Co-star says there were ‘two sides’ to Full House dad Bob Saget

He was most famous as “America's dad” through his long-running role on sitcom Full House, but there was a racier side to Bob Saget.

Suzanne Somers recalled there were “two sides” to her friend Bob Saget — the sitcom dad of Full House who could also be so edgy as a stand-up that he went “beyond Richard Pryor”.

“He was so young,” said Somers told Page Six on Monday after she’d been shocked to learn of Saget’s untimely death at 65 while she was appearing virtually on an Australian morning show on Sunday night California time.

Somers, 75, told Page Six that back when Saget was on the hit Full House, he “seemed way younger,” but “he did have two sides,” she said. “One was the dad good guy always doing (the right thing), and the other was one step beyond Richard Pryor.”

But Somers said she appreciated both — because she has a racy sense of humour.

Saget was known for his straight-arrow TV persona, as well as an incongruously “blue” stand-up act.

Somers was close to Saget because they worked, “practically side-by-side,” she told us, when she was starring in the 1990s sitcom Step By Step while Saget filmed Full House in a studio next door on the Warner Bros. lot.

“It was such a fun time because we all would meet at the commissary for lunch, and it was this ongoing party,” Somers told Page Six.

Bob Saget (second from left) with the cast of Full House. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)

The Three’s Company star said that when she learned of Saget’s death while appearing on the Aussie TV interview, “I was kind of startled. Who would think when you’re on Australian TV (you’d) get this alert news about Bob Saget? My jaw was ajar — ‘Are you kidding?’”

Saget was found dead in his hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, Florida, according to local law enforcement.

The former “America’s Funniest Home Videos” host was on tour and performed in Jacksonville before he passed away.

Though Saget’s cause of death has yet to be determined, authorities have said that “there is no evidence of drug use or foul play.”

He is survived by Rizzo, 42, and daughters Aubrey, 34, Lara, 32, and Jennifer, 29, whom he shared with ex-wife Sherri Kramer.

Saget’s touring partner, fellow comedian Mike Young, is still trying to process the news of his pal’s sudden death.

“He seemed great and he seemed excited about going on the road,” Young, 45, exclusively told Page Six, reflecting on the days leading up to the Full House actor’s passing on Sunday.

Young had served as Saget’s opening act on his latest stand-up tour, which wrapped its last show in Florida this weekend.

Bob Saget with wife Kelly; Suzanne Somers. Pictures: Instagram, Getty

“We had West Palm Beach lined up in a week and we were about to take off from there,” Young continued.

“Bob seemed excited about his new material. He was excited about going on vacation with his wife pretty soon, he was excited to see his daughters. He had so much to live for and was looking forward to all of it.”

Young — who developed a “brotherly bond” with Saget over the course of their 12-year friendship — went on to say that he is devastated at the loss of the beloved comic, which “came out of nowhere.”

“I am beside myself because this was completely unexpected,” he told us. “His death has just blindsided everybody. But what are you going to do? I just have to take the good lessons he taught me and move on by keeping his memory alive with good words and stories.”

Young said Saget imparted “loads of wisdom” to him over the last decade and change, but revealed his favourite piece of advice.

“’Take comedy seriously,’” Young said, recalling Saget’s words to him. “He took it all seriously: the performance, the jokes, the crowd. He cherished it all and told me how important it was to never take my career for granted.”

Though Young is unsure about the future of his remaining tour dates without Saget — “I’m not even thinking about that right now. I need to mourn,” he admitted — the funnyman made a promise to pay tribute to his bud whenever he does resume the stage.

Bob Saget took comedy seriously. Photo: Bob Barker.

“I’ll be talking about him on stage because I have to. It’s too real not to talk about him, so I’ll find a way to bring him up in my act — but also somehow make it funny because that is what he’d want me to do,” he said.

“I’ll continue to honour him by taking the craft seriously. I’ll just try to be great and bring him up all along the way. He’s my guardian angel now.”

Saget’s wife, Kelly Rizzo, was the first to alert Young of his death on Sunday.

“I got a call from Kelly and it was just a watershed of tears and disbelief and sadness,” he recounted. “When you hear someone you love passed away, especially someone as incredible as Bob, it’s unbelievably heartbreaking.”

While grieving Saget’s untimely departure, Young has frequently looked back on their final text exchange, which occurred Friday.

“He said to me, like, ‘Fine, I’ll put you on the promotional material because you’re my brother and I love you’,” said Young, noting that he and Saget would often joke about their opener/headliner relationship.

“The best thing about Bob was that he always ended every message with ‘Love you,’ so I got one last ‘Love you’. He was all love, so I’m hanging onto that. He was one of my best friends in the entire world and I can’t tell you how much I’ll miss him.”

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission

Originally published as Co-star says there were ‘two sides’ to Full House dad Bob Saget