Anyone who turned on a TV in the 1990s is a little sadder today, as beloved comedian and actor Bob Saget has died at the age of 65.
Saget played Danny, the patriarch of the Tanner family, on Full House from 1987 to 1995 (and its Netflix revival Fuller House from 2016 to 2020). He was also the long-serving host of America’s Funniest Home Videos between 1989 and 1997, and the warm-voiced narrator of How I Met Your Mother (2005 to 2014), as the never-seen older version of protagonist Ted Mosby.
While that’s more titanic success than most working actors ever get to see, Saget’s uniqueness in pop culture stemmed just as much from his more crass and adult-oriented comedy as it did from his wholesome sitcom persona. There can’t be more than a handful of Gen Xers across America who don’t fondly recall seeing Saget’s post-Full House coming-out moment in the pot comedy Half Baked, where this lovable TV family man suddenly showed up as a recovering drug addict with a bluntly profane point to make.
Saget was reportedly found unresponsive in a hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando on Sunday, and pronounced dead at the scene, the Orlando Sheriff’s department confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. The department said that there were no signs of foul play or drug use.
The comedian had performed in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday night, and posted a warm message to social media about the show. “I had no idea I did a 2 hr set tonight,” he said in the final post. “I’m happily addicted again to this shit.”
Saget’s signature mixture of raunchy humor and kind sincerity both took the spotlight on Sunday evening as fans, friends, and peers flooded Twitter with emotional and shocked posts. For all the nods to Half Baked and his other hilariously offensive work, almost all made a point of also highlighting the kindness of this multi-faceted entertainer.
