Bob Saget’s death was a shocking and sad moment for his fans and those who knew him intimately. Given the sudden nature of his passing, it wouldn't be hard to imagine that the development subsequently made some consider their own mortality. That was a subject that Saget actually came to terms with before he passed on, as the actor explained, in an nterview, what inspired his change in perspective on death and aging.
The late Full and Fuller House staple gave his take on mortality while appearing on the Til This Day podcast, which turned out to be one of his final interviews. The beloved '90s TV dad was candid about where his mindset and perspective were on death and aging. During the chat, he explained that several key factors altered his views, one of which is therapy:
At 65, I'm different than I was. We're all rethinking what we said 20 years ago, 10 years ago, four years ago. I'm not even rethinking it, I just don't have the same way of doing humor or conversation. I guess therapy, having three kids, watching people pass away in the past few years, mortality — all that stuff has fortunately changed me. My kids tell me, 'Dad, you're different. It's so nice to watch you grow.'
Life is all about constant change and evolution, and the late star seemed to have embraced that in his later years, even though he had learned to cope with these life changes from an early age. The entertainment veteran went on to discuss his family, even making jokes about his parents’ professions before mentioning that he acquired much of his humor from his dad. And going back into the subject of mortality, he explained how his father experienced so much death during the course of his own life:
[My dad] buried four brothers and a sister in his life. ... His brother passed away, and he lived about 78, which was longer than any of the others. They died at like 40, 37 [from] really weird heart attacks so I have a heart doctor as my GP… he’s gone but you talk present-day on people when they’re gone.
Sadly enough, Bob Saget would have an experience that was similar to his dad's. He apparently lost multiple family members at an early age, including his two sisters. But amid the tragedy, Saget would eventually find a way to cope:
Well, to be honest with you, at nine years old, I picked up an eight-millimeter camera, and I just did projects. I shot all these terrible eight-millimeter movies and put friends in them that I could find [and] made friends by putting them in movies. So if I didn’t have friends or a playdate, I would just shoot movies every weekend when I wasn’t doing school or mowing the lawn or whatever my chores were.
The late actor was able to take his pain and channel it into a creative outlet. Additionally, shooting those short films allowed Bob Saget to make personal connections with others. This could be a major reason why he continued to capture special moments into his later years and why his family continues to share footage of him to this day.
His widow, Kelly Rizzo, has kept his memory alive through funny vacation clips. She also has a giving spirit like her husband, as she gifted his Full House co-star John Stamos his guitar. His TV family paid homage to him in their way and recounted their last moments with him. While he's gone now, the star will certainly never be forgotten and, truth be told, we could probably learn a thing or two from his views on life and death.
If you're pining to check out some of Bob Saget's work, you can subscribe to Netflix and stream Fuller House. You can also watch all eight seasons of Full House by getting an HBO Max subscription.
