Full House is an American sitcom that aired from 1987 to 1995. The show was a huge success, and recently had a spin-off produced called Fuller House by Netflix.
Here are 42 cramped facts about Full House.
Full House Facts
42. Foreshadowing
We just told you the show got a spin-off called Fuller House, but did you know that in the fourth season there was an episode called “Fuller House” that had a newlywed Uncle Jesse unable to emotionally handle moving out of the Tanner house.
41. Name Change
The original title for the show was “House Of Comics,” about three comics living in one house. ABC show creator Jeff Franklin said that they wanted family-oriented sitcoms like Family Ties, so Franklin made some changes, and the show got picked up. Way to adapt, Jeff.
40. Recast
Bob Saget was Jeff Franklin’s first choice to play Danny Tanner, but Bob was busy with other projects when the pilot was filmed. John Posey played Danny in the pilot, but when Bob’s schedule cleared up, Franklin reshot the pilot with Bob as Danny, and the rest is Full House history.
39. Old Friends
Dave Coulier who played Uncle Joey on the show was an aspiring comic himself, and met established comic Bob Saget in 1979. Coulier even crashed at Bob’s place when he first moved to LA.
38. Stolen
Dave Coulier was in a comedy duo with Mark Cendrowski (who is now a television director on shows like The Big Bang Theory) prior to Full House. Mark would play a character named “Mark Suave” that would say to women “you’re in love with me, now cut. It. Out.” Coulier liked it so much, he used it on a Nickelodeon show called Out Of Control, and eventually brought it with him to Full House where it became his catchphrase.
37. Name Change Part 2
Uncle Jesse was originally supposed to be Uncle Adam, but John Stamos told Franklin that he felt more comfortable as a Jesse. Franklin was fine with it, because Jesse was the name of Elvis Presley’s twin brother.
36. Cry Babies
Because of the child labor laws, children are only allowed to work a few hours a day on set. As such, the crew needed twins to play the role of Michelle, to ensure they could film everything needed. Out of 10 sets of twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley were the only set of twins that didn’t cry during their audition.
35. Super Star
Comet the dog was actually named Buddy in real life. Buddy had a lot of skills, including shooting a basketball, stopping soccer balls and hockey pucks, and even catching baseballs. These skills landed Buddy the lead role in Air Bud, a movie about a basketball playing dog.
34. San Fran
Only one episode of the show was actually filmed in San Francisco, the eighth season’s premiere episode “Comet’s Excellent Adventure.” Aside from three other episodes filmed on location in either Hawaii or Walt Disney World, all the episodes were filmed on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles.
33. Theme Song
The writers for the Full House theme song “Everywhere You Look” also wrote the theme songs for other successful sitcoms like Family Matters and Step By Step. Nice resume fellas!
32. Real Estate
The house that was shown to be the Tanner residence was the oldest and largest of seven San Francisco homes known as the “Painted Ladies.” The house was put for sale in 2014 with an asking price of $4 million, but only managed to close for $3.1 million. Not bad for a house built in 1892.
31. Like Disc Jockey?
DJ Tanner’s full name is listed as Donna-Jo Margaret Tanner. We always wanted to know what DJ stood for.
30. A Lad In The House
DJ’s boyfriend Steve was played by Scott Weinger, who also voiced the titular character Aladdin in Disney’s Aladdin. The show referenced this when they filmed their Walt Disney World episode. How could you not?
29. Slap Happy
Jodie Sweetin who played Stephanie Tanner was slapped in the face by Little Richard when he guest starred on the show. While filming, Little Richard inadvertently smacked Jodie after a particularly zealous piano flourish. Little Richard felt pretty terrible about it, but Jodie didn’t mind much after he happened.
28. Not Cool
With the decline of family shows in the 90’s, ABC cancelled the successful show to keep up with market trends. The WB (now the CW) wanted to poach a family show (the channel was just starting out) and tried to nab the newly cancelled show, but some of the actors weren’t interested in the arrangement. We could have had two more seasons of Full House?!
27. Friendly Competition
After the show was cancelled, the newly picked up Friends sitcom was filmed on the same sound stage. When John Stamos made a guest appearance on Friends, he claimed Dave Coulier’s underwear was still on the roof of his old dressing room. Does underwear have an expiry date?
26. Retirement
After Vicky Larson’s engagement with Danny Tanner was called off in the seventh season, Gail Edwards who played Vicky decided to retire from acting altogether. She made one final television appearance about a year later, then called it quits for good.
25. Ambitious
Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit who played Alex, the son of Uncle Jesse and Becky grew up to be a foley artist, and has made sound effects for Game Of Thrones and Furious 7. His twin brother Blake is a firefighter.
24. Before Fuller House
John Stamos had been working on bringing Full House back to the masses for while before Fuller House was greenlit. He pitched a semi-remake in 2008, and in 2009 was working on a movie that would see James Franco as Uncle Jesse, Steve Carell as Danny Tanner, and Tracy Morgan as Uncle Joey.
23. Reunion
John Stamos, in character with his old band “Jesse and the Rippers” performed some popular cover songs, as well as the Full House theme song on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in 2013. Bob Saget and Lori Loughlin both made cameo appearances.
22. Replica
In the first season, Danny Tanner had a mustang named Bullitt, named after the 1968 film Bullitt. In episode 11, Uncle Jesse destroys the car, ultimately replacing it with a replica called Walter. Doesn’t have the same ring to it.
21. Lookalike
In the show’s opening credits, the people driving over the Golden Gate Bridge are not the actual cast, but lookalike actors who were filmed by a helicopter. The cast must have been busy filming in LA.
20. Cha-Ching
Before Full House was over, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen had become the youngest self-made millionaires ever. Show creator Jeff Franklin helped skyrocket their fame outside of Full House by writing a TV movie for the 5 year old twins called To Grandma’s House We Go. Bob Saget and Lori Loughlin both had cameos on the show.
19. Dreamy
Dave Coulier married Jayne Modean a few months after meeting her on the set of Full House. Jayne played a grown-up Michelle Tanner in a dream sequence in the third season. They wound up getting a divorce two years later.
18. Twinning
Initially, the producers didn’t want audiences to know that Michelle was played by a pair of twins, so they credited Michelle as played by “Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen,” hoping the name would trick audiences into thinking it was one person. Eventually, people found out the truth, and Michelle was credited correctly as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
17. Momma Drama
The Olsen twins’ mom pulled the pair from the show after the first season because she wanted her children to have a “normal” childhood. The producers offered them an even bigger salary to keep the two starlets on the show.
16. Becky With The Good Chemistry
Lori Loughlin, who plays Aunt Becky on the show was originally supposed to appear in only six episodes. After producers saw the chemistry she had with the rest of the cast, they decided to keep her on a series regular. Nice save, producers.
15. Kimmy Shimmy
Andrea Barber who plays the neighbour Kimmy Gibler, originally auditioned for the role of DJ Tanner, but producers asked her to come back to audition for the role of the neighbour, which was only supposed to be a one-time appearance on the show. Once again, they loved the chemistry she had with the rest of the cast and kept her on as a regular.
14. Sing To Me
Dave Coulier once dated singer Alanis Morisette. The song “You Oughta Know” is rumored to be about Dave Coulier, who has both confirmed and denied this in different interviews. Is it or isn’t it about you Dave? You oughta know.
13. Mannequin Challenge
If you look closely in the first season, Uncle Joey’s mannequin is always wearing the same shirt that Uncle Joey is wearing.
12. Name Change Part 3
Uncle Jesse’s surname was originally Cochran, but was later changed to Katsopolis to reflect John Stamos’ Greek roots.
11. Absent
In the episode “Subterranean Graduation Blues” DJ Tanner doesn’t make an appearance, making her the only cast member to not appear in every episode of the show.
10. Forgetful
Young Mary-Kate and Ashley would call their castmates by their characters’ names, even when not filming, so that they wouldn’t mix up the names when the cameras were rolling. Pretty smart move for a couple of toddlers.
9. Catchphrase
Uncle Jesse’s “have mercy” catchphrase was originally improvised by John Stamos in the pilot, and the producers loved it so much they made sure Stamos brought it back in future episodes.
8. Frenemies
Though the two are great friends now, Bob Saget and John Stamos disliked each other when the show first went to air. Stamos said that Saget was always joking around and not “serious” enough.
7. Foul Mouth
Bob Saget is known for his raunchy stand-up comedy, and he would often get into trouble for making off-color remarks on set, forgetting there were children around. Sounds like someone needed to cut. It. out.
6. Almost Identical
Trying to figure out which Olsen twin is playing Michelle at any given time? That’s a tough mystery to crack for even the best of sleuths, but there is one telltale sign to know which twin is on camera when. If Michelle has a freckle above her lip, it’s Ashley. If not, it’s Mary-Kate.
5. San Fran Fan
If you’re ever in San Fran, you can still visit the Tanner residence where the show took place. The address is 1709 Broderick Street, but don’t expect any Tanners to open the door when you knock.
4. Twinning Part 2
Mary-Kate and Ashley appear together on screen in the show a total of four times. By then audiences had learned that Michelle was played by the twin actors, and no one was surprised.
3. Missed Connections
John Stamos and Lori Loughlin met before their roles on the show, when Lori presented John with an Emmy for his role in the soap-opera General Hospital. The two would later meet as love interests on the show.
2. Stamos’d
John Stamos actually got the Olsen twins fired from the show because they cried a lot during the filming of the pilot episode. They were replaced by a pair of redhead twins that the producers didn’t like much. Eventually the twins were brought back and became the Michelle Tanner we all knew and loved.
1. Little Help?
Andrea Barber, who played Kimmy Gibler, brought her prom date to the set of the show, where she and her date posed for pictures with the cast. The hair and makeup team working on the show even helped Andrea with her hair and makeup for the big night.