"Life’s hard enough, and I’m looking to make people feel better"
January 9, 2022 5:18 PM Subscribe
"I had no idea I did a 2 hr set tonight. I’m happily addicted again to this shit." Bob Saget did a standup set in Jacksonville, Florida Saturday night and was found dead in his room this afternoon.
Saget was known for being the dad on Full House, the host of America's Funniest Home Videos, and an absolutely filthy stand-up comedian. He was was a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation, a disease which killed his sister when she was 47 in 1993. Saget spoke on Kevin Hart's podcast in May about how he grew up in a house with a lot of tragedy and this was how he learned to be funny, sometimes darkly so.
According to the sheriff's department, there was no sign of foul play or drug use.
Saget was known for being the dad on Full House, the host of America's Funniest Home Videos, and an absolutely filthy stand-up comedian. He was was a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation, a disease which killed his sister when she was 47 in 1993. Saget spoke on Kevin Hart's podcast in May about how he grew up in a house with a lot of tragedy and this was how he learned to be funny, sometimes darkly so.
According to the sheriff's department, there was no sign of foul play or drug use.
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posted by Blue Jello Elf at 5:22 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 5:22 PM on January 9, 2022
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posted by General Malaise at 5:23 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by General Malaise at 5:23 PM on January 9, 2022
Also if it's not geofenced where you are (and you like this sort of thing), please enjoy the Comedy Central roast of Bob Saget from 2008 with a lot of familiar (and missed) faces.
posted by jessamyn at 5:25 PM on January 9, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 5:25 PM on January 9, 2022 [9 favorites]
Very sad- he seemed so young. A staple of my 80s/90s childhood.
posted by bearette at 5:39 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by bearette at 5:39 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
I really enjoyed him in "The Aristocrats" (2005)
posted by stevil at 5:41 PM on January 9, 2022 [23 favorites]
posted by stevil at 5:41 PM on January 9, 2022 [23 favorites]
Only knowing him from Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos, the first time I saw a recording of his stand-up, I was astounded, first, that he was so incredibly hilarious, and second by how filthy his comedy was, and always had been. It’s amazing that most of the people who knew of him only saw the cheesy TV dad side of him.
He’ll be missed.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:44 PM on January 9, 2022 [11 favorites]
He’ll be missed.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:44 PM on January 9, 2022 [11 favorites]
Wow. That is totally unexpected.
I guess he died right after doing what he loved?
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:44 PM on January 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
I guess he died right after doing what he loved?
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:44 PM on January 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
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posted by EatTheWeek at 5:49 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by EatTheWeek at 5:49 PM on January 9, 2022
I really enjoyed him in "The Aristocrats" (2005) (link majorly NSFW)
We owe it to Bob Sagat to make necrophilia jokes about him at this time. It's what he would have wanted.
RIP to one of the funniest people of the past half century. Love to his family, fans and friends.
posted by Joey Michaels at 5:49 PM on January 9, 2022 [30 favorites]
We owe it to Bob Sagat to make necrophilia jokes about him at this time. It's what he would have wanted.
RIP to one of the funniest people of the past half century. Love to his family, fans and friends.
posted by Joey Michaels at 5:49 PM on January 9, 2022 [30 favorites]
One of my favorite funny people. I learned of him in the 80s, going back to the "Evening at the Improv" compilation VHS tapes we'd rent. I saw him twice, once before everybody knew he was dirty, then about 10 years ago at UC Berkeley where everybody was there for ONLY THAT. He was great both times. I'll miss him.
"Sorry, that joke was cheap and easy, but so's my Mom and that's why I'm here."
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posted by rhizome at 5:55 PM on January 9, 2022 [18 favorites]
"Sorry, that joke was cheap and easy, but so's my Mom and that's why I'm here."
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posted by rhizome at 5:55 PM on January 9, 2022 [18 favorites]
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posted by maggiemaggie at 5:57 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:57 PM on January 9, 2022
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posted by Bob Regular at 5:57 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by Bob Regular at 5:57 PM on January 9, 2022
The funniest movie I've ever seen is The Aristocrats, and Bob Saget was a huge part of why. The dissonance of those impossibly foul words coming out of that guy who was best known for starring in a weak, saccharine TV show is .. gut busting.
I would not have been surprised if it was not even available on streaming, being so wildly offensive and all, but happily it is. Go watch it!
posted by intermod at 6:08 PM on January 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
I would not have been surprised if it was not even available on streaming, being so wildly offensive and all, but happily it is. Go watch it!
posted by intermod at 6:08 PM on January 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
His scene in Half Baked was legendary.
posted by Liquidwolf at 6:09 PM on January 9, 2022 [15 favorites]
posted by Liquidwolf at 6:09 PM on January 9, 2022 [15 favorites]
By an awful coincidence, Saget got involved with fundraising for scleroderma research years before his sister developed the disease:
Saget was a much better and more impressive human being by far than the impression I had of him from his act.
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posted by jamjam at 6:15 PM on January 9, 2022 [23 favorites]
I became familiar with scleroderma several years before my sister came down with it. It began 25 years ago when I met Sharon Monsky, a woman who was to become one of the dearest friends of my life. She was the founder and then CEO of the Scleroderma Research Foundation — a great woman, a mother of three who’d been stricken with the disease herself as a young mom.And infectious agents have been nominated as triggers for scleroderma for a long time:
Sharon had originally cold-called me to perform standup at a benefit in Santa Monica she had titled “Cool Comedy-Hot Cuisine.” I knew nothing about scleroderma. Performing and hosting benefits were the only ways to fund research dedicated to finding a cure, or, at the very least, finding ways to put the disease into some kind of remission. That was the best way to fund-raise for this difficult disease — through humor.
I said, yes.
It was a night of comedians and amazing food by well-known chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken.
...
The first year I went, Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell performed as well. It was such a moving night for me that I personally promised Sharon that I would be there the following year. I have since hosted "Cool Comedy-Hot Cuisine" over 30 times.
Numerous infectious agents (bacterial and viral) have been proposed as possible triggering factors (Parvovirus B19, Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Retroviruses). Homology between viruses and autoantibody targets suggests that molecular mimicry may have a role in initiating antibody response in different disorders characterized by diffuse vascular disease, including SSc.But "a direct casual association between infections and SSc is still missing."
Saget was a much better and more impressive human being by far than the impression I had of him from his act.
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posted by jamjam at 6:15 PM on January 9, 2022 [23 favorites]
The illest motherf***er in a cardigan sweater. What a shame.
posted by humbug at 6:15 PM on January 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by humbug at 6:15 PM on January 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
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posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 6:37 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 6:37 PM on January 9, 2022
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posted by joannemerriam at 6:37 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by joannemerriam at 6:37 PM on January 9, 2022
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posted by fourpotatoes at 6:38 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by fourpotatoes at 6:38 PM on January 9, 2022
Well, fuck. Thanks for all the laughs, Bob.
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 6:42 PM on January 9, 2022
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 6:42 PM on January 9, 2022
His scene in Half Baked was legendary.
I've been watching some of my fave bits by him and that was one of them.
posted by jessamyn at 6:42 PM on January 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
I've been watching some of my fave bits by him and that was one of them.
posted by jessamyn at 6:42 PM on January 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
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posted by BlackLeotardFront at 6:43 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 6:43 PM on January 9, 2022
I saw his live act in Seattle in the 2000s and he was quite good, but I hesitate to recommend it now, given what we've just learned about him.
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posted by PresidentOfDinosaurs at 6:44 PM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by PresidentOfDinosaurs at 6:44 PM on January 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Bob Saget's X-Rated "Full House" Memories | CONAN
"apparently I am dirty"
posted by philip-random at 6:46 PM on January 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
"apparently I am dirty"
posted by philip-random at 6:46 PM on January 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
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posted by Laura in Canada at 6:53 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by Laura in Canada at 6:53 PM on January 9, 2022
Some heavy fucking Bojack vibes, right there.
posted by metametamind at 6:57 PM on January 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by metametamind at 6:57 PM on January 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
He also played "himself" on Entourage: one, two, three.
posted by dobbs at 7:06 PM on January 9, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by dobbs at 7:06 PM on January 9, 2022 [4 favorites]
🎩
posted by clavdivs at 7:06 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 7:06 PM on January 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
I never knew about the Saget family connection to scleroderma. My grandmother had that, but it's a disorder that you don't hear much about.
posted by emelenjr at 7:10 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by emelenjr at 7:10 PM on January 9, 2022
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posted by interogative mood at 7:16 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by interogative mood at 7:16 PM on January 9, 2022
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posted by spinifex23 at 9:23 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by spinifex23 at 9:23 PM on January 9, 2022
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posted by chinesefood at 9:24 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by chinesefood at 9:24 PM on January 9, 2022
How ever much time you think you spent with Bob Saget on television, I assure you it’s much, much more. Even when he wasn’t there, he was.
192 episodes of Full House
191 episodes of America’s Funniest Home Videos
208 episodes of How I Met Your Mother
Just these three shows add up to a little more than two years of your life, and that's only if you watched once. Of course Bob Saget did a lot more in film and television and lord knows how many thousands of hours of stand-up comedy (there should be a site that keeps track of this). He was just sort of always there. When you needed something sickeningly saccharine to escape to, when you needed the kind of laughter that could only come from watching a grown man get hit by a football in the groin, when you needed reassurance that if there was still hope for Ted Mosby then there is still hope for anyone and no one should ever give up.
His death hits differently when you realize the tall funny slender man on the tv was a more of a presence in your life than your own father.
posted by guiseroom at 9:51 PM on January 9, 2022 [7 favorites]
192 episodes of Full House
191 episodes of America’s Funniest Home Videos
208 episodes of How I Met Your Mother
Just these three shows add up to a little more than two years of your life, and that's only if you watched once. Of course Bob Saget did a lot more in film and television and lord knows how many thousands of hours of stand-up comedy (there should be a site that keeps track of this). He was just sort of always there. When you needed something sickeningly saccharine to escape to, when you needed the kind of laughter that could only come from watching a grown man get hit by a football in the groin, when you needed reassurance that if there was still hope for Ted Mosby then there is still hope for anyone and no one should ever give up.
His death hits differently when you realize the tall funny slender man on the tv was a more of a presence in your life than your own father.
"Here’s the secret, kids. None of us can vow to be perfect. In the end, all we can do is promise to love each other with everything we’ve got. Because love’s the best thing we do.".
— Ted Mosby (in the year 2030)
posted by guiseroom at 9:51 PM on January 9, 2022 [7 favorites]
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Early on when we were dating, Mrs. Johnson and I were in traffic waiting at a red light when we noticed the license plate in front of us: "BOBSGT" We had a grand old time imagining someone who liked Bob Saget so much they paid for custom license plates to announce the fact. It did not dawn on us until a minute or two later that we had been, in fact, driving behind "Bob's GT" which made us laugh even harder. That moment of sharing slap-happy laughter with Mrs. Johnson -- over a presumed Bob Saget license plate -- became a special in-joke for us, and definitely makes my list of "When did you know?" moments with Mrs. Johnson.
This personal reflection feels awfully odd to share in light of his death; but as others have noted Saget was far far more than the goofy dad persona from Full House. Odds are he'd appreciate being part of our in-joke, and why stop it now that he's gone? So, I gotta double down and give our joke new life! Tomorrow morning I'll ask Mrs. Johnson if she heard that Bob's GT just crashed.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 9:53 PM on January 9, 2022 [14 favorites]
Early on when we were dating, Mrs. Johnson and I were in traffic waiting at a red light when we noticed the license plate in front of us: "BOBSGT" We had a grand old time imagining someone who liked Bob Saget so much they paid for custom license plates to announce the fact. It did not dawn on us until a minute or two later that we had been, in fact, driving behind "Bob's GT" which made us laugh even harder. That moment of sharing slap-happy laughter with Mrs. Johnson -- over a presumed Bob Saget license plate -- became a special in-joke for us, and definitely makes my list of "When did you know?" moments with Mrs. Johnson.
This personal reflection feels awfully odd to share in light of his death; but as others have noted Saget was far far more than the goofy dad persona from Full House. Odds are he'd appreciate being part of our in-joke, and why stop it now that he's gone? So, I gotta double down and give our joke new life! Tomorrow morning I'll ask Mrs. Johnson if she heard that Bob's GT just crashed.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 9:53 PM on January 9, 2022 [14 favorites]
"Regardless of the truth, Bob Sagat would want all of us to think that the reason he died was accidental auto-erotic asphyxiation."
posted by brundlefly at 10:04 PM on January 9, 2022 [26 favorites]
posted by brundlefly at 10:04 PM on January 9, 2022 [26 favorites]
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posted by brundlefly at 10:04 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by brundlefly at 10:04 PM on January 9, 2022
I know Full House the first and second run are both very cheesy, but they were enormous comfort TV to my kids during a contentious divorce, and I am grateful to Bob Saget for making something that opened conversations and provided a respite in the background for a difficult period.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 10:33 PM on January 9, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 10:33 PM on January 9, 2022 [8 favorites]
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posted by Mister Moofoo at 11:52 PM on January 9, 2022
posted by Mister Moofoo at 11:52 PM on January 9, 2022
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posted by lazaruslong at 12:06 AM on January 10, 2022
posted by lazaruslong at 12:06 AM on January 10, 2022
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posted by hap_hazard at 12:07 AM on January 10, 2022
posted by hap_hazard at 12:07 AM on January 10, 2022
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posted by Faint of Butt at 3:43 AM on January 10, 2022
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:43 AM on January 10, 2022
I don't mean to make light of Bob Saget's death, and I feel all the sympathy toward his family and friends that I would for any celebrity I haven't thought very much about in years. However. I was watching America's Funniest Home Videos last night, as one does, when one is 50 years old and has television-watching habits established over many decades, even though one is aware of the existence of YouTube and TikTok and many other fine sources of funny videos. Near the end of the show, it cut to "ABC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT" and I thought, oh shit. There's been a terrorist bombing or someone shot the President or some other terrible yet newsworthy thing has happened. Then the reporter came on and said that Bob Saget had died, which is, okay, not a good thing, but not what I would call "break-into-prime-time-programming-with-SPECIAL-REPORT" level of bad thing, but I suppose they thought it particularly relevant at that moment because of all his years as the AFV host, and all I could think was, fuck you ABC News for scaring me like that. Sorry, Bob.
posted by Daily Alice at 5:13 AM on January 10, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Daily Alice at 5:13 AM on January 10, 2022 [5 favorites]
This is bad.
posted by parmanparman at 5:33 AM on January 10, 2022
posted by parmanparman at 5:33 AM on January 10, 2022
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posted by exlotuseater at 7:25 AM on January 10, 2022
posted by exlotuseater at 7:25 AM on January 10, 2022
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posted by confluency at 7:27 AM on January 10, 2022
posted by confluency at 7:27 AM on January 10, 2022
Having only known Bob's comedy from his work on AFV and that he was on Full House, I was very surprised as a youngish man to find one of his standup acts on TV somewhere; it was shockingly rude and incredibly funny.
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posted by nubs at 7:31 AM on January 10, 2022
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posted by nubs at 7:31 AM on January 10, 2022
@Daily Alice: I was on Twitter and saw that Bob Saget and Paul McCartney were both trending and my first thought was, "Oh no! Sir Paul!" Maybe Bob would have found that funny.
I remember the first time seeing his standup after getting to know him through Full House / AFHV. I've rarely laughed so hard. So damn raunchy. I wish I could find the video - was early 90s IIRC.
Too soon. Way too soon.
posted by jzb at 7:36 AM on January 10, 2022
I remember the first time seeing his standup after getting to know him through Full House / AFHV. I've rarely laughed so hard. So damn raunchy. I wish I could find the video - was early 90s IIRC.
Too soon. Way too soon.
posted by jzb at 7:36 AM on January 10, 2022
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posted by zengargoyle at 7:46 AM on January 10, 2022
posted by zengargoyle at 7:46 AM on January 10, 2022
This is so sad. Nthing to watch his Aristocrats performance... part of the joke among comics at the time of Full House was that he was so able to convince America that he was so squeaky clean, that he wasn't able to do standup for a long while because none of his material would work for his new audience.
He once called America's Funniest Home Videos "Mammals Falling Down" and I haven't been able to think of it called anything else since.
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posted by Mchelly at 8:47 AM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
He once called America's Funniest Home Videos "Mammals Falling Down" and I haven't been able to think of it called anything else since.
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posted by Mchelly at 8:47 AM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
The man used to suck dick for coke.
Fucking legend.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 10:22 AM on January 10, 2022
Fucking legend.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 10:22 AM on January 10, 2022
Bob Saget Collection on Letterman 1988 -- 2006
posted by y2karl at 11:03 AM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by y2karl at 11:03 AM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
The Duality of Bob Saget Is What Made Him Special
posted by chavenet at 12:30 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by chavenet at 12:30 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
I guess he won't have to suck any more dicks for cocaine.
Bye Bob.
Thanks for the laughter.
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posted by hoodrich at 1:27 PM on January 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
Bye Bob.
Thanks for the laughter.
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posted by hoodrich at 1:27 PM on January 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
Dad's Dirty Jokes
The very last joke in this set, almost a throwaway, about Saget's circumcision, is one of the funniest one-liners I've ever heard. (the shaggy chicken joke that's most of the set is an oldie but a goodie.)
so sue me, I'm still 11.
[it's, er, NSFW]
posted by chavenet at 1:12 AM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
The very last joke in this set, almost a throwaway, about Saget's circumcision, is one of the funniest one-liners I've ever heard. (the shaggy chicken joke that's most of the set is an oldie but a goodie.)
so sue me, I'm still 11.
[it's, er, NSFW]
posted by chavenet at 1:12 AM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
this kind of death is so terrifying to me. only 65 years old, seemingly in pretty good health, living his best life doing standup, and then bam. UGH
posted by lazaruslong at 2:22 AM on January 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 2:22 AM on January 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
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I finally watched The Aristocrats in his honor — it’s available through Hoopla from my public library, which struck me as fittingly hilarious.
What a wonderful, filthy man.
posted by bjrubble at 9:05 AM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
I finally watched The Aristocrats in his honor — it’s available through Hoopla from my public library, which struck me as fittingly hilarious.
What a wonderful, filthy man.
posted by bjrubble at 9:05 AM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
For all the years that I liked him before his wholesome career, I have to say I'm positively jealous of all of you who grew up with and only knew him from Full House and AFV. That kind of (what I imagine was a) mindblowing discovery doesn't come along very often in a life.
posted by rhizome at 11:54 AM on January 11, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 11:54 AM on January 11, 2022 [5 favorites]
Maybe the most Bob Saget thing ever is that authorities felt the first thing necessary to inform us about was that there was no foul play or drugs. I think he'd love that.
RIP Bob, he's sucking dick for coke in heaven now
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:01 PM on January 11, 2022 [5 favorites]
RIP Bob, he's sucking dick for coke in heaven now
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:01 PM on January 11, 2022 [5 favorites]
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Back in the mid 80s, when I was obsessively watching and audiotaping every comedy show that any broadcast channel would show, I saw Saget perform on one show, G-rated, with his guitar, in a San Francisco club.
There was a stylized hills and buildings neon backdrop. He riffed on that - 'We built this city / On the San Andreas Fault."
And he ended with a song about coming off tour and still being broke, and having to shake out couch cushions and stuff to scrounge up money for food. Every verse had him finding a couple more coins; every chorus dealt with the increased total.
All I can recall is the last chorus:
"I'll get some Thunderbird wine,
And this guy" (audience member he'd been hassling earlier in the set) "and I are gonna dine
On some fish-sticks I bought.
Dollar eighty-nine."
So, a couple years later, when Full House started, I went, 'hey, it's that guy with the dollar-eighty-nine song."
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:01 PM on January 13, 2022
Back in the mid 80s, when I was obsessively watching and audiotaping every comedy show that any broadcast channel would show, I saw Saget perform on one show, G-rated, with his guitar, in a San Francisco club.
There was a stylized hills and buildings neon backdrop. He riffed on that - 'We built this city / On the San Andreas Fault."
And he ended with a song about coming off tour and still being broke, and having to shake out couch cushions and stuff to scrounge up money for food. Every verse had him finding a couple more coins; every chorus dealt with the increased total.
All I can recall is the last chorus:
"I'll get some Thunderbird wine,
And this guy" (audience member he'd been hassling earlier in the set) "and I are gonna dine
On some fish-sticks I bought.
Dollar eighty-nine."
So, a couple years later, when Full House started, I went, 'hey, it's that guy with the dollar-eighty-nine song."
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:01 PM on January 13, 2022
Oh, and he was only 1 degree of separation from the MCU, thanks to Raising Dad: youtube link - his tv kids were Kat Dennings and Brie Larson.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:09 PM on January 13, 2022
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:09 PM on January 13, 2022
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