Bob Saget Wiki, Age, Death, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Robert Lane Saget [1], popularly known as Bob Saget, was an American comedian, actor, and television host. He is best known for playing the role of ‘Danny Tanner’ in ABC’s sitcom Full House (1987-1995), and its Netflix sequel Fuller House (2016-2020). He is also known for his adult-oriented stand-up comedy.

Wiki/Biography

Bob Saget was born on Thursday, May 17, 1956 (age 65 years; as of 2022), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. His zodiac sign is Taurus.

A few years after his birth, Saget’s family relocated to Norfolk, Virginia. He did his schooling partly at Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk, Virginia, and the rest at Temple Israel, which is a conservative synagogue in Norfolk, Virginia. Bob had his bar mitzvah (coming-of-age ritual) in Philadelphia when he turned 13 (due to the lack of his family in Virginia). He then shifted to Encino next to Los Angeles for a short period with his family. Thereafter, he moved back to Philadelphia and completed his graduation from Abington Senior High School in Abington, Pennsylvania. He then attended the School of Theater, Film, and Media Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia, where he was one of the meritorious students and made a student movie entitled Through Adam’s Eyes (1977). Through Adam’s Eyes was a black and white film about a boy who received reconstructive facial surgery. The film earned Bob an award of merit at the Student Academy Awards. During his course at Temple University’s film school, Bob often visited The Improv (a comedy club franchise) and Catch a Rising Star (a chain of comedy clubs) in New York City. At the comedy clubs, he often played ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and used his water bottle to make the guitar appear to weep. He graduated from Temple University’s film school in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts. Subsequently, he took admission in the University of Southern California but quit shortly after. [2]

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 6′ 3″

Hair Color: Salt & Pepper

Eye Color: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

Bob’s father, Benjamin M. Saget, was a supermarket executive, and his mother, Rosalyn “Dolly” Saget, was a hospital administrator. He had two sisters Gay Saget, and Andrea Saget. Gay Saget died from scleroderma (a group of rare diseases that involve the hardening and tightening of the skin) in 1993. Andrea Saget died at the age of 32 from an unusual disease called Aneurysm (a connective tissue disease). He had two other siblings who died in their childhood before Bob was born. His father passed away at the age of 90 on January 30, 2007, of complications from congestive heart failure.

Wife & Children

Bob Saget got married to his high school sweetheart Sherri Kramer (screenwriter) on May 16, 1982. The couple had three daughters Aubrey Saget (an artist trained at New York University), Lara Melanie (a painter trained at Barnard College), and Jennifer Belle. The couple divorced on November 10, 1997.

Bob met Kelly Rizzo, the host and creator of the American entertainment series ‘Eat, Travel, Rock,’ through a mutual friend in 2015. They soon fell in love and started dating each other. The couple got engaged in 2017. On October 25, 2018, they tied the knot at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, California.

Bob proposed Kelly when they were watching the Netflix series ‘Strange Things.’ Sharing a picture of their wedding on his Instagram account, Bob wrote,

Okay, so we went and did it. And damn are we happy.”

He further wrote,

I got up to the restroom, and I opened the safe and I took out the ring that I had been hiding for four days and I got on one knee. And she said, ‘What are you doing?’ She got very emotional and so did I. I tried to put it in words that make sense. I adore her. She’s fantastic and I am a very lucky man.”

Relationships/Affairs

In 2015, he dated Christin Kalaskie (American Actress) for some time. [3]

Religious Views

Bob Saget belonged to a Jewish family. [4] His paternal and maternal grandparents were all Jewish emigrants from the then-Russian Empire. Saget’s paternal grandfather was born in Riga, Latvia. In an Instagram post, sharing his memories of growing up in a Jewish family, Bob Saget wrote,

I have many fond memories of growing up Jewish. My Bube’s gefilte fish, my Bube’s chicken soup, my Bube’s mandel bread. My Bube. My father’s mother. She raised six children basically by herself. During rough financial times she would have an extra twenty people over and add breadcrumbs to whatever was being served—to feed everyone. That’s what being Jewish meant to me growing up. About being generous of heart. About our family. Yes, food was important, but it was the cultural spirit that drew me in and kept me engaged.”

Career

As an Actor

In 1987, Bob made his acting debut with the American sitcom Full House. He embodied the role of a widowed father, Danny Tanner, which became very popular among the family viewers and booked itself a spot in the Nielsen ratings’ Top 30.

In 1998, he did a cameo as a drug addict for the comedy film Half Baked. After the success of the widowed father role, he again acted as a widowed dad for the sitcom Raising Dad (2001) which aired on the WB Television Network.

In 2009, he did another sitcom, Surviving Suburbia. He appeared as a guest artist in two episodes of the American sitcom Grandfathered (2015-16). He continued his much-loved role of Danny Tanner for the sequel of his previous show Full House titled ‘Fuller House’ from 2016 to 2020.

Some of his films include ‘Full Moon High’ (1981), ‘For Goodness Sake’ (1993), ‘A Stand-Up Guy’ (2016), and ‘Benjamin’ (2018).

As a Comedian

In early 1987, Bob Saget started his journey as a comedian by doing short bits of comedy on CBS’s The Morning Program. He dedicated his HBO comedy special, That Ain’t Right to his father, Ben Saget, which came out on DVD in 2007. Later, he did a parody of himself in the HBO TV series Entourage (2005-10) with a recurring role in four episodes.

 

In 2017, he appeared in the special Bob Saget: Zero to Sixty.

 

As a TV Host

Saget made his TV debut as a host with the show titled ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ from 1989 till 1997. In 2009, he returned to co-host the 20th-anniversary one-hour special with Tom Bergeron.

He also hosted NBC’s game show 1 vs. 100 (2006-08). In 2010, he did a lifestyle series, Strange Days, which focused on broadcasting the different activities and lifestyles followed by Bob in his unusual ways. In 2019, he hosted ABC’s Videos After Dark and the gameshow Nashville Squares which aired on CMT.

Other Work

In 1996, Bob directed the ABC television film ‘For Hope.’ The film was inspired by the story of his sister’s life, Gay Saget, who died from scleroma in 1993.

In 1998, he made his feature film debut as a director with the film ‘Dirty Work.’ The film starred Norm Macdonald and Artie Lange in the lead roles and was released a year after he quit hosting the show ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos.’ The film received mainly negative reviews from critics and earned very low box office returns. However, later, the film became a cult favourite because of Artie Lange’s popularity on The Howard Stern Show.

In 2005, Saget was featured in the music video of the song ‘Rollin’ with Saget’ by Jamie Kennedy and Stuart Stone. The song was about a night out with Saget that shows off his erotic behaviour. The video was released on the MTV series Blowin’ Up. Later, Bob used the song as a pseudo-theme song on his stand-up tours and website.

 

 

From 2005 till 2014, he gave the narration for the popular American TV show ‘How I Met Your Mother’ as Ted Mosby. He released his book Dirty Daddy in 2014, which is about his career, experiences, comedy influences, and his take on life. He also did a standup special called Bob Saget Live: The Dirty Daddy Tour in almost all the major cities of Australia including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth. In 2020, he launched a podcast Bob Saget’s Here for You for Studio71.

He made frequent visits as a guest comedian on the American TV game show Make Me Laugh in 1979 and 1980.

Death

In January 2022, Saget was on a stand-up tour in Florida, U.S. On January 8, Bob performed at Ponte Vedra Beach in the evening and then went to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, south of Orlando, Florida, near Williamsburg.

When Bob didn’t check out from the hotel at the said time on January 9, 2022, a security officer of the hotel entered his room at around 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and found him unresponsive. He immediately informed 911. Meanwhile, his family members became concerned about Bob as they were unable to contact him. When the emergency responders arrived at the scene, they pronounced him dead. At that time, the chief medical examiner who was looking into the case announced no cause of death, however, he ruled out the chances of foul play and drug use. Later, an autopsy report revealed that Saget had blunt head trauma from an accident at the back of his head. The injury was caused likely by a fall and became a cause of Bob’s death in his sleep (subdural hematoma). [5] Later, the doctors claimed that his injury was more likely to be caused by a baseball bat hit to his head. [6] He was also found COVID-19 positive on examination. The news of Bob’s death was broadcasted by America’s Funniest Home Videos in the Eastern and Central time zones. ABC interrupted the program to announce the news. The show’s official YouTube channel also posted a tribute video dedicated to Saget.

BREAKING: Actor and comedian Bob Saget is dead at 65, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, Florida. https://t.co/P74X6aI6kh pic.twitter.com/JdNN29FFgb

— ABC News (@ABC) January 10, 2022

Bob’s funeral took place on January 14, 2022, five days after his death. His remains were laid to rest at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery near the graves of his parents and sisters.

Address

Two Angels, Inc., 21031 Ventura Blvd., Suite 401, Woodland Hills, CA 91364, USA

Signature/Autograph

Favorites

• Comedian: Louis C.K.

• Color: Black

Facts/Trivia

• His favorite pastimes included reading and traveling.

• Bob initially desired to become a doctor, however, his Honors English teacher, Elaine Zimmerman, noticed his creative potential and suggested him to make a career in films.

• He was one of the board members of the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) since 2003. After his demise in January 2022, Saget was honored with several donations and help offers for his favorite charity Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF). According to a statement made by the executive director of the Scleroderma Research Foundation on January 13, 2022, they received donations from more than 1500 people from all over the world. The donations totaled more than $90,000. In addition, the charity was also awarded a donation of $1.5 million by one of its board members in form of a grant in memory of Saget. [7]

• The Comedy Store in Los Angeles on January 31, 2022, hosted a tribute event for Bob Saget. The program was hosted at the venue where Bob started his career as a comedian 40 years ago. His wife, Kelly Rizzo, also appeared on the platform and shared a few fond memories of her with Bob. She shared a few pictures from the event on her Instagram account and wrote,
  

  So remember when I said you’ll never see me do standup?? Well, I guess I got a couple of jokes in but paying tribute to my legendary and incredible husband on stage at @thecomedystore where his career began over 40 years ago was the honor of my life.”

• He was fondly referred to as America’s Dad after his role as Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House. [8]

• Bob followed a non-vegetarian diet.
  

  Bob Saget’s Instagram post

• He was often spotted drinking alcohol on various occasions.
  

  Bob Saget enjoying drinks with his wife and friends

• Bob was an avid smoker and was seen smoking cigars on many occasions.
  

  Bob Saget smoking a cigar

• A month prior to his death, Bob Saget shot for his final interview (on December 6, 2021) with CBS Mornings in which he mainly talked about the loss of his sister Gay Saget in 1993 due to scleroderma, a connective tissue disorder. In the interview, he also talked about the healing power of comedy. While talking about the incident he said,
  

  We were all in the room when she let out her last breath, and I don’t know how to explain it, and I’m going to go woo here, it felt like the soul going past us, literally felt my hair kinda move. You know being an actor, that’s a very important thing if your hair gets out of place.” The interview was aired on CBS on January 14, 2022. [9]

• Saget shared a great bond with the American actress Dana Delany, Canadian actress Alan Thicke, and American actor Daniel Morton.
  

  Bob Saget with Dana Delany

• He was overweight until the age of 22. Bob shed a lot of weight and became normal (weight) when a gangrenous appendix was taken out from his body. The appendix was taken out on the fourth of July at the UCLA Medical Center. Describing himself as a bulky man in an article by Glenn Esterly in the 1990 Saturday Evening Post. Bob said,
  

  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.”

• Bob Saget owned Rodney Dangerfield’s pot pipe after his (Rodney’s) death. The pot pipe was gifted to him by Rodney’s widow Joan Dangerfield.

• Bob had regrets about starring in ‘Full House’ despite the fact that the role of ‘Danny Tanner’ made him a huge star. During an interview, while talking about it Bob said,
  

  I was working 80 hours a week between ‘Full House’ and ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos.’ I was going nuts. I felt like I was funny but didn’t feel funny on the shows. But then I just went, ‘Shut up. It’s like the giving tree. You’re lucky, and this is a good job.”

• In 2014, Saget received a Grammy nomination for ‘Best Comedy Album’ for his record ‘That’s What I’m Talkin’ About.’

• After the demise of Bob Saget, it was rumored that he had predicted his death exactly as it happened. The clip was widely circulated on the internet. However, it was not so, the conversation was taken from his October 2021 podcast, where he was making a silly joke to his wife. The conversation goes like
  

  You love five movies. You love ‘Big Lebowski’ every day. You could watch ‘Big Lebowski’ four times a day,” said Saget.

  Rizzo replied,

  “That’s not true. I love ‘Big Lebowski,’ ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Wayne’s World,’ ‘Godfather II,’ ‘Goodfellas,’ ‘Casino,’ ‘Scarface.”

  He then joked,

  So I don’t have long to live if these are your favorites. I’m going to be found dead in bed.”

  Further, Kelly replied,

  You better watch out… So, I don’t know, maybe it brings back that like cozy quarantine feeling that we had, but there’s something I love about just binging the shows with you.”

• In 1979, Saget was a winning bachelor on the show The Dating Game (1965).

• In 1999, Bob made a pre-recorded appearance on Intercollegiate Comedy Festival, sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania’s Mask and Wig Comedy troupe. He performed a pre-recorded monologue loaded with jokes from his popular sitcoms like D.J., Stephanie and Michelle stole my plane ticket to the show tonight, and Those bitches. He wound up his performance by autographing a photo for the head of the Penn Mask and Wig Group.

• According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Bob Saget suffered from PFTSD (Post Family-TV Stress Disorder). [10]