Suzanne Somers is still coming to terms with learning of Bob Saget’s death on live TV.
“I had to pick my jaw off the floor,” The “Three’s Company” and “Step By Step” star told Fox News. “At first, I thought I misheard what was being told to me. Because he’s just so young. But you never know when your time is going to be. What a shame and a what a loss. He’s gone too soon.”
“What made him so unique is that he had two sides,” the actress continued. “He was a well-loved TV dad, but on stage, he had this sense of freedom with his comedy. I remember having such belly laughs hearing him. He was genuinely funny and there aren’t a lot of people like that around today. I hope he’s having a big belly laugh up in heaven.”
The actor-comedian, known for his role as beloved single dad Danny Tanner on the sitcom “Full House” and as the wisecracking host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” died while on a stand-up tour. He was 65.
Suzanne Somers and Bob Saget worked at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles during the ’90s. (Getty Images)
Deputies in Orange County, Florida, were called Sunday about an “unresponsive man” in a hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando and found Saget dead, according to a sheriff’s statement on Twitter. Detectives found “no signs of foul play or drug use in this case.”
The 75-year-old learned of Saget’s death on live television during an interview with Australia’s “Studio 10” morning show. Somers appeared virtually during the segment, which occurred Sunday night in the US.
Somers described what “a magical time” it was working alongside Saget in the Warner Bros. lot during the ’90s as they filmed their sitcoms “Full House” and “Step By Step.”
“Down the same street was George Clooney filming “ER,” she explained. “We used to all meet in the commissary for lunch and trade stories. Bob and I used to laugh because in year one of ‘Step By Step,’ I had a pig, a sister and a mother. But then in year two, we had no pig, no sister and no mother. And we never explained it. He said the same thing happened to him because when you have a child on the show, a baby especially, you have to hire twins. If one of them is upset, you bring in the other one who looks identical. They started out on ‘Full House’ with one baby and year two, they magically had twins [on set], no explanation. We always thought that was funny.”
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“It felt like going to a party,” she shared. “We all had a great time and got along so well. I loved every moment of it.”
Somers said her first impression of Saget was that he was “cute, fun and funny.”
“He had humility,” said Somers. “He looked at you in the eye and he was so kind.”
While Somers admired his talent on TV, she said it was his raunchy comedy that made him truly shine on stage.
Bob Saget kisses one of the Olsen twin’s heads on the set of ‘Full House’. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“He was America’s favorite TV dad and he played the role so well,” she said. “But there was this other side to Bob. The guy with the bawdy sense of humor who was irreverent and danced around Richard Pryor. I have a very bawdy sense of humor, so I laugh at those kinds of jokes. In today’s world, they’re probably politically incorrect, but I don’t care. I was discovered by Johnny Carson and grew up in that era. You had comics like Rodney Dangerfield and Don Rickles. Whenever Sinatra had a party in his dressing room on Sunday nights in Vegas, all those funny guys were there. You just don’t have comics like that anymore.”
Somers said it had been a while since she last saw Saget. Before the coronavirus pandemic, there were always reunions and get-togethers on the red carpet where she spotted familiar faces. These days, it hasn’t been as easy being remote.
“Whenever you ran into each other, it was always fun,” she said. “I knew he was back on the road, and I was really glad because he should be there. There’s so few funny guys left, you know?”
“He will be missed – I miss him already,” Somers reflected. “How often do we say, ‘I should get together with so and so?’ Or, ‘I should call that person and get in touch again.’ You mean to, but then you just don’t get around to it. Then the opportunity is missed forever. I’m sorry I haven’t talked to him in the last few years. I wish I had. I really thought he was a great guy.”
Bob Saget is celebrated as one of America’s favorite TV dads. (Craig Sjodin/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Saget was in Florida as part of his “I Don’t Do Negative Comedy Tour.” After warm audience receptions to his gigs Friday in Orlando and Saturday in the Ponte Vedra Beach resort area, he celebrated online.
“I’m back in comedy like I was when I was 26. I guess I’m finding my new voice and loving every moment of it,” he posted Saturday on Instagram.
Saget was born in Philadelphia on May 17, 1956, to Benjamin, a supermarket executive, and Rosalyn, who worked in hospital administration. He graduated from Temple University and enrolled briefly in the University of Southern California to study film.
He left the college but stayed in Los Angeles and shifted to stand-up comedy, which led to small roles in TV and film before he found success with “Full House.”
Bob Saget was eager to hit the road and return to his stand-up roots. (Steve Jennings/WireImage)
Saget starred as the squeaky clean patriarch in “Full House” from 1987 until 1995. He reprised his role for the Netflix reboot “Fuller House,” which ran from 2016 until 2020. He was also heard as the narrator on “How I Met Your Mother,” which aired for nine seasons on CBS.
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In early 2020, Saget was preparing for the start of his comedy tour when the pandemic put it on hold. He turned his energies to a podcast, “Bob Saget’s Here For You,” which gave fans an open mic to comment and ask him questions.
Saget had daughters Aubrey, Lara and Jennifer with first wife Sherri Kramer before divorcing in 1997. He married Kelly Rizzo in 2018.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
