Less than eight months before they both tragically passed away, comedians Bob Saget and Louie Anderson sat down to have a conversation. It took place over Zoom on Bob's podcast "Bob Saget Is Here For You". There's no doubt that no viewer thought it would be one of the last times these two men would speak to each other. And for sure no viewer thought that neither of these men would be alive in a few months' time.
After it was reported that Bob Saget passed away from natural causes, fans have been devouring his previous interviews to find an assortment of chilling words, comfort, and laughter. There's no doubt that his conversation with Louie Anderson, who passed away less than two weeks after Bob, met all of these criteria. Not only that, but it revealed a lot about their true connection to one another...
While most fans knew Bob Saget from his wholesome family shows like Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, comedy fans knew him as one of the filthiest comics in the game. The man was downright inappropriate and fans loved it. As did a number of his famous friends like Gilbert Gottfried, with who he shared a somewhat warped (yet touching) connection. But not every one of Bob's comedy friends was as raunchy as him.
Louie Anderson is someone Bob has known for years. The Minnesota-born comedian got his start on Rodney Dangerfield's Young Comedians Special on HBO and quickly booked a spot on The Tonight Show. Throughout his impressive, but unfortunately short-lived, career, Louie was featured in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Coming To America, The Muppets, hosted The Family Feud, and won Emmy's for his shows Life With Louie and Baskets. All while being one of the most successful ad beloved stand-up comedians in the industry.
For the most part, Louie worked pretty clean too. This was something that Bob mentioned when he hosted him on his podcast in May 2021. He also mentioned that he and Louie kind of stated their comedy careers at the same time, climbing up the ranks at The Comedy Store in L.A. just like Jim Carrey, Richard Belzer, and Pauly Shore.
"He is amazing. He is a true stand-up. An exceptional stand-up," Bob said while introducing Louie on his podcast. "I saw you right after you did [your first] Tonight Show [appearance]."
"You saw me that night, I think. Because you were at The [Comedy] Store," Louie responded.
Louie went on to explain that the Comedy Store group of comedians that he and Bob were both in constantly had each other's backs. "We were out for each other. We weren't out to hurt each other."
In fact, all of them fed off of one another's energy. This was a time when comedy was booming and the likes of Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock were all coming up alongside them. While Bob and Louie loved being around each of these people, they didn't know just how prestigious a group it would ultimately become. But that's because they weren't focused on the success of it. They just loved doing comedy.
Bob deeply respected the fact that Louie put all of himself into his work. it wasn't about the gimmick. It was about honesty. And this is something Louie sees in Bob's work as well. "I think that you and..." Louie began to say to Bob, "I think we're tethered to the life we had as kids. And we're always pulling that up."
Bob and Louie saw something in each other. So, aside from their shared history, they felt somewhat protective of one another. Even when both men had become extremely successful, Louie was looking out for Bob. On his podcast, Bob described how Louie tried to comfort him in 2004 during Rodney Dangerfield's memorial service. The two were exceptionally close to the iconic comedian and were hurting. Bob was officiating the service and Jay Leno heckled him in the middle of it. This really hurt Bob but Louie was right there to calm him down.
"Right away you knew. That here I am, my heart's open and he takes like a swipe at me," Bob explained. "It was a personal swipe and you were right there like an angel."
"I wasn't going to let you hang there. I mean, no way," Louie said, admitting that Jay Leno's personal heckle at the memorial service wasn't right but that he did it out of nervousness.
By the end of their podcast, Bob stated that he couldn't wait to see him and hug him. While we don't know if they ever got to have a final meeting before they passed, this was almost certainly one of the last times these two comedy friends ever spoke.
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