In his memory. Several of Bob Saget’s former Full House costars and longtime friends attended his emotional funeral service earlier this month — including John Stamos, who delivered a special eulogy about his late friend.
“My Bob. I’m not ready to accept that he’s gone. I’m not going to say goodbye yet,” Stamos, 58, said in his speech, which was published by The Los Angeles Times on Friday, January 21. “I imagine him out there, still on the road, doing what he loves with all his heart and humor. He’s standing on stage, killing! Another two-hour set in front of a couple hundred of the luckiest people on the planet. They’re laughing so hard they weep. And just when they catch their breath, he grabs his guitar and slays them with one of his musical closers. There’s an encore, and another, and another. Everyone here wants an encore with Bob.”
The Big Shot star continued: “God, he loves us all so much. Bob goes to sleep dreaming of when we’ll meet again — and he’s smiling. I know in my heart he’s smiling, still hearing the laughter from a few hours before. … He should still be out there challenging himself creatively, stripping down all the Hollywood bull—, traveling to small towns around the country, giving the people raw, wild, unpredictable, and uncensored Saget: ‘Tonight’s specials are cake and c—k … and we’re out of cake.’”
To pay homage to the Raising Dad alum’s raunchy sense of humor, Stamos — who served as a pallbearer during the memorial — added in a few NSFW jokes that he knew “Bob loved.”
“Personally, I hope to die after a beautiful night of lovemaking with my wife [Caitlin McHugh], but I’m glad Bob didn’t go that way. As I said, I rather he dies after doing what he did best. (Sorry, Kelly.),” the Grandfathered alum teased, referring to Saget’s wife, Kelly Rizzo.
The You alum explained that the longtime friends “didn’t really get along” when Full House started in 1987, citing their different styles and approaches to acting. Soon enough, the two men found common ground and developed.
Saget — ahead of his death — shared a sweet tribute for his Fuller House costar’s birthday, which Stamos will never forget.
“Truthfully, I was a tad over Bob at the moment, but I figured I needed to read it so he’d stop bugging me,” Stamos remembered. “I may just read that every day for the rest of my life.”
The two stars played Danny Tanner and Jesse Katsopolis, respectively, on the family sitcom, which ran for eight seasons until May 1995.
“When we started Full House, I was in my 20s and didn’t have a care in the world. Hell, my backyard was Disneyland. But life does what it does, and when things came crashing down, the last person on Earth I ever imagined would be my rock became just that,” the California native recalled. “When I lost my parents, Bob was there for me like no other. He told dirty jokes and talked about himself as he hosted my dad’s funeral. He was there through divorces, deaths, despair and dark days. He was there through love, marriage, a child and bright times. He was my lifeline. He loved hard and deep.”
Stamos added in his speech: “He would do that during tragedies and honestly, it would piss me off sometimes. That’s how he got through the darkness, and sadly he had a lot of it in his life. Now that I’m dealing with him dying, I sort of get it. Bob loved with everything he had. He taught me to be present with the ones I love. I hope he learned to internalize the love I felt for him.”
The My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 actor further recounted their “brotherly” bond, noting that Saget is known affectionately as “Uncle Bob” to his son Billy, 3.
“I pray that Billy will someday have a friend like I had in Bob — and if I see a picture of the two of them in tutus, I’ll know it’s brotherly love,” he quipped. “I grabbed Billy, held on to him as tight as I could and told him how much I loved him. We don’t do justice to Bob’s legacy without remembering to hold those we love as close as we can and telling them what we feel about them every day. … [Bob’s] in the lessons I teach my son and the hilarious dirty stories that my wife and I will laugh at for the rest of our lives.”
Stamos concluded with a heartfelt message to his pal: “Bob, I will never, ever have another friend like you. You will always be my best friend. You are my new guardian angel — a guardian angel with the dirtiest mouth and a heart as big and benevolent as forever. I love you, Baby.”
The Dirty Daddy author died on January 9 at the age of 65 and was laid to rest in a private funeral service nearly one week later. Stamos, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, Lori Loughlin, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen and John Mayer were all in attendance alongside his family and other famous friends.
“There were lots of tears, of course, but so much laughter too. It was a perfect goodbye to Bob,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “Now, there is a celebration of life memorial at [Full House creator] Jeff Franklin’s house.”
Stamos’ complete memorial speech can be found via The Los Angeles Times.