Bob Saget
A comedian who masterfully lived a double life: America's wholesome TV dad by day and a boundary-pushing stand-up by night.
1956–2022 (age 66)·American comedian and actor·Birthday: May 17·Baby Boomers
Biography
Bob Saget presented two distinct faces to the world, and both were authentically him. To a generation, he was Danny Tanner, the fastidiously clean single father on 'Full House,' dispensing gentle life lessons in a sweater vest. To another, he was the host of 'America's Funniest Home Videos,' his laughter a familiar weekend soundtrack. But in comedy clubs, Saget shed that image for a deliberately crude, self-aware, and often hilariously dark stand-up persona. This duality wasn't a contradiction but a craft—he understood the mechanics of family entertainment and the cathartic release of taboo-breaking humor. His later role as the future Ted Mosby on 'How I Met Your Mother' cleverly bridged these worlds, his narration warm but hinting at the wit beneath. Saget's career was a long, successful experiment in tone, proving that a performer could be defined not by one note, but by a complex and enduring chord.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Bob was born in 1956, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bob Was Born
The biggest hits of 1956
#1 Movie
The Ten Commandments
Best Picture
Around the World in 80 Days
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Bob's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1956Born
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1961Started school
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1969Became a teenager
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Could drive
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1974Could vote
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Turned 21
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1986Turned 30
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 40
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 50
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 60
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2022Died at 66
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Key Achievements
- Starred as the central patriarch Danny Tanner for eight seasons on the defining family sitcom 'Full House'.
- Served as the original host of 'America's Funniest Home Videos' for nearly a decade, shaping its early identity.
- Provided the signature narration as the future Ted Mosby on the hit series 'How I Met Your Mother'.
- Earned a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album for his 2014 stand-up special 'That's What I'm Talkin' About'.
Did You Know?
He directed the 1998 Norm Macdonald film 'Dirty Work' and made a cameo appearance in it.
Saget was a champion for scleroderma research, a disease that claimed his sister's life, and hosted charity events.
He attended Temple University's film school and made a short film that was a finalist in a student Academy Awards category.
His first major TV job was as the writer and host of the CBS morning show 'The Morning Program' in 1987.
“I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out.”
