Bob Saget reflected on accepting mortality in one of his final interviews: It 'fortunately changed me'
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Eight months before Bob Saget's untimely death, the comedian reflected on coming to terms with mortality and the ways it reshaped his worldview.
Saget, who died from head trauma in January at 65, sat down with Radio Rahim in May 2021 for a candid conversation about life, death, and loss for the podcast Til This Day. In the just-released interview, Saget said he came to terms with mortality after experiencing many deaths in his family, revealing that he leaned into the arts to cope with his grief.
The losses helped him grow, Saget said: "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." He continued, "I guess therapy, having three kids, watching people pass away in the past few years, mortality — all that stuff has fortunately changed me.
Andrew Toth/FilmMagic Bob Saget
"My kids tell me, 'Dad, you're different. It's so nice to watch you grow,'" Saget added, noting that he learned to embrace life because of his father, who endured the loss of five siblings. "I was 9, and we had so many deaths growing up that my dad would just instill [having fun] in me," he said. "He didn't teach it to me. I just saw [how] he reacted… He buried all his siblings. I helped him write the speech at 3:30 in the morning in Philly."
The second installment of Saget's three-part interview dropped Wednesday, offering meditations on mental health and the George Bailey-inspired realization he had during his 60th birthday party. According to PEOPLE, Saget said his Full House costar John Stamos helped him realize how many lives he touched after he threw him the party, comparing the moment to George Bailey's epiphany in the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life.
"We all have many poignant moments, and they do seem to have an age tag on them," he told Rahim. "Fifty is a big one. Sixty hit me very hard, but a friend of mine threw a big party for me that I didn't expect it to be. It was Stamos. I found out how much love that I had given to receive so much love from people… It's like It's a Wonderful Life when George Bailey wants to kill himself."
He continued, "The movie starts, he's on a bridge. He's going to kill himself. And then an angel takes him through his life and shows him what would've happened had he not existed." The birthday party helped Saget realize that he had "given a lot of love to people because I have a lot," he said. "I have an extreme amount. I was raised with it. It's what helped me to survive and stay sane. It's helped me not let myself die."
Listen to the first installment of Saget's interview above.
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