“People look at me and go, 'You must have it made. You have girls. You have a great life.' It's not true. I mean you pull the curtain away, and you see I'm just as insecure and neurotic and scared and vulnerable as anybody, you know.”—John Stamos.
Most of us know John Stamos as the bad-boy with the heart of gold Uncle Jesse from the beloved sitcom Full House. Stamos has made a name for himself on television but there’s a lot more to the actor than just his roles on the small screen. He’s an accomplished musician and touring member of The Beach Boys. He’s also had several stints on Broadway to show off his acting and musical chops. What else is there to know about the handsome actor? Here’s 45 facts to get you started.
John Stamos Facts
45. Keep Your Enemies Close
In the irreverent animated series Clone High, Principal Scudworth frequently lists John Stamos as his worst enemy. Stamos appears in the episode “Changes: The Big Prom: The Sex Romp: The Season Finale” as himself.
44. A Helping Hand
In 1994, Stamos’ mother Loretta started the Vanguard Cancer Foundation, which supports the Nagourney Cancer Institute. Loretta Stamos started the foundation after the institute gave care to her brother, Jake Phillips.
43. A Kind of Blue
Although he’s performed a number of times with The Beach Boys, Stamos has also released his own independent album. In 1994, he released Shades of Blue, which also featured Lanny Cordola, Gary Griffin, Sandra Stephens, Tony Guerrero, and David Enos.
42. Diamonds in the Rough
Stamos and his wife Caitlin began their own jewelry line in May 2018. The line is called “St. Amos Jewelry” and all of the proceeds go to the non-profit organization Child Help.
41. Big Break
Stamos got his first major gig playing the role of Blackie Parris in the ABC soap opera General Hospital. He received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work.
40. Flipping Burgers
Since his father owned a restaurant, Stamos naturally got his first job in the food industry. He flipped burgers while he was a teenager growing up in Orange County.
39. In the Band
Alongside his acting career, Stamos has nurtured his career as a musician. He was first introduced to public performance while in high school. During his time at the John F. Kennedy High School in Orange County, California, Stamos played in the marching band.
38. Wouldn’t It Be Nice?
On Full House, Uncle Jesse loves the band The Beach Boys. In real life, Stamos has toured with the famous American rock band, playing a variety of roles on and off, since 1985.
37. And On Drums…
In 1988, Stamos appeared in the music video for The Beach Boys song “Kokomo.” The actor can be seen in the background of several shots playing congas and steel drums. The song reached the number one spot in the United States, Japan, and Australia.
36. Bye the Way
In 2009, Stamos joined the cast of the Broadway revival of the musical Bye Bye Birdie. For his work in the production, Stamos won the 2009 Golden Icon Award for best actor in a musical.
35. On Broadway
Although he became a household name for his work on television series like Full House, Stamos has also done a lot of work on Broadway. He has appeared as The Emcee in a production of Cabaret and has performed in productions of Nine, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Bye Bye Birdie.
34. Walk All Over Me
On November 16, 2009, Stamos received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The big achievement came for his work on Broadway and television. His star can be found at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
33. I Quit!
When it was announced that Full House was going to move from ABC to WB for its ninth season, Stamos was the first to announce that he would leave the show. Soon after, the rest of the cast followed suit and the showrunners decided to make the eighth season the last of the series.
32. Eyes on the Prize
In the 2000 version of X-Men, Stamos was initially considered for the role of Cyclops. The role of the mutant with the powerful gaze ultimately went to James Marsden. The film also starred Stamos’ then-wife Rebecca Romijn as Mystique.
31. Small Town Associates
Stamos was born and raised in the small town of Cypress, California. Stamos' co-star on Full House, Jodie Sweetin, who played Stephanie Tanner, was also born in Cypress. The town also boasts a little-known golfer by the name of Tiger Woods.
30. Shocking Friends
Stamos is friends with notorious radio shock-jock Howard Stern. When the radio personality got hitched to Beth Stern, Stamos participated in the wedding. Stamos, of course, played drums for the wedding band.
29. Choose the Right Name
Stamos became a household name by playing the ultracool (for an ABC sitcom) Uncle Jesse in Full House. Showrunners originally had the character named Uncle Adam. Stamos didn’t care much for that name so he was the one to suggest Uncle Jesse. It turned out pretty well!
28. The Air You Breathe
Stamos was raised with a strong sense of family and tradition, which is something that he continues to pride to this day. He even still wears the same cologne as his father, Aramis. Underneath all the cool-guy aesthetics, Uncle Jesse always was a family man at heart!
27. What’s In a Word?
In an interview with Us Magazine, Stamos revealed his love for language and wordplay, especially when they have a musical quality. “I like onomatopoeia,” Stamos said, “words that sound like what they mean, like tweet and roar.”
26. Your Biggest Fan
The very first celebrity that Stamos remembers meeting as Henry Winkler. Winkler, who played the Fonz on Happy Days, might be said to be a kind of model for the Uncle Jesse character in Full House: rock and roll personalities trying to fit into a family values environment.
25. A Long Time Ago
Even though he was sometimes unhappy with the show at the time of shooting, Stamos has grown fond of Full House over the years for what it is: a family-friendly sitcom with good morals. Still, he hasn’t watched a full episode of the show in over two decades.
24. Keep Fit and Have Fun
Stamos is surprisingly domestic in some of his weekly activities around the house. In interviews, he has revealed that he likes to do Pilates three to four times a week and that he also greatly enjoys gardening.
23. Dude, Where’s My Car?
Stamos has revealed that until he started making it big on his second year with the soap opera General Hospital, he drove the same car from when he was 16. That car was his father’s El Camino and he still has the ride.
22. Long Live the King
Uncle Jesse’s favorite musician on Full House is none other than the King himself, Elvis Presley. In real life, Stamos is the narrator on the Elvis Presley tour at Graceland. He, unfortunately, has never seen Presley’s bedroom, which is off limits, he says.
20. Double Duty
Stamos jumped at the chance when a reboot of Full House was finally greenlit by Netflix. He reprised his role as Uncle Jesse for Fuller House, but he also works behind the scenes as one of the series producers.
19. Shaky Start
The start date for production of the Full House reboot Fuller House had to be delayed after Stamos was admitted to a rehabilitation center. He had been charged with Driving While Impaired just before filming was meant to begin.
18. Old Rivalries
John Stamos and Jerry O’Connell both appear in the show Scream Queens and both have been married to actor Rebecca Romijn. Stamos plays Brock Holt in the series and was married to Romijn from 1998 to 2005. O’Connell plays Dr. Mike and is currently married to Romijn.
17. I Like Your Attitude
When auditioning for the role of Sara in the short-lived television series Grandfathered, Paget Brewster said she treated Stamos like a child. It was for this very reason that Stamos felt she was right for the part and she landed the gig.
16. With Friends Like These
Bob Saget and Dave Coulier, who respectively played Danny Tanner and Joey Gladstone on Full House, both made a guest appearance on Stamos’ series Grandfathered. All three also appeared in the reboot Fuller House at various points.
15. Allusions!
At one point in the series Grandfathered, Stamos’ character remembers his old dog “Little Blackie” from childhood. “Blackie” was actually the name of Stamos’ character on General Hospital, which was the actor’s first big break in the industry.
14. Anyone Here a Doctor?
After his long stint as Uncle Jesse, Stamos’ next big-time television role came on the long-running hit, ER. From 2006 to 2009, he played Dr. Tony Gates in the series that also once featured George Clooney, amongst a host of other big-name celebrities.
13. Charitable Work
Since 2005, John Stamos has been the national spokesperson for the charity known as Project Cuddle. The non-profit organization tackles issues of infant abandonment and seeks to provide young women with safe and legal alternatives, especially through prenatal care and adoptive families.
12. Dream Big
After his stint on General Hospital, Stamos felt he needed to move on to a different genre of television. In April of 1984, he left the soap opera after he landed the lead role in the CBS sitcom Dreams about an aspiring musician. The series was short-lived, but it helped Stamos land roles in various sitcoms over the next few years before Full House hit the scene.
11. Cover Me
On the 2006 charity album Unexpected Dreams: Songs From the Stars, Stamos performed a cover of the Billy Joel song “Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel).” Stamos appears on the album alongside other big name actors including Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor, John C. Reilly, and Teri Hatcher.
10. You Can Call Me…
Not only did Stamos change the name of his Full House character from Uncle Adam to Uncle Jesse, he also changed the last name as well. In season one, Stamos is credited as Jesse Cochran but according to showrunner Jeff Franklin, Stamos wanted to highlight his Greek heritage so he changed the name to Katsopolis.
9. I’ve Got a Secret
Stamos began dating model and actor Rebecca Romijn in 1994 after the two met at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show in which Romijn was performing. The pair were married in 1998 and divorced in 2005.
8. Drumming With the Stars
His on-again-off-again stint touring with The Beach Boys was on-again on March 23, 2010, when he appeared live with the band on an episode of the ABC series Dancing With the Stars. On the show, he played drums, congas, and guitar.
7. Forever Is a Long Time
Originally written and sung by Dennis Wilson in 1970, Stamos recorded a new version of the song “Forever” for The Beach Boys in 1992. Stamos’ version can be heard on the Beach Boys 1992 album Summer in Paradise.
6. Life Imitates Art Imitating Life?
Stamos’ version of “Forever” was called “Forever by Jesse and the Rippers” in the accompanying music video. Three other Beach Boys members are featured in the video, but the title is a play on the fictional band in Full House called Jesse and the Rippers. They too have a song called “Forever,” which was performed on the series twice.
5. On the West Lawn
In 2017 and 2018, Stamos hosted the annual A Capitol Fourth concert on the West Lawn of the White House. The yearly free concert is part of Independence Day celebrations. In 2018, Stamos also performed in the show alongside The Beach Boys.
4. Know You By Name
For an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, Stamos traveled to his ancestral home of Greece and discovered that both he and his grandfather were named after the man who murdered his great-grandfather, Vasilios Stamatopoulos.
3. Careful What You Wish For
He was known for his charm as Uncle Jesse, but one day on set Stamos became unhinged around the Olsen babies. According to reports, Stamos was angry that the girls were crying and furiously demanded that they be fired and replaced with a new set of twins. Stamos ended up not likely the replacements, referring to them as “unattractive redheaded kids,” and eventually Mary-Kate and Ashley were brought back.
2. Not So Family Friendly
Although it was a family show, Stamos, Bog Saget and Dave Coulier still had a raunchy sense of humor while on the Full House set. Saget has revealed some of their outrageous antics behind the scenes, such as drawing penises all over scripts, making dirty jokes, or loudly passing gas during takes. On numerous occasions the producers and the parents of the child actors had to take the three men into a conference room and tell them to grow up.
1. Trouble in Paradise
*Stamos has kept a relatively low profile recently, making it all the more shocking when his issues with substance abuse were revealed in 2015. His problems came to a head in an incident he called “horrific,”* where he was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs. He later said he hated himself afterwards, and he ended up checking into a 30-day rehab program.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16