Comedy is Suffering Another Shocking Loss: Bob Saget Dead at 65
Bob Saget died unexpectedly on Sunday at the age of 65, shocking everyone in entertainment. He was found in his hotel room in Orlando, Florida, just hours after performing at at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall in Jacksonville, and the night before in Orlando at the Hard Rock Live. He had just tweeted how much fun he had, and mentioned he had done a two hour set without even realizing it. “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 wrote on Instagram. Saget was looking forward to upcoming gigs all over the country including plans to head to Palm Beach at the end of the month. And he was working on a special.
The nation and comedy mourned Bob’s passing with broken hearts Sunday night on social media and the reaction was overwhelming. Bob was a rare talent who touched so many corners of the world. His time hosting America’s Funniest Video and as Danny Tanner on Full House endeared him to people of all ages, from young kids to grandparents, and people everywhere called him America’s dad. He was connected to everyone who worked in the sitcom world through Full House, and guest appearances on a long list of shows, but that was just one part of his life and his talent. He was in movies, and he made movies. He directed the cult classic, Dirty Work (with Norm Macdonald and Artie Langue), and he was incredibly proud of his 2019 movie that he directed and co-starred in, “Benjamin”. And his IMDB says he directed a documentary on Martin Mull that is in post production, which will undoubtably be great. Bob was on broadway, he wrote a great book, “Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian.” He was loved for his part in The Aristocrats, The Roast of Bob Saget was unforgettable, and of course, he was touring headliner who always drew huge crowds, and stand up seemed to be his true love. His 2014 album. That’s What I’m Talkin’ About was nominated for a Grammy. He had a great 2017 special, from Zero to Sixty, and he was working on a brand new hour. He also had a new podcast, started during the pandemic, “Bob Saget’s Here For You”, and he loved talking with people. He was world famous but very much a part of the stand up community- recent guests on his podcast included Bill Burr, Sam Morril, Aida Rodriguez, BJ Novak (just last week), Eddie Izzard and Nate Bargatze. He even took the time to congratulate Bargatze last week on Nate’s Comedian of the Year win right here on The Interrobang.
The stand up comedy world is brokenhearted tonight at the loss.
And as you read through the beautiful thoughts from people who loved him (click here to see that), you’ll see that the sentiment that comes through most often, is that he was one of the nicest people you ever could meet. I can vouch for this personally. I was lucky enough to get to spend over an hour talking with Bob one-on-one over coffee in New York City, right before he released his last special in 2017. It was an incredible story, Bob wasn’t planning to do a special – it was a crazy last minute thing- but he was very proud of it and it was a great hour. Not only was Bob a great interview, but he went out of his way to tell me he really enjoyed the time we spent talking- who does that? But you will see in the social media reaction to Bobs passing that its something he just did- took the time to make others feel valued.
SiriusXM’s Raw Dog Channel will be running Bob Saget’s albums in full and two hour interviews he did for the Unmasked series with Ron Bennington all day on Monday to pay tribute. I’ve listened to both hours and they’re not only hilariously funny, but full of great stories about all the people Bob bumped up against in his life- legends like Norm Macdonald, Artie Lange, Don Rickles, Sam Kinison, Bob Newhart and so many more. Please listen if you can.
Rest in peace Bob, you left a helluva mark on the world.
