John Stamos remembered his dear friend Bob Saget in a heartbreaking speech at Saget’s memorial, calling his "Full House" co-star his " new guardian angel — a guardian angel with the dirtiest mouth and a heart as big and benevolent as forever."
“My Bob. I’m not ready to accept that he’s gone. I’m not going to say goodbye yet,” Stamos, 58, said in his speech, which was printed by the Los Angeles Times.
The comedian and “Full House” star died on Jan. 9 at 65.
Stamos said he could still imagine his friend “out there, still on the road, doing what he loves with all his heart and humor. He’s standing on stage, killing! Another two-hour set in front of a couple hundred of the luckiest people on the planet. They’re laughing so hard they weep.”
He also paid tribute to Saget’s widow and “one true love,” Kelly Rizzo, saying he could imagine Saget calling her to tell her about his latest show.
“He says he loves her with every bit of his heart,” Stamos wrote. “And when he gets to the hotel to put his head on the pillow, he misses his daughters, his family and his friends.”
Stamos also talked about the shock and suddenness of Saget’s unexpected death. He mentioned Saget’s final Instagram post, in which the late comedian talked about how much he was loving doing stand-up comedy on tour.
“I had no idea I did a two hour set tonight,” Saget wrote in his post. after his show in Jacksonville, Florida. “I’m back in comedy like I was when I was 26. I guess I’m finding my new voice and loving every moment of it.”
“When I saw his last Instagram post, my first thought was he looked too ‘alive’ to die a few hours later,” Stamos said. “But I guess that’s right. We should all want to ‘die alive.’ We don’t want to be filled with regret and remorse, forgotten and discarded. We want to be overwhelmed with the privilege and bounty of doing what we do best.
"Bob felt young, energized, grateful and appreciated ... He died bright and fierce," Stamos said.
Stamos also remembered his friend’s fondness for dirty jokes, and wove some affectionate humor of his own into his memorial speech.
“I’ve gotten thousands of texts, emails and calls speaking to our 35-year friendship, telling me how sorry they were for my loss,” he wrote. “People have even sent flowers like I lost my wife or something. Come to think of it, when we were together, we were like an old, married couple: all bickering, no sex.”
On a more serious note, Stamos recalled a heartfelt Instagram post that Saget wrote to him for on his birthday in August, calling Stamos his "brother."
“I may just read that every day for the rest of my life,” Stamos said.
He also shared a moving anecdote about how shortly after Saget died, Stamos asked for a sign from his friend from above and just then, a hummingbird — a creature he said he always associated with his late mom — landed on a tree in front of him.
“She assured me Bob was OK and to stop looking for goofy signs. (How rude!),” Stamos said. “Then she flew up and away.”
Stamos finished his moving speech with a direct message to Saget.
“Bob, I will never, ever have another friend like you,” he said. “You will always be my best friend. You are my new guardian angel — a guardian angel with the dirtiest mouth and a heart as big and benevolent as forever.”