SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Remembering Bob Saget of Full House and Dwayne Hickman of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis; Betty White's 100th Birthday Tribute on BUZZR & GSN

Actor, television host and stand-up comedian Bob Saget, who starred as Danny Tanner on Full House, has died. He died on January 9 at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, south of Orlando, Florida, near Williamsburg. He had blunt head trauma from an accidental blow to the back of his head, likely from a fall, and subsequently died from the resulting injuries (subdural hematoma and subarachnoid hemorrhage) in his sleep. Mr. Saget was 65.

Saget's first television credit was as Bob the Comic in a 1981 episode of Bosom Buddies. He was also the audience warm-up comedian for the series. Some of his early guest appearances included At Ease in 1983, The Greatest American Hero in 1983, New Love, American Style (4 episodes) in 1985 and It's a Living in 1986.

He starred as Danny Tanner on the 1987-1995 ABC sitcom Full House. The popular series ran for eight seasons and 192 episodes. The show chronicles the events of widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos) and best friend Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier) to help raise his three daughters, eldest D.J. (Candace Cameron), middle child Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and youngest Michelle (Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen). He works as a sportscaster for Channel 8 News in the first season. He became the co-host of the morning talk show Wake Up, San Francisco starting in the second season. Saget was the producers' first choice to play the character of Danny Tanner, but he was not available to appear in the pilot due to his commitment as an on-air contributor to CBS's The Morning Program. John Posey played Danny Tanner in the show's unaired pilot, which is included on the DVD release of Season 1. The rest of the cast included Andrea Barber, Lori Loughlin (1988-1995), Scott Weinger (1991-1993) and Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit (1992-1995).

Saget starred as Matt Stewart on the short-lived 2001-2002 The WB sitcom Raising Dad. Matt Stewart is a widower trying to raise his two daughters, Sarah (Kat Dennings) and Emily (Brie Larson), with the help of his live-in father, Sam (Jerry Adler), a former baseball player for the Boston Red Sox. The cast included Meagan Good, Andy Kindler, Ben Idra, Beau Wirick, Camille Guaty, Tembi Locke and Riley Smith (2002).

He was the voice of narrator Ted Mosby on the 2005-2014 CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Future Ted Mosby in the year 2030 tells his son Luke (David Henrie) and daughter Penny (Lyndsy Fonseca) the story of how he met their mother. The cast included Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan and Cristin Milioti (2013-2014).

Saget starred as Steve Patterson on the short-lived 2009 ABC sitcom Surviving Suburbia. The series focused on a father named Steve Patterson, his wife Anne (Cynthia Stevenson), and their two children, Henry (Jared Kusnitz) and Courtney (G. Hannelius). The cast included Jere Burns, Dan Cortese, Lyndsey Jolly, Lorna Scott and Melissa Peterman.

He reprised his role as Danny Tanner in ten episodes of Full House's sequel series Fuller House, which aired for five seasons on Netflix from 2016 to 2020. Saget appeared in the series premiere and finale. Danny Tanner was D.J. and Stephanie's father, and the grandfather of Jackson, Max, Tommy Jr. and Dani on the series. The main cast included Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, Andrea Barber, Michael Campion, Elias Harger, Soni Nicole Bringas, Dashiell and Fox Messitt, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Scott Weinger, John Brotherton, Ashley Liao and Adam Hagenbuch. Recurring cast members included John Stamos, Dave Coulier and Lori Loughlin.

Saget was the original host of ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos from 1989 to 1997. The show featured humorous homemade videos that are submitted by viewers. In 2009, he returned to AFV for the 20th anniversary one-hour special co-hosted with Tom Bergeron. He appeared on AFV: America, This is You!, a 30th anniversary special episode, in 2019 with Alfonso Ribeiro joined by Daisy Fuentes and Tom Bergeron.

He played a parody of himself in four episodes of Entourage from 2005 to 2010. He also appeared in the 2015 feature film. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included The Larry Sanders Show (two episodes as himself), The Jeff Foxworthy Show, The Naked Truth, Norm, Listen Up, Louie, Super Fun Night, Legit, Grandfathered and Nightcap.

Saget hosted the NBC game show 1 vs. 100 from 2006 to 2008. He hosted ABC's Videos After Dark on March 12, 2019. In 2020, he competed in season four of The Masked Singer as "Squiggly Monster".

He played Dr. Joffe in the 1987 film Critical Condition, which starred Richard Pryor. He had an uncredited cameo appearance as a cocaine addict in the 1998 film Half Baked. His voice credits included Madagascar (2005) and Casper's Scare School (2006). He was the voice of Carl and the writer, director and producer of the 2007 direct-to-video parody nature documentary Farce of the Penguins.

Saget directed the 1996 ABC television movie For Hope, which was inspired by the life story of his sister, Gay Saget, who had died from scleroderma three years earlier. He directed the 1998 film Dirty Work, which starred Norm Macdonald and Artie Lange.

He was also known for his adult-oriented stand-up comedy. His 2014 album That's What I'm Talkin' About was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.

Survivors include his wife, Kelly Rizzo, and three daughters from his first marriage to Sherri Kramer - Aubrey Saget, Lara Melanie Saget and Jennifer Belle Saget.

Mr. Saget was America's Dad for a generation of fans in the late 1980s and 1990s. He was a comedy legend with his television and stand-up work. It's interesting that he wasn't the first actor to play Danny Tanner, but they clearly made the right choice to cast him when he became available. He did a wonderful job with the role. He made everything he appeared in much better. We thank him for the many laughs and entertainment he brought us during his career. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Full House message board. View photos in our galleries.

Comedy Central will rebroadcast The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget this Friday (January 14) at midnight ET.

Actor, director, producer and television executive Dwayne Hickman, who starred as Chuck MacDonald on The Bob Cummings Show (Love That Bob) and as Dobie Gillis on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, has died. He died on January 9 from complications of Parkinson's disease in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Hickman was 87.

Hickman starred as Chuck MacDonald on the 1955-1959 sitcom The Bob Cummings Show. Chuck MacDonald is Margaret's (Rosemary DeCamp) son and Bob Collins' (Bob Cummings) nephew, a teenager always vying for his uncle's attention. The series began with a half-season run on NBC in 1955, then ran for two full seasons on CBS from 1955 to 1957, and returned to NBC for its final two seasons from 1957 to 1959. It was syndicated and rerun under the title Love That Bob. The cast included Ann B. Davis, Nancy Kulp, Lyle Talbot, Lisa Gaye, Diane Jergens (1955-1956), King Donovan (1955-1958), Mary Lawrence (1956-1958), Gloria Marshall (1956-1957), Joi Lansing (1956-1959) and Carol Henning (1956-1957).

He next starred as Dobie Gillis on the 1959-1963 CBS sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. The series revolved around teenager Dobie Gillis, who aspired to have popularity, money, and the attention of beautiful and unattainable girls. His sidekick and de facto best friend was American television's first beatnik, Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver), who became the series' breakout character. The cast included Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus. Semi regulars included Sheila James, Tuesday Weld, Steve Franken, William Schallert, Jean Byron and Doris Packer. The program spawned two 20th Century Fox-produced sequels, the pilot Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis? (1977) and the TV movie Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988), which Hickman also worked on as a producer.

He had a recurring role as Tripp Mariens in five episodes of Clueless from 1996 to 1999. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Valentine's Day, The Flying Nun, Love, American Style (3 episodes), Karen (1975) and Hi Honey, I'm Home (1997 as Dobie Gillis).

Some of his other television guest appearances included The Lone Ranger, Wagon Train, Combat!, Vacation Playhouse, Ironside, Mod Squad, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Ellery Queen and Murder, She Wrote.

Hickman worked as a director of sitcoms from 1989 to 1996. Some of his credits included Duet, Charles in Charge, Open House (2 episodes), Designing Women (3 episodes), Get a Life (3 episodes), Head of the Class, Harry and the Hendersons (2 episodes) and Sister, Sister.

He served as a programming executive at CBS from 1977 to 1998. In retirement, he devoted his time to painting.

Hickman is survived by his wife, actress and voice-over artist Joan Roberts, to whom he had been married since 1983. He is also survived by his brother, Darryl, and by his two children.

Mr. Hickman was a big sitcom star in the 1950s and 1960s. He was very good on The Bob Cummings Show and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. It would be great to see more episodes of The Bob Cummings Show available on DVD. Thankfully all of the episodes of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis are available on DVD and streaming services. We thank him for his work on sitcoms as an actor and director. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our The Bob Cummings Show/Love That Bob and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis message boards. View photos in our galleries.

Hall of Fame songwriter Marilyn Bergman, who wrote the theme song lyrics for Maude, Good Times and Alice with her husband Alan Bergman, has died. She died from respiratory failure on January 8. Ms. Bergman was 93.

Marilyn and Alan Bergman wrote the theme song lyrics for the 1972 CBS sitcom The Sandy Duncan Show, with Dave Grusin providing the music. They wrote the theme song lyrics for "And Then There's Maude" for the 1972-1978 CBS sitcom Maude, with Dave Grusin providing the music. It was performed by Donny Hathaway. They wrote the gospel-style theme song lyrics for the 1974-1979 CBS sitcom Good Times, with Dave Grusin providing the music. It was sung by Jim Gilstrap and Motown singer Blinky Williams with a gospel choir providing background vocals. They wrote the theme song lyrics for "There's a New Girl in Town" for the 1976-1985 CBS sitcom Alice, with David Shire providing the music. It was performed by Linda Lavin.

The Bergmans were honored with three Academy Awards (1969, 1974, 1984), three Emmy Awards, the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Their notable compositions included "The Way We Were", "The Windmills of Your Mind" and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." We thank her and her husband for writing the lyrics for the memorable theme songs of Maude, Good Times and Alice. She will be deeply missed.

To memorialize what would have been Betty White's 100th birthday weekend, BUZZR will be hosting an all-day Password-themed marathon on Sunday, January 16 starting at 10:30a EST – featuring Password, Password Plus (alongside husband Allen Ludden), and Super Password! Tune-in to see several special highlights, including Betty's first time on Password Plus and two retro past Betty birthday celebrations. And in honor of what would have been Betty's 100th birthday on Monday, January 17, the network will be airing all-new-to-BUZZR Betty episodes all day long from 8:00a EST – 2:00a EST. Take a chronological look at Betty's game show highlights from Celebrity Whew!, To Tell The Truth, Trivia Trap and much more from 1955 to 2016. Episodes include: Make The Connection in 1955, To Tell The Truth from 1959, Password and What's My Line? in 1963, Password from 1964, What's My Line? and I've Got A Secret from 1972, Tattletales from 1977, Match Game '79, Celebrity Whew! in 1980, Trivia Trap from 1984, Super Password from 1989, To Tell The Truth 1990 and To Tell The Truth 2016.

Meanwhile on GSN, on January 17 (Betty's 100th birthday) they will be airing the classic 80s game show The $25,000 Pyramid featuring Betty White from 9:00AM to 1:00PM ET.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:10 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: $100000 Pyramid, America's Funniest Home Videos, Betty White, Bob Saget, BUZZR, Full House, Fuller House, GSN, Obits, Password, Surviving Suburbia, Tattletales, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, To Tell the Truth