Bob Saget was one of the most recognisable faces in American television. Most people knew him as Danny Tanner, the warm, slightly neurotic widowed dad from Full House. But that was only half the story. Off-screen and on stage, Bob Saget was one of comedy’s most unapologetically raunchy performers, and the gap between those two versions of him was part of what made him so genuinely fascinating.
He passed away on January 9, 2022, at 65. The entertainment world stopped that day.
Quick Facts:
| Full Name | Robert Lane Saget |
| Born | May 17, 1956, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | January 9, 2022 (age 65) |
| Cause of Death | Accidental blunt head trauma |
| Best Known For | Full House, America’s Funniest Home Videos |
| Other Notable Work | How I Met Your Mother (narrator), Fuller House |
| Marriages | Sherri Kramer (1982–1997); Kelly Rizzo (2018–2022) |
| Children | Three daughters: Aubrey, Lara, and Jennifer |
| Net Worth (at death) | Estimated $50 million |
Early Life
Bob Saget was born on May 17, 1956, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family moved around a fair amount during his childhood, from Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia, then to Encino, California, before eventually returning to the Philadelphia area for his senior year of 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. He took that advice seriously.
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 at the Student Academy Awards. While at university, he was already performing stand-up in New York, taking the train to clubs like The Improv and Catch a Rising Star.
He started performing stand-up at 17. By his early twenties, he was already building a reputation on the comedy circuit.
Career Beginnings
Saget’s path to television was not a straight line.
Saget started his career on CBS’ The Morning Program in the 1980s before getting his breakout role as Full House patriarch Danny Tanner in 1987. “Full House was an accident,” Saget told CNN in 2021. “I got fired from a job on CBS and was asked to be in Full House.”
That accident turned into eight years of one of America’s most beloved family sitcoms.
Full House (1987–1995)
He portrayed Danny Tanner on the sitcom Full House from 1987 to 1995. The show followed a widowed San Francisco sportscaster raising three daughters with the help of his brother-in-law and best friend. It was wholesome, warm, and wildly popular.
Full House ran for eight seasons on ABC and regularly placed in the top 20 in ratings. The cast, including John Stamos, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, and the Olsen twins, became a genuine television family. Saget later said they remained close long after the cameras stopped.
What viewers at home did not always know was that the man playing America’s nicest dad had an entirely different comedy persona away from the set.
America’s Funniest Home Videos (1989–1997)
While still filming Full House, Saget took on a second major television role.
Saget was the original host of America’s Funniest Home Videos from 1989 to 1997. The show was simple, ordinary people sending in clips of funny home moments, but Saget’s commentary and comic timing made it appointment television. He hosted the show for the first eight seasons, from the pilot episode premiere in 1989, until leaving the show in 1997.
At his peak, Saget was simultaneously one of the most watched people on American television, twice over.
Stand-Up Comedy: The Other Bob Saget
Here is where the story gets more interesting.
Away from family TV, Saget performed adult stand-up comedy that was deliberately, aggressively crude. Audiences who only knew Danny Tanner were genuinely shocked. That contrast, squeaky-clean TV dad by day, filthy comedian by night, became one of the defining stories of his career.
After Full House was cancelled, Saget moved on to do stand-up comedy again, this time coming out with material that was considered edgy and at times obnoxious.
He leaned into it fully. His HBO comedy special, That Ain’t Right, came out in 2007. His 2014 book, Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian, laid out the whole story in his own words.
His 2014 stand-up comedy album That’s What I’m Talking About was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Biography
He also appeared in The Aristocrats (2005), a documentary built around one of comedy’s most notoriously dirty jokes, which introduced him to a whole new generation of fans who had never watched Full House in their lives.
How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)
Most people watching How I Met Your Mother never saw Bob Saget on screen, but they heard him every episode.
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.
It was a clever, low-profile piece of casting that gave the show a warmth and familiarity. Saget’s voice, unhurried, gently funny, suited the whole premise perfectly.
Fuller House (2016–2020)
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.
The Netflix reboot brought back most of the original cast and introduced the story to a new generation. For Saget, it was a chance to revisit a role that had defined him, and to do it on his own terms, with a cast he genuinely loved.
Personal Life of Bob Saget
Saget was married twice. 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.
His personal life was also shaped by real loss. Two of his sisters died young. His sister Gay died from scleroderma, an autoimmune disease, at 47. That loss stayed with him. Saget was a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation. He raised money for scleroderma research for decades, quietly, consistently, without making it a performance.
How Did Bob Saget Die?
At about 4 p.m. EST on January 9, 2022, Saget was found dead in his room at a Ritz-Carlton hotel near Williamsburg in Orange County, Florida. At the time of his death, Saget was on a stand-up tour and had performed in Ponte Vedra Beach the previous evening.
His autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt head trauma from an accidental blow to the back of his head, likely from a fall. He had died in his sleep. No drugs or foul play were involved.
The tributes came immediately, from co-stars, from fellow comedians, from fans who had grown up watching him. John Stamos wrote that he was “broken” and “gutted.” The Full House cast said they had become a real family, and that they were grieving as one.
He was buried at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery, next to the graves of his parents and his sister.
John Stamos Honours Bob Saget’s 70th Birthday (May 2026)
May 17, 2026 would have been Bob Saget’s 70th birthday. He did not make it there, but the people who loved him made sure it did not pass quietly.
On Sunday, May 17, John Stamos took to Instagram to remember Saget on what would have been his 70th birthday, sharing a heartfelt message alongside a carousel of photos and videos documenting their decades-long friendship.
In his post, he shared photos and videos with his late Full House co-star, and even included the last picture they took together, a group photo with Stamos’ wife Caitlin McHugh and Saget’s widow Kelly Rizzo, with the words “last pic” written over it.
“We used to throw each other great birthday parties,” Stamos wrote in the caption. “Your 70th today would’ve been epic! I miss you and love you.”
The post quickly resonated with fans, many of whom flooded the comments section with birthday wishes for Saget and messages of support for Stamos. Full House co-star Candace Cameron Bure also commented, sharing three red heart emojis.
Stamos was not alone in marking the day. Saget’s widow Kelly Rizzo also posted a deeply personal tribute reflecting on what his life might look like if he were still here. She joked that Saget would have proudly declared himself “the youngest-looking, youngest-feeling, and youngest-acting 70-year-old on the planet.”
Rizzo reflected on Saget’s relentless work ethic, explaining that retirement was never something he envisioned for himself. According to her, he loved creating, performing stand-up, and making people laugh, often citing fellow comedians like Don Rickles and Norman Lear as examples of the kind of long, creative life he hoped to lead. She added that she believed Saget would have especially loved becoming a grandfather while continuing to be an incredible father, husband, friend, and performer.
More than four years after his death, the tributes still come. The laughter he left behind clearly has not faded.
What Legacy Did Bob Saget Leave Behind?
Bob Saget occupied a genuinely unusual place in American culture. He was the safe, reliable dad figure that millions of families watched together, and also one of the most committed adult comedians of his generation. He never pretended those two things were the same. He just did both, fully, and let people make of it what they would.
What he left behind:
- Eight seasons of Full House, still watched by new audiences today
- Eight seasons as the original host of America’s Funniest Home Videos
- Nine seasons as the narrator of How I Met Your Mother
- A stand-up career spanning over four decades
- Decades of quiet advocacy for scleroderma research
- A reputation, among everyone who knew him, for genuine warmth and kindness
The comedian who made millions of families laugh on a Friday night, then went back out on the road to make adults laugh at things Danny Tanner would never say, that was the whole, complicated, entirely human picture of Bob Saget. And for anyone who knew either version of him, both felt completely real.
