(NewsNation Now) — The entertainment industry is reeling after beloved comedian and “Full House” star Bob Saget was found dead in his Orlando hotel room this weekend.
The actor-comedian was known for hosting “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and starring in “Full House,” where he played the squeaky clean widower and dad to three young girls. But Saget the stand-up showed his flip side with what become a much-talked-about cameo in the 2005 documentary “The Aristocrats” — in which 100 comics riffed on the world’s dirtiest joke — that revealed his notoriously filthy sense of humor.
“I always thought of him sort of like an altar boy, that in front of the grownups, he was the perfect gentleman, and on his best behavior,” NewsNation affiliate WGN’s Emmy Award-winning entertainment reporter and critic Dean Richards said. “But in the hallway with the boys that’s when he turned on his stand-up comedy for which he became so famous, which was kind of raucous and profane.”
Raunchy comedy wasn’t part of his long-running network TV shows, where he became America’s favorite dad.
“I met him one time I was out on a lot in in LA, and I remember whoever was introducing me to him and said, ‘Listen, he’s not Danny Tanner. You know, this is just a warning,’ ” NewsNation’s Adrienne Bankert said to Richards on “Morning in America.” “He likes to tell some more colorful jokes.”
Raunchy jokes aside, Saget was praised for his comedic timing and kindness by fellow entertainers and industry fixtures alike.
“In often a ruthless business he was historically not just hilarious but more importantly one of the kindest human beings I ever met in my career,” actor Richard Lewis wrote on Twitter.
“It’s interesting that he had so many people of great acclaim who loved him, but he had a reputation, it seems with everyone at different levels within the entertainment world that he was just a good guy and they loved his kindness, his niceness,” Richards said.
Saget was in Florida as part of his “I Don’t Do Negative Comedy Tour.” The local medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of Saget’s death, the sheriff’s department said.
NewsNation affiliate WGN’s Emmy Award-winning entertainment reporter and critic
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate WGN contributed to this report.