The show’s cast members are far closer than the cast of a typical television show, which resulted in plenty of on-and-off-set friendships and hijinks. But that doesn’t mean that everything always went smoothly behind-the-scenes, either.
Family Feud
One of the special relationships inFull Houseis the close bond that Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) has with his niece Michelle (Mary-Kate OlsenandAshley Olsen). From heart-to-heart talks to singing herElvis Presleysongs to lull her to sleep, Jesse and Michelle had a one-of-a-kind, unbreakable bond.
Behind the scenes, John Stamos didn’t immediately feel that for the Olsen twins, and he eventried to get them fired. During the first few episodes of the show, Mary-Kate and Ashley would cry a lot on the set. So, Stamos requested that the twins be replaced, and producers tried out another set of twins. However, the Olsen twins couldn’t be replaced, and they were brought back to the role that would make them famous.
My Two Dannys
Paul Reiserwas a successful comedian in the 1980s. However, whenFull Housewas being cast, he had not yet had his later big successes in shows likeMy Two DadsandMad About You. The show’s creatorJeff Franklinwas friends with Paul Reiser, and he offered the role to the funny actor.
Luckily forBob Sagetand many fans who love his portrayal of Danny Tanner, Reiser turned down the role. Interestingly, Reiser accepted another “dad” role around the same time. He went on to star as Michael inMy Two Dads. Both family-friendly sitcoms with no shortage of fatherly devotion premiered in 1987.My Two Dadsran for three seasons, while the originalFull Houseran for eight seasons.
Can You Spot the Difference?
Even the most devotedFull Housefans typically cannot tell the difference between Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen in episodes of the show. In fact, the twins themselves have said that they can’t always tell who is playing Michelle in the early episodes. However, Mary-Kate and Ashley are not identical.
Mary-Kate and Ashley are fraternal twins. That means they don’t share the same exact genetic material, and there are differences between the two that can help you tell them apart if you pay close attention. For example, look for freckles. Ashley’s freckle is above her lip, while Mary Kate’s freckle is on her right cheek. Also, Ashley tended to take on heavier scenes, while Mary Kate excelled at comedy.
When Twins Have Twins
Mary-Kate and Ashley started their careers on the set ofFull Housewhen they were mere babies, so the parents of the babies who played Jesse and Rebecca’s twin sons may have anticipated a similar outcome. However, the little actors who first portrayed the twin boys were replaced after only 12 episodes.
Kevin RenteriaandDaniel Renteriastarted out playing the twins after Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis gave birth during the show’s fifth season. However, they were only on the show for 12 episodes. They were then replaced byDylan Tuomy-WilhoitandBlake Tuomy-Wilhoit. Dylan and Blake made their debut on the two-part episode “Michelle Rides Again” and played the twins for the rest of the show. They reprised their role in two episodes ofFuller House.
Have Mercy
How rude! Oh Mylanta! Cut. It. Out. Have mercy! You got it, dude! Those wonderful catchphrases are among the things that many fans and casual viewers ofFull Houseremember. However, most people don’t realize that the catchphrases naturally came for the actors themselves.Candace Cameronsaid, “Oh Mylanta!” because the Christian actress didn’t want to take God’s name in vain, and it stuck.
John Stamos came up with “Have mercy!” for the show’s first episode, and it suited him perfectly.Dave Coulierborrowed his catchphrase from an old friend who had used it during an act with a different context. Hopefully, Dave is still giving that guy a percentage of his royalties.
Who’s Missing?
SinceFull Housewas a family sitcom, every member of the primary cast was an important part of nearly every episode. Even when stories weren’t centered around their characters, they were needed to support the character facing the problem that could typically be solved with a talk and a hug. Candace Cameron Bure was the one cast member to miss an episode.
Bure didn’t appear in the season six episode “Subterranean Graduation Blues”. Her character D.J. is only seen in the opening credits of the episode. Apparently, she missed this episode because she went to visit her brotherKirk Cameronat camp. However, Bure appears in all the other episodes and is the leading actress in the spin-offFuller House, so she has more than made up for missing one!
The Title Fuller House Has More Than One Meaning
Casual viewers often assume that the “Fuller” inFuller Housecomes from the fact that the family has now expanded to include even more family members. After all, D.J. now has three kids of her own. However, the name of the show has another meaning in the storyline. D.J.’s last name is now Fuller because her deceased husband was named Tommy Fuller.
Few people realize that a cast member from the original series had the name Fuller. Although Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen don’t appear at all in the sequel series, it is one of them who have the name. Ashley’s full name is Ashley Fuller Olsen. However, we can assume that is just a coincidence, and the name was originally chosen for the show for the cute play on the original title.
It’s All Greek to Jesse
Names are important to the characters onFull House, although they appear to have somewhat of selective memory about them. Uncle Jesse was referred to as Jesse Cochran early in the show. Remember when he had his own pest control business? Thankfully, the writers dropped the pest control storyline, and Jesse was also renamed in the process.
John Stamos allegedly wanted Jesse’s last name be switched from Cochran to Katsopolis to reflect his own Greek roots. The Greek heritage of Uncle Jesse was the focus of the first episode of season four called “Greek Week” where Uncle Jesse’s Greek family comes for a visit. The last name Cochran wasn’t mentioned after the first season.
Lifetime’s Bizzaro Tanners
InJodie Sweetin’s biographyunSweetined, she lets fans in on a lot of secrets from the set ofFull House. For example, she once wrote a curse word to describe Candace on one of the sets. (Don’t worry. Their childhood feud is very much in the past, and they’re very close friends these days.)
According toThe Unauthorized Full House Story,a Lifetime movie about the show that didn’t get a lot of praise from critics and little recognition from the original cast, the adults on the set sometimes misbehaved more than the younger cast members. The movie depicted Bob Saget as a prankster who misbehaved with a mannequin (sometimes Saget confirms in his autobiographyDirty Daddy). It also shows Stamos and Coulier joining in on the pranks.
The Struggles of Stephanie
Jodie Sweetin is living a life anyone would dream of having these days, and she overcame a lot to get where she is today. Jodie started playing Stephanie Tanner when she was only five years old. The show ended when she was in her early teens, and that was a tough time to have to return to the “real world” after the glamorous life of being a star on one of the world’s most successful sitcoms.
Sweetin started drinking when she was only 14, and she went on to become addicted to meth. However, she turned her life around after she became a parent in her twenties, and she now has over five years of sobriety. She credits her recovery with helping her create the wonderful life she has today and her preparedness to embrace her successful second chance in show business.
Who Took the (Full) House Off the Market?
Jeff Franklin has long embraced the very dedicated fans ofFull House. As the creator of the show, he even went so far as to purchase the original house in San Francisco that is used in all the exteriors of the Tanner home on bothFull HouseandFuller House.
Although the home fromFull Houseis sometimes mistaken as being one of the Painted Ladies homes in San Francisco, it is not one of them. It is, however, located nearby at 1709 Broderick Street. When the home went up for sale, Franklin bought the home for around $4 million. He has a sign out front that welcomes fans and asks them to be considerate of the neighbors.
