Robert “Bob” Lane Saget was born on May 17, 1956, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just 70-miles away from our little school. As a child, Saget had an interesting upbringing, to say the least.

His father was an eccentric character with an X-rated sense of humor, just like his son, telling a young Danny Tanner jokes using profane language and vulgar scenarios. His mother, on the other hand, was a hospital administrator.

Growing up, he dreamed of becoming a doctor, until his senior year of high school when his Honors English teacher, Elaine Zimmerman, encouraged him to seek a career in acting, seeing comedic potential in the young man.

After graduating from Abington Senior High School in 1975, Saget returned to his home city as a student at Temple University. In his time as an Owl, Saget created and starred in his first film entitled, “Through Adam’s Eyes,” about a boy who undergoes facial reconstruction surgery. Shortly after its release, the film was given an award at the Student Academy Awards Film Competition. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in 1978, Saget knew it was time for him to seek the spotlight! 

1980 is when Bob Saget graces the big screen after landing a part in the short film, “Devices.” From there, he found himself as the warm-up comedian for “Bosom Buddies,” a sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari.

As a warm-up comedian, Saget’s job was to get the crowd laughing, feeling good, and simply ensuring everyone was enjoying themselves before the show started. Jeff Franklin, Bob Boyett, and Tom Miller were all producers for “Bosom Buddies” and during his set, they took notice of Saget’s comedic skills. It would be only a few years later in 1987 that they would call him to star in their brand new show, “Full House.” 

After being a dirty comic for so many years, Saget was hesitant to accept the role at first but realized how great of an opportunity it could turn out to be.

His role as Danny Tanner completely flipped gender roles on its head in a time when most people were blinded by the binaries embedded into our society.

In the case of Danny Tanner, he is a widower to three young girls, all at critical ages in life. His oldest, DJ, who starts the series as a by-the-book ten-year-old girl and ends up blossoming into a mature and beautiful woman. The middle child is the incredibly witty and sarcastic Stephanie, whom we meet as an adorable little five-year-old, and leave her as she enters her teen years, confident in her growth as an individual. Lastly, we meet baby Michelle, who in the show’s pilot episode is only six months old, and by season eight she is just hitting puberty.

Saget’s portrayal of this loving and caring father figure helped ease the stress that everyday life brought. He made you feel that no matter how stressful your day was, or how bad your week had been, that at the end of those thirty minutes, everything was going to work out for the Tanner’s. That family showed millions of kids the love a family can have, proving that even if you are mad or upset at your family, they are still your family and will always be there for you. 

The show was such a success that by season three, it was already ranked in the Nielsen ratings’ Top 30 list, then moving up to the Top 20 for seasons four and seven, and finally reaching a spot in the Top 10 during seasons five and six. Throughout its screen-life, “Full House” was receiving anywhere between 10 and 16 million viewers. During the show’s series finale, 24.3 million people tuned in to view the hour-long episode, celebrating one last ride with the Tanner Family. It was later ranked the #7 most viewed program of that week. 

Another way that Bob Saget helped bring smiles to the people of the world was through the launch of the hit ABC show “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” a show focused on the wholesome and precious homemade videos of kids falling, dogs playing on a slide, and so much more. He hosted this show for a total of eight years, from 1989 until 1997, which coincidentally overlapped with his time on “Full House,” which ran from 1987-1995. 

After living through the entire pandemic and ringing in the new year, Bob Saget passed away on Sunday, Jan.9, 2022.

After the comedian’s family started to become concerned when they were unable to reach him at his Orlando hotel room, they contacted the sheriff, who found him face down upon his bed, cold to the touch, and his left arm crossed over his chest. Police say that they found no signs of foul play, drug use, or forced entry, as everything in the room seemed to be in order; all of his belongings were on the bedside table and the lights were off. The last known time he was alive was at 2:20 that same morning, when his keycard was detected letting him back in his room. The TV Dad was declared dead just two hours past that at 4:20 p.m.

Bob Saget lived a full 65 years and gave most of his time trying to make the world smile and laugh. Whether it be the raunchy stand-up he learned from his father or a heart-to-heart conversation with one of his blonde babies, he’ll be there in our hearts.

Rest peacefully, Danny Tanner.