014.

Throughout the years, Saget remained a fixture in stand-up comedy, releasing several specials over the years and taking his shows on the road.

Saget's reputation for reveling in a very advanced brand of comedy can be seen in films such as "The Aristocrats" – an exploration of the competition between comics to tell the dirtiest version of the same joke – and HBO's "Entourage". as one of his guest in his version of himself.

Asked to define his humor in a 2013 interview by Esquire, Saget explained, "I'm basically just a nine-year-old boy who grew up." Toward that end, Saget seemed to enjoy holding back against his success on the squeaky-clean show, telling dirty jokes at ABC events to annoy executives.

Saget was in the middle of a tour at the time of his death that was set to take him to New York, Canada and several other places in the coming months.

According to his website, Saget often hosted comedy shows to raise funds for the Scleroderma Research Foundation, for which he served on the board of directors. He lost his sister to a chronic illness in 1994, his website said.

In 2020, he launched a podcast titled "Bob Sagets Here for You", in which he welcomed guests such as Tiffany Haddish, Jason Sudeikis, Whoopi Goldberg, and Norman Lear.

Lear was one of those who paid tribute to Saget on Sunday.

Lear wrote on Twitter, "Bob Saget was as funny as he was a lovely man." "And to my mind, he was hilarious. We were close friends and I couldn't love him more."

Fellow comedian and podcaster Marc Maron said: "Oh no. RIP Bob Saget. Really one of the coolest guys and very funny. Very sad."

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, describing his "shock" at the news, wrote on Twitter: "I just spoke with Bob a few days ago. We laughed at each other on the phone as usual. Friends, comedians and mates Rip Aristocrat Bob Saget."