Both the great dad and the raunchy comic, Bob Saget could do it all
He was the guy who could show up as himself and make you laugh.
Most successful stand-up comics and comedy genre actors can nail one persona into the ground. Like a laughter technician, they bulldoze their way through barriers and find new ground, both common and foreign. Foreign only in the way that we haven’t thought about that yet.
Bob Saget could do multiple personas and do them all incredibly well. As the world’s best dad, Danny Tanner, on “Full House, Saget emulated that warmth of the earnest father. The comic touches were all over the place, but it was a guarded and caretaker-driven performance. And he NAILED it.
Later in his career, after he acquired fuck you money, Saget would venture into the other playground in Hollywood. Lumbering over from the family-friendly confines of television to more experimental grounds in Doug Ellin’s “Entourage,” and eventually into stand-up touring.
He was the perfect specimen. The everyman on shows like “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” showcasing the impracticality of human nature. The raunchy older guy who could hang with the young guns. His uncomfortable bro hug with Adrien Grenier’s Vincent Chase on the HBO series still collects giggles.
“Don’t go fucking my daughters, Vince.” Saget gold.
While he looked like the host of the Quiz Show more than the weed-smoking neighbor, Saget’s gifts never lied clearly on the superficial side of entertainment. He was fearless, just like the rest of the unforgettable funny souls. If there was a laugh and a good time to be had, Saget would find it on camera, on stage, or even in person.
Catch him anywhere and it was as if he was just being himself, rolling with the punches and finding a way to attain longevity in a harsh business. That’s tough to do, but Saget achieved it by being versatile and adventurous with his choices.
Instead of staying in one lane, he barged into them all and found lots of success. While no one would say he’s a trailblazer, Saget proved that you can exist in multiple worlds in show business—and survive to talk about it.
That’s what Saget was doing right up to his death in Orlando, Florida yesterday. Doing comedy on a stage; what he loved to do since go. Look at his last Twitter post:
He was only two dates into an extended 2022 tour, one that included a few dates in each month, all the way to mid-June. The tour was called “I Don’t Do Negative,” a saying that I wish more people would strive for.
Saget’s mind was “wonderfully-warped,” according to Jim Carrey on Twitter Sunday night, but it was “the big, big heart” that should live long in his closest friends and family.
The biggest mistake we make in following someone like Saget through their life and career is thinking they won’t run afoul of the same “adulting bullshit” all of us encounter at some point or another. While the coroner ruled out any foul play in Saget’s death, the cause could be something more common and natural than what first enters the mind.
Life doesn’t have a flair for the dramatic; we add that ingredient ourselves.
Here’s what you need to know. No matter how he passed, Saget went out doing what he loved: making people laugh, making them happy. None of us are making it out of here alive, so I suggest making people laugh and not doing negative are good rules of thumb to carry on.
Saget could do it all. He could play the perfect dad and the raunchy comic, and deliver one of history’s most binge-worthy game shows. All inside 65 years.
Rest in peace, Bob. A man so funny, he could just show up as himself and please the audience. We got it from here. We’ll make sure no one fucks your daughters, Bob.