The first month of 2022 has seen a stream of celebrity deaths. Following Betty White at 99 on December 31, there have been film director Peter Bogdanovich, 82; actor Sidney Poitier, 94; impresario Michael Lang, 77; and now comedian Bob Saget, 65.
While Lang had cancer and Bogdanovich suffered from Parkinson's, Poitier passed from natural causes. Saget's death so far has not been explained. He played stand-up shows on Jan. 7 at Hard Rock Live in Orlando and on Jan. 8 at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall in Jacksonville. At 4 pm on Sunday, Jan. 9, Saget was found dead in his room at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando in Grand Lakes, which is about two hours south of Jacksonville.
According to Saget's website, his next shows were scheduled for West Palm Beach, FL on Jan. 28-29 and Oklahoma City on Feb. 4-5. He had performances lined up into June. Saget was also working on a new comedy special and had his own podcast, Bob Saget's Here for You, produced by All Things Comedy.
The Florida Orange County Sheriff's Office initally told TMZ, "We have no information on cause of death, and detectives have found no signs of foul play or drug use in this case." Medical Examiner Joshua Stephany added: "The cause and manner of death are pending further studies and investigation which may take up to 10-12 weeks to complete.”
Best known for Full House, America's Funniest Home Videos and Entourage, Saget had a notable cameo in Half Baked in 1998. During a drug rehab meeting, Thurgood (Dave Chappelle) says he’s addicted to marijuana, Saget stands up and declares: “Marijuana is not a drug. I used to suck dick for coke. That’s an addiction, man. You ever suck some dick for marijuana?” Thurgood thinks for a few seconds: “No, I can’t say I have.” Saget mutters as he sits down: “I didn’t think so.”
This was his entry to being a dirty comedian like Lenny Bruce, but he never got busted for it. In the article "Bob Saget Talks Dirty" in The GW Hatchet in 2005, Rachel Weiner chided him for "introducing clips of cute animal tricks with awkward puns," noting: "It wouldn’t be so funny to hear him talk about doing crystal meth with his dog now."
In the interview, Saget said he "can’t do any drugs, I’m 49 now," and that he’d "never done anything for coke."
He joked about college audiences: "Some of them are so stoned, they can’t even sit upright the whole time. Pot tends to sedate people too much. But if they do too many stimulants that they need again in 15 minutes, they’ll miss a lot, 'cause there’s no speakers in the bathroom. Do what you need to do, but within reason.”
In 2013, Saget got into a feud with fellow TV actor Danielle Fishel when she told Maxim about an incident that happend aboard a plane they were both on sometime in the '90s. At one point, Sagat came over to Fishel, who was traveling with her parents, and asked. "Do your guys have any coke?" and then laughed and walked away.
Sagat responded: "The whole thing was as simple as me going to the bathroom and throwing out a one-liner. I was always making jokes; that's what I did. Yes, it did have a drug reference in it, but the joke was that her parents should protect this kid who was starring in a television show."
In 2014, he wrote Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian.
Among other things, Sagat revealed in the book he "took whip-its with [Full House] co-stars John Stamos and Dave Coulier while filming a birthday episode one year." After locking themselves in the prop room, he writes, and Radar reported, "We inhaled the little bit of air still left in the cans that were meant for Michelle's [Mary-Kate Olson] birthday cake scene. I guess we got high. Don't think so though. It was hard to tell… We were laughing, paranoid to be doing something so dumb!"
In 2020, Sagat tweeted, "I'm so glad I don't do cocaine, because these masks would make it super difficult."
I’m so glad I don’t do cocaine, because these masks would make it super difficult.
— bob saget (@bobsaget) July 26, 2020
In 2018, he noted at Twitter, "I'm not a weed smoker, but there are numerous strains of 'Bob Sagat Sativa.' Do I try to sell it as merch at my shows? Better yet, give portions of the proceeds to charities supporting rehab centers? Or just be honored I have pot named after me."
I’m not a weed smoker, but there are numerous strains of “Bob Saget Sativa.” Do I try to sell it as merch at my shows? Better yet, give portions of the proceeds to charities supporting rehab centers? Or just be honored I have pot named after me?
— bob saget (@bobsaget) September 14, 2018
Leafly describes Bob Sagat as:
"Also known as The Bob, it's a stimulating sativa marijuana strain that won second place at the 2016 Colorado Cannabis Cup. This addled comedian gets the heart pumping, stimulating the consumer to the point of agitation. But fear not, the energy subsides and settles into an uplifted, cerebral haze that is lucid, yet spacey. As this strong sativa fades, expect a stoney crash that represents Saget’s latent Pre-98 Bubba Kush and Afghani genetics."
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