Fighting Gene Simmons, stealing sofas, and jamming with the Beach Boys. Here's
how John Stamos went from flipping burgers to Hollywood ladies man.
Like many actors, John Stamos got his start in soaps, and was still a teenager himself
when he landed the role of troubled teen Blackie Parrish on "General Hospital."
Blackie quickly became one of the show's more popular characters, propelling him to teen idol
status via covers for magazines like Tiger Beat. Interestingly, Stamos wasn't initially
meant to stick around on "General Hospital" for as long as he did, telling W Magazine -
"My character was supposed to die and my mom wrote all these letters to ABC and they kept me around."
After two years on the show, Stamos' ambitions began expanding beyond daytime drama,
but thanks to the bad contract he had signed and
his character's popularity he seemed stuck. As he explained:
"I think I was making $300 an episode or something,
but the show got huge and I got in teen magazines and stuff."
However, he was insistent he wanted to leave, which led the series' iconic creator,
Gloria Monty, to threaten that his career would be over if he left the show.
"Is that the speech I'm going to hear again? 'Be strong, Blackie?'"
He left anyway, and the rest is history,
though he does still credit "General Hospital" for helping launch his career.
John Stamos has achieved an enviable status in Hollywood,
and he's made a few dollars along the way while doing it. In fact,
Celebrity Net Worth estimated that he's sitting on a not-too-shabby nest egg of $25 million.
John Stamos' success and fortune is the end result of the solid work ethic that Stamos
has demonstrated consistently throughout his career, something he credits to his
restaurateur father. As he explained in an interview with Orange Coast Magazine,
he began working at one of his father's eateries when he was 13.
Stamos' life changed overnight when he was cast in "General Hospital" in 1982, except for one
facet - his father wouldn't allow him to quit his job at the restaurant. He went on to explain -
"So I would still go to work on Sundays and kids were coming to the restaurant
for autographs and pictures. And I'm flipping burgers, working the counter,
wearing an apron, and I eventually said, 'Dad, I gotta quit. I'm a teen idol.'"
One John Stamos film credit stands atop all the rest when it comes to sheer absurdity:
the 1986 movie "Never Too Young to Die." The film has gone on to become a cult classic,
not only for its sheer awfulness but for a must-be-seen-to-be-believed performance by KISS
rocker Gene Simmons as a gang leader who plans a terrorist attack that Stamos' character must foil.
"You're only half of each.
I'm a whole man. So if you'll excuse me, I don't have a lot of time here - I gotta save the world."
At the time, Stamos felt he'd landed the lucky break that would catapult
him from soap actor to bona fide movie stardom, telling The Hollywood Reporter -
"I just thought, 'This is my shot! A young James Bond!' I thought it was going to be the biggest
breakthrough. 'I'm done with TV — I'm going to be a movie star!' And then I did that piece of s—."
Over the years, Stamos has come to have a fond appreciation of
"Never Too Young to Die" and its cheesiness. As he told Collider:
"I certainly show it to all my friends. I was having a birthday
party last August and we set up a screen in the backyard and I wanted to show that,
but I thought it would be too egotistical. But I'm gonna do it this year."
In 2004, John Stamos had recently split from first wife Rebecca Romijn, and had thrown himself back
into the Hollywood party scene. It was during this period that he met 17-year-old Allison Coss,
who wound up attending a party Stamos hosted in a hotel room. As Michigan Live reported,
a few years later Coss and boyfriend Scott Sippola allegedly attempted to extort Stamos, threatening
to release embarrassing photos of the actor taken at that party unless they were paid $680,000.
Rather than pay up, Stamos went to the cops. The pair were subsequently arrested and placed
on trial. During the trial, however, Coss doubled down, alleging that a naked Stamos
made sexual advances toward her in a hot tub, and also snorted cocaine. Stamos' recollection
of events, however, was markedly different, denying all the allegations in a statement.
A search of the couple's home turned up no incriminating photos,
and in 2010 they were convicted. Both Coss and Sippola were sentenced to four years in prison,
while Stamos' reputation remained intact.
During his twenties, John Stamos topped the list of Hollywood's most eligible young
bachelors. Among Stamos' rumored exes were TV personality Teri Copley, singer Vanity,
Oscar winner Marlee Matlin, pop star and future "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul,
and supermodel Julie Anderson — and he's rumored to have dated many others.
Stamos ended his single life when he married model-actor Rebecca Romijn in 1998, but wasted
little time in reclaiming the bachelor title when they split in 2004. His post-divorce years dating
history includes Pilates instructor Leah Marsh, Denise Richards, Renée Zellweger, and Amy Poehler.
Stamos' second run of dating came to an end when he married Caitlin McHugh in 2018. The couple
first met while they were both working on the show "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." However,
they didn't begin talking in earnest until he saw her again when her roommate was guest starring in
an episode of "Fuller House" with him. After the two tied the knot, Stamos then embraced life as
a family man when the couple welcomed their first child, son Billy, later that same year.
John Stamos has made no secret of his utter love and devotion for all things Disney,
particularly its theme parks. In fact, he's even celebrated some major milestones in his life with
a Disney twist; not only did he announce his engagement to future wife Caitlin McHugh via a
Disneyland-themed Instagram post; a rep for Stamos confirmed to People that he popped the question at
the Magic Kingdom, and that the pair enjoyed their honeymoon at Florida's Walt Disney World resort.
"Then I said 'Hey you wanna go to Dis-' I knew the two things:
she loved pizza and she loved Disneyworld, so-"
"Yeah he knew how to lure me in."
Stamos grew up in California's Orange County, home to Disneyland,
and told Orange Coast Magazine that he's a hardcore collector of Disneyland memorabilia.
Stamos set the record straight about an urban legend claiming he has a lifetime
pass to Disneyland, insisting he doesn't. Even so, he admitted to some preferential treatment,
such as not having to stand in lines when he visits the park.
John Stamos made his debut on Broadway in 1996, when he replaced Matthew Broderick in the revival
of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying." Stamos returned to Broadway in 2002,
again as a replacement when he subbed for Alan Cumming as the bawdy emcee in "Cabaret." The
following year, Stamos substituted for Antonio Banderas in "Nine." It wasn't until 2009 that
Stamos opened a show on his own, co-starring with Gina Gershon in a revival of "Bye Bye Birdie."
Before the show even opened, Stamos found himself caught up in an onstage
snafu that led to some unscripted hilarity. As Entertainment Weekly reported, the final preview
performance before opening night halted for an uncomfortable 20 minutes due to some technical
difficulties. During the delay, Stamos called out a couple of special guests in the audience:
comedian Don Rickles, who couldn't resist heckling the delay, and his former co-star Bob Saget.
Stamos was eventually joined by Gershon, who told the crowd she'd just seen "Full House"
for the first time a few weeks earlier. When she asked what the show was about, Saget quipped -
"Oh, it's basically just like 'Brokeback Mountain' — but as a sitcom."
It's not uncommon for actors to keep memorabilia from their various film
and TV projects as keepsakes, so it's not surprising that John Stamos has hung onto
a familiar piece of furniture from the set of "Full House."
In a 2020 Instagram post, he revealed that he'd kept the iconic "Full House" couch,
and that he was currently using it as a baby gate for his son. Apparently,
Stamos's "Full House" co-stars were unaware of his ownership of the couch
and they responded in comments to his post, with their reactions ranging from comforted
that he had the couch to playful allegations of Stamos being a thief.
Even though "Full House" ended its run more than two decades ago,
the beloved sitcom still looms large for John Stamos. Being so closely associated
with the family comedy definitely impacted how he was viewed in Hollywood — along with
how he sometimes viewed himself. As he said in an interview with GQ -
"I think the 'Full House' thing has been a blessing and a curse. I think sometimes
I don't conduct myself as a serious person. But I am. I mean, I can be."
As Stamos admitted, he certainly fueled that perception with his dating history and charmed
life. Looking back, however, he can see how his fear about growing up led him to become something
of a Hollywood caricature. As for "Full House" following him, Stamos told USA Today that there
was a time where he didn't want to be associated with the show, but he's grown to appreciate it.
"Then, I realized that-what it meant to people,
and I was like okay with it, and I've done enough other work to satisfy."
While "Full House" was filmed within a soundstage in Los Angeles,
the sitcom was set in San Francisco — which was established in the iconic opening theme song,
featuring a quaint Victorian house that was purportedly the home of Danny Tanner
and his family. That house actually exists, and thanks to the enduring popularity of
"Full House," it's become something of a local tourist attraction over the years.
As he shared on Instagram, Stamos joined other tourists when he stopped by the iconic
front stoop himself. As he pointed out in his caption, none of the other people gathered at
the abode realized that Uncle Jesse was in their midst, standing mere feet from them.
John Stamos and The Beach Boys are pretty tight. Stamos has been performing with the
band since the 1980s, which has been a surreal experience for the actor.
"I never even dreamed of meeting The Beach Boys, let alone play with them."
He further explained that the opportunity came about when he attended one of the concerts at
the behest of a friend who played guitar for the band. After the show he went backstage while being
chased by his adoring fans. Beach Boys singer Mike Love apparently turned to Stamos's friend,
who explained that John was a heartthrob on "General Hospital." In response,
Mike told the friend - "Get him onstage."
So Stamos joined the band for their encore, "Barbara Ann," and over three decades later,
he still performs with his favorite band. His experience with the legendary group
doesn't end there, as he also appeared in the band's 1988 music video for "Kokomo."
John Stamos was devastated by the death of his longtime friend and
"Full House" co-star Bob Saget in January 2022 at the age of
65. The Los Angeles Times reported that Stamos spoke at Saget's eulogy, saying -
"He was there through divorces, deaths, despair, and dark days,
He was there through love, marriage, a child and bright times. He was my lifeline."
That friendship may have been deep and enduring, but it did not have a great
start. As Stamos revealed in an interview with The New York Times, they had differing
styles when they first began working together on "Full House." With Stamos explaining -
"He was a comic. If there was even one person on the set, he had to make them laugh."
He admitted that he found Saget's anything-for-a-laugh tendency messed
with his own process as an actor. Eventually, they learned to adjust those clashing styles
to better accommodate each other. Yet that stage when they butted heads,
Stamos recalled, was merely a short blip in their long relationship.