A lifelong bond. Bob Saget and John Stamos weren’t just family on Full House — they considered each other brothers off screen too.
Saget, who died suddenly on January 9, 2022, at the age of 65, remained close with Stamos long after the show ended in 1995. Although the pair played brothers-in-law Danny Tanner and Jesse Katsopolis, respectively, on the beloved sitcom, they always viewed each other as family.
In October 2009, Saget reflected on just how rare it is to stay so close to one another after filming wrapped. “When you get to work with someone, when that work ends, whatever it may be, you don’t often see them as much,” he said, while honoring Stamos as the latter received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “John has truly become my family. His family is my family … our work family meant a great deal to us.”
Through the years, the pair supported each other through their ups and downs, both professionally and personally. After he attended Saget’s November 2018 wedding to Kelly Rizzo, Stamos reflected on their decades-long friendship. “Sometimes in life, the least likely person that you’d think would turn out to be your lifelong friend, someone who is there for you through the ups and downs and sideways’s – a brother and a confidant,” the You alum wrote on Instagram. “Someone to laugh with and cry with, but mostly laugh with, – well Bob turned out to be all that and more.”
Saget and Stamos, along with much of the original Full House cast, brought their familial bond back to the small screen in 2019 for the Netflix revival, Fuller House. The revival ended in 2020 after five seasons, but the How I Met Your Mother alum was confident that he would remain tight with his costars for years to come. “We’ve stayed friends all these years. It’s not just a press thing that we say,” Saget told Us Weekly in December 2019. He added that he “was more emotional about seeing [the cast] and being with them” than he was when saying goodbye to Danny Tanner.
In his tribute to Saget during his show in January 2022, Jimmy Kimmel even touched on the pair’s friendship, describing them as “beyond friends.” The late-night host added, “They were brothers. They are brothers.” Stamos shared a clip of the segment on Twitter, noting that “Bob would have loved this.”
Keep scrolling to relive Saget and Stamos’ brotherhood through the years:
Working on Full House brought Saget and Stamos together, but the two didn't exactly have an instant connection. "The first four years we worked together, we weren't besties," Saget told Stamos during an April 2017 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. "You were bringing all the hot women in the world to the show, you had a mullet, you were Uncle Jesse. I was a married guy ... I was trying to write jokes at night." Lorimar/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
Throughout the years, Stamos (seen here in a scene from Fuller House alongside Saget and Dave Coulier) was a frequent presence at Saget's "Cool Comedy-Hot Cuisine" events, which raised funds to support the Scleroderma Research Foundation. Netflix
Saget took the stage to honor Stamos in 2009, then the latter received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In an emotional speech, the comedian touched on his decades-long bond with Stamos. "You are so talented and so loving. I will always be there for you and for your family, because you are my brother," Saget said. "I love you." Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock
"You're my Nemo," Stamos wrote on Instagram in May 2016, while celebrating Saget's birthday. "If you get lost in the great, big ocean, I'll find you. Happy Birthday Bobby, I love you." Steve Cohn/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The former costars were clearly in tune with one another. A month after Saget proposed to Rizzo in October 2017, Stamos announced his engagement to Caitlin McHugh. The pair attended each other's weddings (Stamos and McHugh tied the knot in February 2018, while Saget and Rizzo were married in November of that year) along with their fellow Full House cast members. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
When Stamos welcomed son Billy in April 2018, Saget was one of the first people to meet the baby. "The Tin Man, Dorothy and The Scarecrow say hi to the cutest of Munchkins," Stamos wrote via Instagram in May 2018, while sharing a picture of Saget and Lori Loughlin being introduced to the little one. Courtesy John Stamos/Instagram
Like Saget and Stamos, Rizzo and McHugh grew close as the quartet spent time together. "What can you say about someone you’ve loved for so long and want to spend the rest of your life with?" Saget wrote on Instagram in January 2019, while commemorating a double date the couples went on. "But enough about @JohnStamos — We are both so lucky to have married these wonderful, beautiful women @eattravelrock and @caitlinskybound — And we know which we are married to…whew." Courtesy Bob Saget/Instagram
In August 2021, Saget shared an emotional tribute to his "brother" on Instagram to celebrate Stamos' birthday. "We have been through so much together for 35 years. High, lows- The usual you go through with your closest of people in your life. But what I have to say here, is how damned lucky I am to have John in my life," the comedian wrote. "I’ve learned so much from John, and I am truly blessed to have this good man as my brother ... There is only one @johnstamos on this planet, and I am a better person because he’s in my life." Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
After the news of Saget's death broke, Stamos and the rest of the Full House cast reflected on the late actor in a shared statement in January 2022. "Thirty-five years ago, we came together as a TV family, but we became a real family," the statement read. "He was a brother to us guys, a father to us girls and a friend to all of us. Bob, we love you dearly." REEL/MEGA
Stamos followed it up with a statement of his own admitting that he wasn't "ready to say goodbye" to his best friend just yet. "I'm not ready to accept that he's gone - I'm not going to say goodbye yet. I'm going to imagine him out there, still on the road, doing what he loves with all his heart and humor," the actor wrote on Instagram at the time. "I'm just not ready to say goodbye yet. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe." Lorimar/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
In response to Stamos' post, in which he envisioned Saget performing and speaking with his wife and family, Rizzo commented on the lasting bond they shared. "John. My brother. Bob’s brother," she wrote in the comments. "Thank you for this and the fact that we just need to picture him out on the road doing what he loved and what made him so damn happy. MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY. And for sharing his last moments so perfectly. I know that is what happened. I love you and BOB loves you forever." Gregg DeGuire/UPI/Shutterstock
Stamos and the Beach Boys, who’ve frequently performed together through the years, honored Saget during their “Sixty Years of the Sounds of Summer” duet in August 2022. During the Greek Theatre concert, Stamos and the band performed “Forever” — which became a staple of his character Jesse’s musical repertoire on Full House. Alongside the performance, the group showcased throwback footage of Saget’s character from the sitcom, per social media footage. Courtesy of Nate Adamsky/Instagram (2)
Stamos shared a throwback video via Instagram in November 2022 of his then-infant son laughing at his pretend sneezes. "For the first few months I didn’t feel as connected with my son as I thought I would. Bob Saget said, 'Just wait until the first time he laughs at you.' If this doesn’t cheer you up on a Wednesday, nothing will," he wrote in the caption. Hahn Lionel/ABACA/Shutterstock
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