John Stamos says he's 'afraid' to think of how Bob Saget would react to new memoir
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If you had told John Stamos that his made-for-TV life story would one day fill the pages of a book, he wouldnāt have believed you.
The Southern California-born actor, who turned a recurring soap opera role into a 40-plus-year career, takes a humble stroll down memory lane with his debut memoir āIf You Would Have Told Meā (Henry Holt and Co., 334 pp., out now).
Stamos found teen idol fame with āGeneral Hospitalā and later became a sitcom icon with the beloved family comedy āFull House.ā Despite these professional thrills, Stamos has weathered heartbreak over the years, from a high-profile divorce with actress Rebecca Romijn to battling alcoholism in the public eye.
āFor as many high points as Iāve had in my life, Iāve had a lot of low points, and those are the moments that people can relate to me,ā Stamos tells USA TODAY. āItās a deep dive into a life that I thought wasnāt worthy of a book, but as I wrote it, I realized maybe it is and maybe people will learn a little bit from my experience.ā
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Hereās what Stamos had to say about the book and his often not-picture-perfect life.
John Stamos would be āafraidā of Bob Saget reading what we reveal about āFull Houseā
Stamos starred in āFull Houseā from 1987-1995, playing Americaās favorite uncle, Jesse Katsopolis. Writing about the sitcomās near-decade run proved to be the most difficult part of the book, Stamos says, but acknowledging the showās legacy was important.
āIt changed all of our lives, and Iāve spent so many years trying to put it behind me, I wanted to show that I canāt get away from it,ā Stamos says. āWhy not be proud of something that people really love and that was good and wholesome?ā
Stamos also details his creative clashes with co-star Bob Saget, who played family patriarch Danny Tanner, describing him at one point as the āhumblest egomaniac Iāve ever met.ā
Stamos says his relationship with Saget shifted when his sister, along with Saget and co-star Dave Coulierās sisters, became seriously ill during the same period.
āI think if (Bob) was alive, Iād be really afraid of him reading the first part of it ācause I really highlighted the issues that I had with him,ā Stamos says. āBut then it comes around when all three of our sisters got sick, and Dave and Bob lost their sisters, and that was the key to Bob and I really connecting.ā
John Stamos on the āgiftā of playing with The Beach Boys
Stamos went from Beach Boys die-hard fan to honorary member of the surf-rock band in the early ā80s after being spotted by Beach Boys' tour- and studio-musician Jeffrey Foskett during a Disneyland performance with cover band Papa Doo Run Run. Stamos' chance encounter with Foskett set into motion a decadeslong relationship with The Beach Boys, including several concert performances and guest appearances on Stamosā show āFull House.ā
āI can take all the stuff that Iāve learned from being on stage with them into the sitcom world and theater when you have to hold the stage,ā Stamos says. āWatching Mike Love as a frontman, he gives it his absolute all every single night. ā¦ Heās been a great inspiration for me.ā
For Stamos, the feel-good nature of the bandās music mirrors the optimism of āFull House.ā āItās like comfort food: It feels safe, it feels warm, it reminds (fans) of the past,ā he says.
āI see the effect that music has on people, and to be part of that conduit to getting this music out to people and fulfilling their life ā maybe itās just one night, maybe it carries onto the next day ā is such a gift,ā Stamos says. āItās an incredible explosion of love and goodness.ā
John Stamos reflects on 2015 DUI, finding his āfairytale endingā with sobriety
Stamos gets candid about his battle with alcoholism, which surfaced during his 2002 Broadway run as Emcee in āCabaret.ā What began as āliquid courageā to get through the show became a ritual of ādrinking a bottle of wine every performance.ā
The actorās addiction came to a head in 2015 when he was charged with a misdemeanor DUI after driving intoxicated through the streets of Beverly Hills, California.
āWriting about that just made me sick to my stomach because I couldāve killed somebody,ā Stamos reflects. āIt was just gross where Iād gotten to, where I threw all my family values, morals and beliefs that Iād had for so many years right out the window.ā
Following the DUI incident, Stamos began his sobriety journey with an Alcoholics Anonymous treatment program in Utah. He says getting sober has played āa big part (in) my fairytale ending."
āAddiction runs rampant these days, and I just wanted to show people that if I could get through it then anyone can,ā Stamos says. āAnd without it, if I didnāt sober up, I would not have a family. I would not have a son. I would not have a wife. I donāt even know if Iād be alive.ā
John Stamos says marrying Caitlin McHugh āgave me a lifeā after Rebecca Romijn divorce
Stamos pulls back the curtain on his heartbreaking split from Romijn, to whom he was married from 1998-2005. The unraveling of his relationship with the model-actress left Stamos feeling ālost and soulless.ā
āI thought I had to be with a certain kind of woman that would elevate who I am, and maybe I needed to be going out with someone with a big life, and itās all (nonsense),ā Stamos says. āItās just the soul and the heart of somebody that you really want to take a good look at.ā
'My worst nightmare':John Stamos says he caught ex Teri Copley cheating on him with Tony Danza
Stamos later found his soulmate in actress Caitlin McHugh, whom he met on the set of āLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitā when he guest-starred on the crime drama in 2011. The pair married in February 2018.
āIt didnāt change my life. It gave me a life,ā Stamos says of his second marriage. āI thought once youāre an adult, thatās a boring life and youāre not having any fun, but thatās actually when life really happened for me ā the real life, not show business ā but to have a family, to have a son whoās jumping up and down when I come home, to have somebody to share the great stuff with.ā
John Stamos on why being a father in midlife is āso much betterā
Stamos became a first-time dad at 54 when he and McHugh welcomed a son, Billy, in April 2018.
The 5-year-oldās sense of humor is reminiscent of his late friend Sagetās off-colored style. āHeās a little potty mouth,ā Stamos says. āHe doesnāt say dirty words, but he talks about poop and stuff like that.ā
Although Stamos had āwanted kids my whole life,ā he says entering fatherhood in middle age has āgiven me focus and a reason to continue to be a good person.ā
āItās just been so much better that Iām established, and Iām not trying to prove myself,ā Stamos says. āIām not trying to find anything. Iām not trying to figure out who I am or what my career is. I can just focus on being a good dad when Iām with him.ā
Parenthood arrived at the perfect time in the movie of Stamosā life. But if given the chance to do it all over again, the actor wouldnāt ask for a second take.
āWeāre on the journey weāre supposed to be,ā Stamos says. āAnd if weāre living properly, and weāre a good person ā and weāre kind and loving and not boastful or hateful ā then youāre on the right path.ā
'Shattering':John Stamos opens up about divorce from Rebecca Romijn, childhood sexual assault