CAMDEN – Bob Saget was at the Tweeter Center Saturday night performing among nine other comedians on “Opie and Anthony’s Traveling Virus Tour.” The Temple News caught up with television’s most loveable dad and chatted about his career, his past, and his days at Temple – just don’t refer to him as Danny Tanner.
“I was pigeonholed as Mr. Family Guy for 10 years,” Saget said.
“It takes 10 years to get a job in show business. If you’re lucky, you work for 10 years. Then it takes 10 years to rebuild what you did because people think you’re Danny Tanner.”
But Saget has worked hard to try and outrun his squeaky clean “Full House” past. And although he’ll never shake it completely, he has built up a comedic reputation for “dirty” and “rude” humor.
“I haven’t been this busy in 15 years,” Saget said. “I’ve got a lot and a lot more is happening.”
Saget is completing production on “Farce of the Penguins,” an animated film in which he wrote, directed and starred in. The film, which is expected as a January release, features the voices of Samuel L. Jackson and Whoopi Goldberg. He has also filmed five episodes for a new NBC game show, “1 vs. 100,” which follows the style of the largely successful “Deal or No Deal.”
After an eight-year stint hosting “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” does Saget miss hosting television?
“No. For 10 years I’ve been offered shows ever since the video thing went off,” Saget said. “I didn’t even want to go on TV. I’m not in love with some of my work and I’m hard on myself. You try to host a blooper show. Nobody goes, ‘Hey, that blooper host was great last night.'”
This time around, Saget said he is going to approach things differently.
He said he wants to host the show in a way that feels natural to him.
But, in no way is Saget ungrateful for his time on “Full House” and “AFHV.”
“It was all a gift. I couldn’t do what I’m doing now if it wasn’t for that,” Saget said.
Saget is a Temple alumnus who graduated in 1978. “I had a crazy good Temple college career. I was going to Temple and I would do comedy at Penn.”
He remembered performing in Tennessee Williams’ play “Camino Real” at Tomlinson Theater, “Williams came to Temple, saw the set, and cried. He said it was the most beautiful version of the set he had ever seen. I don’t know if he even stayed for the production.”
It’s rare that Saget gets to return to Philadelphia, but when he does, he tries to revisit as many places as possible.
“I went to Striped Bass, which I loved a lot,” Saget said. “I would do anything for a Geno’s or Pat’s [cheesesteak].
“It doesn’t matter which one. I’m just very excited the Eagles are playing tomorrow.”
Saget expressed that he would love to attend Temple benefits.
He said that recently a rumor started that he was hosting a Temple event and that people were angry that he didn’t show. Saget claims he was never contacted about the event at all.
“I’d love to do anything. If they asked me to speak at graduation, I’d be freakin’ honored. That’s my alma mater.”
Jesse North can be reached at jesse.north@temple.edu.
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