Perez Hilton joins Full House spoof
Gossip blogger moves to the stage for a A Tanner Family Parody!
TORONTO — It seems famed gossip blogger Perez Hilton has come a long way from his days of stirring the celebrity pot with controversial remarks and antics.
Now a father of a two-yearold and a newborn, he jokes he’s too old for late-night parties like last weekend’s Much Music Video Awards, which he used to frequent.
Being a dad has also made him a lot less selfish, he says, and it’s one of the reasons he feels he can pull off his new project: playing straitlaced, clean-freak dad Danny Tanner in National Lampoon’s Full House The Musical! A Tanner Family Parody!
“I’m a dad of two myself now and I can draw from my own personal experience,” Hilton says during an interview in Toronto, where the musical spoof will debut at the Randolph Theatre on Aug. 18 before moving to New York.
“Although this isn’t quite the Danny Tanner from TV,” he adds with a playful grin.
“What’s great about this show is that not only are we playfully lampooning the characters in the show, but we’re also incorporating elements of the actors who played them.”
That means Hilton will also portray actor Bob Saget, who played Danny Tanner in the wholesome Full House family sitcom that ran from 1987 to 1995 and is getting a reboot on Netflix.
“If you know anything about his standup (comedy) or him in real life, he’s filthy-mouthed,” Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, says of Saget.
“So you might see a character in this show develop a meth problem, somebody might develop an eating disorder, and there will be lots of hugs as well to give to audience members — literally.
“The Tanner family loves to hug, so there is a Tanner Family Hug Zone at the show, at the theatre.”
Bob and Tobly McSmith did the book, music, lyrics and stage direction for the unauthorized musical parody. The two were also behind the stage spoofs Showgirls! The Musical! and Bayside! The Musical!
Hilton, who graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in the 1990s, says he got the part after expressing interest in the comments section of a Facebook posting on it.
When one of the co-creators asked if he was being serious, the 37-year-old submitted an audition tape and got the part.
His friend John Stamos, who played heartthrob Uncle Jesse on Full House and is the rights holder of the brand, was “very supportive,” says Hilton.
Over the past 18 months, Hilton has also acted in Sharknado 2 and Hot in Cleveland, and has a starring role in the upcoming horror film Most Likely to Die.
He says his goal is to have a long career “doing many different things” as a general entertainer like the late Joan Rivers.
“As an adult, I would often make five-year plans … but now that I’m a dad I have to think not in five-year increments. I have to think in 10-year increments or try to plan for longer periods and be prepared for the unpredictability of the future.”
Being a dad also prompted him to move from Los Angeles to New York, he adds.
“I really put a lot of thought into what kind of a child I want mine to possibly be, what kind of a parent did I want to possibly be,” says Hilton.
“I love living in New York. I do so much with my kids, because there’s so much to do and it’s so easy to do it.”
“I’m a dad of two myself now and I can draw from my own personal experience.” Perez Hilton