Bob Saget has done a bit of everything
TV? Broadway? A book deal? He’s done all that — and let’s not forget standup
You know the current U.S. election is so serious that when you bring it up with an American comic his first instinct isn’t to crack wise.
“It’s pretty upsetting. I don’t even talk about it in my standup,” comic, actor and writer Bob Saget said over the phone from Los Angeles recently.
Saget, best known as the affable dad Danny Tanner from the TV sitcom Full House, will bring his very much adult standup show to Richmond’s River Rock Casino on Thursday, then hop over to the Hard Rock in Coquitlam for Friday.
“Obviously they’re both not perfect,” Saget said, referring to presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. “They’ve got real imperfections, but it has turned into a cage match. It turned into WWF wrestling. It’s so disrespectful, the whole thing.
“I don’t think you guys have ever been through this. Have you?” Saget asked.
Nope, sorry — I don’t think anyone has been through anything quite like this before.
“It’s so funny, but it has been said quite a bit, I’ve heard it quite a bit: ‘We’re moving to Canada.’ I haven’t heard so much rhetoric like this since the Vietnam War,” he said.
What about Saget? Where would he go if Trump gets to gild the Lincoln bedroom?
“I don’t know. I have never been to the Netherlands, but I hear nice things,” Saget said. “I want to go to a place where I can weekly go to a bar made of ice.” And the comic returns. Phew. Saget gained attention hosting America’s Funniest Home Videos (1989-97), then his star grew brighter with Full House (1987-95). The sitcom about a young father (Saget) who, after his wife dies, enlists the help of his brother-inlaw and an old friend to help him raise his three young daughters was a hit, and Saget was forever to be known as Danny Tanner.
“They want reminiscence of Danny Tanner and I’m not going to deny it and so I kind of give them a little inside poop,” Saget said of his standup audience.
The enduring interest in Full House obviously caught the attention of the suits at Netflix, as the streaming media giant footed the bill for a reunion series. That decision paid off, as reports say about 14.4 million households tuned in to see the 2016 reboot, titled Fuller House.
So even Kimmy Gibbler (Full House fans get it) could figure out another full order of Fuller House was a no-brainer for Netflix. Beginning Dec. 9, Season 2 will be available for viewing.
“It’s really fun for us to play with each other. That’s the key — we are really buddies,” Saget said of his sitcom family. “That doesn’t happen very often. You really don’t want to know people you work with.”
While Fuller House was a rewarding redux, Saget wasn’t at home pining over a scrapbook, waiting for John Stamos to call. He’s been working. Comedy jobs included a Grammy-nominated album and a best-selling book. He also landed on Broadway in principal rolls in The Drowsy Chaperone and Hand to God, both Tony-winning shows.
“The complaints I have are normal people complaints. The career stuff, it’s been a very creative decade for me. A lot of different things in many different areas are going on,” Saget said. “I always joke I do five things, none of them well. If a door opens and something cool comes in, great. And, well, there is still standup.”
When Saget hits the standup stage, the audience, he says, can expect a more mature performer. Sort of.
“I am 60 now, so for God’s sakes I’m not going to stand there and stamp my feet and throw out an F-bomb every six minutes,” Saget said. “That doesn’t make any sense.
“Sure, I like to make poignant comments, but for the most part I’m entertaining. I’m silly. And I’m also not silly, because I have some IQ. My DNA is not totally flawed,” he added. “My silliness goes more to the crotch. I’d rather talk about the crotch than the people that are harming our world.”
Reporter’s note: A different version of that last line was offered up. Saget laughed and said:
“Can you say this reporter gave Bob a line and he’s going to use it? And then say the line?” Saget asked. “That’s if you have the balls to print it.”
Nope, sorry Bob.
(The U.S. presidential election) has turned into a cage match. It turned into WWF wrestling. It’s so disrespectful, the whole thing.