As Pete Davidson, John Stamos and other stars paid tribute to comedian and “Full House” star Bob Saget, many are remembering his deep friendship with fellow standup Norm Macdonald and the tribute he paid to him when he died just four months ago.
Nobody seemed to feel Macdonald’s loss like Saget, and some of the things Saget said about Macdonald, who died of cancer on Sept. 14 at age 61, could be said of Saget, who died suddenly on Sunday at age 65.
“I can’t accept that he’s gone and that’s the shock we’re going through,” Saget said in the Sept. 21 episode of his podcast, “Bob Saget’s Here for You.”
“Sixty-one! That’s a sin,” Saget said. “That’s a sin for all of us that he’s gone.”
We really lost Norm MacDonald and Bob Saget within months. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/7Lg3igPXW0
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) January 10, 2022
“He told me he loved me and he told me publicly, and I loved him. I love him,” Saget said, explaining that he was having trouble talking about Macdonald in the past tense. “What do we do with that? When we lose someone, especially before their time?”
Macdonald and Saget met when they were 17 and 21 respectively and just starting out in standup. They professionally teamed up for the 1998 cult comedy, “Dirty Work.”
Their work on the film came after Saget had become a national icon for playing wholesome patriarch Danny Tanner on “Full House” and had just finished his eight-year run as the host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” He was also known for his raunchy stand-up comedy. Meanwhile, “Dirty Work” was the first starring vehicle for Macdonald, who was coming off his infamous firing from “Saturday Night Live” for reportedly telling too many jokes about O.J. Simpson being a murderer on Weekend Update.
During his podcast, Saget focused on Macdonald’s memorable set when he was roasted on Comedy Central in 2008. In fact, Saget called Macdonald’s performance an “anti-roast” and said his friend didn’t “like the form.” It was certainly unlike anything usually seen before on one of these celebrity roasts.
“I talked to him a week before the roast and he said, ‘I can’t say mean things about you because you’re my friend,’” Saget said. He recalled how Macdonald sat in the audience, reading the sports pages, while the other comedians hurled their sometimes ribald insults at him.
Macdonald had told Saget that he planned to “read jokes from a ’40s joke book.” What followed was a “clean” roast of the “Full House” star with Macdonald, in a purposefully stilted delivery, reading out jokes from note cards and dropping in a few profanities to stick to the flavor of the show.
Norm Macdonald’s appearance at the Roast of Bob Saget was unlike anything ever seen before. Watch this legendary clip with additional footage. pic.twitter.com/nb6JECXn4H
— comedycentral (@ComedyCentral) September 14, 2021
Macdonald’s set left the other stars somewhat confused but also howling with laughter. Macdonald wound up the segment by stopping the jokes to tell Saget:
“In all seriousness, Bob was the first comedian that I ever saw perform, when I was boy, live, and I loved him,” Macdonald said. “But one thing that bonds us as comedians is we’re bitter, and jealous, and we hate everyone else that has any success.”
Macdonald closed out the set by saying, “But Bob, honestly, has never had an unkind word for anybody, and I love him, and I hope everyone else does, so I just wanna say that. Thank you.”
On his podcast, Saget said he was unaware of Macdonald’s grave condition near the end of his life, though he knew something was wrong with his friend. Macdonald had kept many in the dark about having cancer, with the reports saying he had been diagnosed about nine years earlier. Saget recalled his final, devastating communication with Macdonald.
“Last week, I got a text and it just said ‘I love you,’” Saget said. “And I didn’t say much back. I just said, ‘I love you Norm.’ And that was my [final] communication with him. One of the gifts of my life is that he loved me, and that I loved him.”
Four months later, Saget would be gone, too. The comedian was found dead in his Florida hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, according to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, CNN reported. The cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner, the Sheriff’s office said, but there were no signs of foul play or drugs.
Saget was in Florida as part of his comedy tour, CNN reported. According to tour dates pinned to his Twitter account, he performed Saturday night at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
He tweeted after the show, “Loved tonight’s show @PV_ConcertHall in Jacksonville. Appreciative audience. Thanks again to @RealTimWilkins for opening. I had no idea I did a 2 hr set tonight. I’m happily addicted again to this s—t.”
In confirming his death to CNN, Saget’s family said: “He was everything to us and we want you to know how much he loved his fans, performing live and bringing people from all walks of life together with laughter. Though we ask for privacy at this time, we invite you to join us in remembering the love and laughter that Bob brought to the world.”