Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian

by Bob Saget

Overview

“Hilarious and at times heartbreaking . . .”—Vanity Fair

A New York Times bestseller

Millions of viewers know and love Bob Saget from his role as the sweetly neurotic father Danny Tanner on the smash hit Full House, and as the charming wisecracking host of America's Funniest Home Videos. And then there are the legions of fans who can't get enough of his scatological, out-of-his-mind stand-up routines, comedy specials, and outrageously profane performances in such shows as HBO's Entourage and the hit documentary The Aristocrats.

In his bold and wildly entertaining publishing debut, he continues to embrace his dark side and gives readers the book they have long been waiting for—hilarious and often dirty. Bob believes there's a time and a place for filth. From his never-before-heard stories of what really went on behind the scenes of two of the most successful family shows of all times, with co-stars like John Stamos and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, to his tales of legendary friends and colleagues like Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Pryor, Don Rickles, and other show business legends, Saget opens up about some of his personal experiences with life and death, his career, and his reputation for sick humor—all with his highly original blend of silliness, vulgarity, humor and heart, and all framed by a man who loves being funny above all else.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062274793
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/28/2014
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	287,031
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Bob Saget is a Grammy-nominated stand-up comedian, actor, director, writer, producer, and television host who has been performing for more than thirty years. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction: We Are What We Are 1

Chapter 1 A Life of Free Association 7

Chapter 2 Death and Comedy Are Closely Related 27

Chapter 3 The Loss of Two Great Women 47

Chapter 4 Surviving Stand-up 61

Chapter 5 As One Door Opens 91

Chapter 6 Parenting My Own and Other People's Kids 109

Chapter 7 The Bipolar World of Family Television 141

Chapter 8 Things I Shouldn't Have Done 153

Chapter 9 The Ten-Years Theory 179

Chapter 10 The Aristocrats, Entourage, and Getting Roasted 205

Chapter 11 Relationships I'd Rather Not Talk About 225

Chapter 12 Falling Upward; or What It's Like to Be Loved and Hated 249

Conclusion: Missionary Statement 257

Author's Note 263

About the Author 264

Editorial Reviews

Hilarious and at times heartbreaking . . .” — Vanity Fair

“Equal parts smut and sincerity . . .” — Larry King Now

“Both funnier and darker than you might expect . . .” — AskMen.com

From the Publisher

Hilarious and at times heartbreaking . . .

Vanity Fair

Both funnier and darker than you might expect . . .

AskMen.com

Equal parts smut and sincerity . . .

Larry King Now

2014-03-31
Family entertainer and champion of filthy humor aims to track his two divergent voices in his memoir. The author, best known for starring on popular TV shows Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, theorizes that his bifurcated approach to comedy— kid friendly for the TV audience, scatological and ribald in his stand-up—derives from an upbringing in which strong family ties were tested by illness and early deaths: "The more tragedy befell us, the more odd gallows humor I would release." Saget discusses the difficult losses of beloved childhood uncles and, as an adult, his two sisters with a touching straightforwardness before moving on to portray his career arc, beginning with his hardscrabble initiation as a touring comic in the early 1980s: "For me it took ten years to even start to happen." He has a long memory for the comedy veterans who were kind to him, including Johnny Carson, Richard Pryor and George Carlin, leading to many amusing showbiz anecdotes and a few off-color ones involving the likes of Rodney Dangerfield. Yet, Saget was surprised when his initial success led to being cast as "a conservative, neurotic widowed father of three" on Full House, which he admits propelled him into the cultural mainstream. Saget's prose is frequently droll (on his concurrent success with America's Funniest Home Videos: "I was double-teamed by family TV"), but the overall effect is one of casual impressions and a broad account of his life rather than a sharper narrative about performance or his eventual experiences producing and directing. Instead, the author frequently indulges in asides, midlife musings and advice for readers, which may produce diminishing returns for anyone who is not a die-hard fan—e.g., "Anything good is hard. But enough about my penis." Some readers may sense the complexity and darkness beneath Saget's comedic stance, yet this memoir remains bubbly and superficial.

Kirkus Reviews