See Jimmy Kimmel Give A Tearful Tribute To Bob Saget

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel gave a tearful tribute to late comedian Bob Saget last night.

By Nathan Kamal | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

jimmy kimmel bob saget

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel gave a tearful tribute to late comedian Bob Saget last night. During Kimmel’s opening monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host was visibly emotional and holding back tears. He described their long personal friendship and Saget’s philanthropic work. More than anything, he repeatedly described the host of America’s Funniest Home Videos as the “sweetest man.” It was a deeply heartfelt speech, and underlined just how beloved Saget was to both his friends and the comedy community. 

See the video here:

Jimmy Kimmel’s tribute came shortly after the news of Saget’s passing. Bob Saget died several days ago on January 9. The cause of death is still undetermined and under investigation (per CNN). All early reports seem to indicate that he died in his sleep while on a standup tour in Florida. Police and medical examiners have ruled out any foul play. Saget was 65 years old. During his lifetime, his comedy career had multiple different acts, many of which seemed to contradict each other. As Jimmy Kimmel described in his monologue, he was a longstanding member of the comedy circuit and known to be generous and kind to everyone. In fact, Kimmel stated that if he did have anyone he disliked, he kept it to himself. 

That feels in line with the most well-known stage of Bob Saget’s career. In 1987, Saget was cast as Danny Tanner, the patriarch of a family of San Francisco goofballs in ABC’s Full House. The show became a hit, and Saget soon became part of a long lineage of sitcom fathers who stood in for America’s Dad. The kind of empathy and warmness that Jimmy Kimmel described was key to the character of Danny Tanner. On Full House, he was frequently the straight man in contrast to the antics of Dave Coulier and John Stamos. However, he did bring a certain weird energy to the show with his long standing feud with neighbor child Kimmy Gibler. Saget reprised the character beginning in 2016 for Netflix’s revival Fuller House

At the same time as he anchored Full House, Bob Saget began hosting America’s Funniest Home Videos. He brought a more wry and sardonic energy to the montages of amusing injuries and accidents. It presaged the next steps of his career. He directed the comedy Dirty Work starring the late Norm Macdonald in 1998. It bombed at the box office. But its bizarre, dark humor has made it a cult film in recent years. It is currently available on streaming. Jimmy Kimmel also described how Saget became involved in philanthropic work around this time period. He served as a member of the board of the Scleroderma Research Foundation, an incurable disease that had caused the death of Saget’s sister. 

As Jimmy Kimmel said on his show, Bob Saget was a beloved man. He starred on further sitcoms like The WB’s Raising Dad. Saget was also the narrator and voice of the elder Ted Mosby on the long-running show How I Met Your Mother. He also was widely known for his live standup act, in which he deliberately worked as blue as possible to contrast his public image. RIP, Bob Saget.