Bob Saget Was Entertainment’s Consummate Father Figure

Two years before the beloved family sitcom Full House began airing on ABC, Bob Saget appeared on HBO’s The Ninth Annual Young Comedians Special. Though his role as Danny Tanner—that affectionate, straitlaced father to three young girls—would eventually define his acting career, his stand-up set showcased a much bawdier side.

Speaking about living in California, Saget with a smirk,, a show that used to stitch together clips of unintentional crotch punches. Inspired by free-speaking legends such as Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin, Saget often , crowding his sets with filthy innuendo and Rabelaisian wit. Yet those two sides of Saget, who died yesterday at 65, were what made him so compelling. Many entertainers have played against type or shirked the roles that made them famous, but Saget was a lesson in authentic complexity. “You’re a good guy,” Conan O’Brien once told him. “But your mind goes sometimes to dirty places.”