Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hi everyone, I'm Katie Couric and this is next Question.
We're doing something a little bit different this week, something
that I'm going to try throughout this season of the podcast,
and that is to do a Katie plus one episode.

(00:25):
I am so lucky. I know so many great people.
They're interesting, they're fun to talk to, they're special to me,
and I thought, wouldn't it be fun to invite people
to join me and be my little partner in crime
on this podcast. So we're doing it today with my
friend Kelly Rizzo and Hi Kelly.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Hi Katie.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
I'm so honored to be a or plus one and
be your partner in crime. And for the first time
me being your partner in crime doesn't involve cocktails or cooking.

Speaker 4 (00:57):
That's true. That's true, just talk.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
And I thought maybe we could tell everyone listening Kelly,
how we know each other and we actually haven't been
friends for all that long. I mean, you're a new friend,
which I think is so important and that's something I
love to do. You know that Girl Scout song make
New Friends? The kiel one is silver and the uh

(01:22):
now it's around actually, but we're not going to subject
our listeners to that.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
It has been a little over a year and a
half that we've been friends. We met right after my
husband Bob passed away, because you had reached out through
a mutual friend, because you had gone through that same
loss about twenty something years earlier.

Speaker 4 (01:42):
Twenty four years early, yes, exactly.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
You were about the same age that I was when
this happened, so you know what it feels like to
have gone through a loss at that time, and you
reached out, just kind of offering a friendly ear and
a friendly hand, and you're like, I'm here if you
want to talk, And of course I took her up
on that head.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
I just remember thinking when I was reading about what
happened to Bob, who I always really liked. Actually, I
had a date with him once, as you know, I.

Speaker 4 (02:10):
Really liked him.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
I found him so cute and funny and amusing, and
I did think we shared a pretty nice kiss in
the foyer of my apartment.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
But he always thought you were lovely.

Speaker 4 (02:22):
What can I say?

Speaker 2 (02:23):
He was a big fan.

Speaker 4 (02:24):
He adored you, well, not enough to call me again, but.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
That's okay, that's okay, because it all worked out. It
all worked out. He found the love of his life
with you. Oh, okay, And I remember thinking, gosh, Kelly,
I remember those strange, surreal days following Jay's death. I thought,
I know a little bit what Kelly's feeling right now.

(02:48):
I'm just going to say, hey, if you need me,
I'm here. We had dinner and then we've just stayed
in touch because I've also been very excited about your
career and what's ahead for you and tried to tried
to give you some advice in that department.

Speaker 4 (03:05):
So I'm just thrilled.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
There's no better mentor to have than you well, and
I've been so grateful a for your friendship, B for
your guidance on the personal level, but then see for
your guidance and mentorship on the career side of things.
And I'm just I mean, when Katie Kurk calls you
and says, hey, do you want to do an interview
with me, you say yes, And especially when it's such

(03:30):
a dear friend of mine as well, which I'm excited about.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
That's one of the reasons I thought this would be
very good chemistry. And it was serendipitous that my guest
today is someone who you know well. I always say
when people say that instead of who for a person.
People make that mistake a lot, by the way, and
that is John Stamos, Katie.

Speaker 5 (03:52):
If you and I went out instead of you and Bob,
we'd probably still be dating.

Speaker 4 (03:56):
I just, oh, quit it some more, John, quit it
some more.

Speaker 5 (04:00):
Out of me Cooier Saggitt. He could have started with me.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Well, you didn't ask John, and I think I don't
think you were available at the time.

Speaker 5 (04:08):
Did Bob ask you out?

Speaker 4 (04:09):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (04:09):
They were out on a date. He asked her out.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
Isn't that funny?

Speaker 5 (04:13):
Yeah, I remember, and we talked about it. I think
he was intimidated by you.

Speaker 4 (04:17):
Please.

Speaker 5 (04:18):
He was not really good. I used to have to
to see he or know him, like I would tell
him what the text and what to say, what to
do on these dates, and I, god, I wish maybe
I should have gone back to my text and see
because I feel like I was. I was texting him,
don't blow out X smarter on Katie. She's a very
intelligent woman. She's not just beautiful. Be careful, Bob, and
you know and yeah, and you guys kissed she.

Speaker 4 (04:38):
Did, and as Kelly knows, he was a good kisser.

Speaker 6 (04:42):
Oh, I know sheosed him and you know, you guys
had a some cuddles that you've you've cuddled on camera
and off probably, and you guys joke, you even joke
in your book that you've shared a.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Bed with him on multiple occasions.

Speaker 5 (04:59):
We were like old married couple. We didn't have sex,
and we argued about that. That's funny, John, that is well,
you know I learned from Bob. Thank you for having
me on this and what a great idea. But isn't
it called Katie plus one? Like don't you always have to.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
Say the name of the podcast is next question? And
some conversations, honestly, John, lend themselves to sort of a
single person doing an interview, and some are much better
for when there's a connection or someone is passionate about
a topic. So this is really an experiment, and Kelly
is my first person to do this with. And anyway,

(05:37):
when I was going to be in La visiting my
daughter and I know you both live in La, I thought, Wow,
this will be a great opportunity because I'm excited to
talk to you about your book and your life. And
I know what a big deal this is, John, because
I wrote a memoir that came out gosh, now about
two years ago.

Speaker 4 (05:55):
I can't believe it, and it.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Was a very stressful time because you do open up
your heart and kind of spell your guts on the page,
and it's scary, right.

Speaker 5 (06:08):
It was the last thing on my mind. I never
thought about writing a book. It wasn't a goal of mine.
I didn't think I could do it. Certainly, in my
juvenile thinking, I thought, well, all people would care about
is you know, talking about who I slept with. And
I'm not going to say that because it's not that
many anyway, but you know, so I just I'm never
going to write a book, and I'd never found my

(06:28):
I just didn't think it was something that I would
ever do. And then you know, I became a father
and that kind of you know, maybe you know, people
were asking that I was now don't know. Then you know,
then Bob died and I sat down to write that
obituary type thing in the La Times, and I just
kind of just poured out of me. And I think

(06:49):
the agents saw that and they said, oh, hey, you
should write a book. I'm like, now, yes, it was
very good writing in that, and I still said no
for a long time, and I just couldn't figure out
I didn't want to. I didn't think I and I
didn't know how. I didn't know where to start. And
then I remembered my mom's letters that she wrote me,
and she wrote these beautiful notes that we've kept over

(07:10):
the years, and I kind of put them together. I say, Okay,
this is a good starting point. But then I wanted
to write a love letter to all the people that
have been so beautiful in my life, certainly Bob. I mean,
Bob is a through line through the whole, you know,
I start with I decided to write I don't know
where you started in your book, but I started the
two hardest things that I could write about. One was
this horrific day I was going to meet Bob at
the palm and I got a dui and you know,

(07:32):
it was the lowest point in my life. And my
five stages of grief then were you know, sex and
more booze, and it was terrible. And then this second
chapter that I wrote was the final one, the day
I found out that Bob died, and I sort of
go through it pretty meticulously, right Kelly, and and my
five stages of brief there were of therapy and family
and health, and then I just had to feel in

(07:54):
the rest of it. But Bob was certainly I don't
know if I don't know he was interesting. I was
just thinking, I don't know if I would have wrote this,
because a lot of times when I was writing about
Bob was like, ooh, he if he was a lie?
Would he? I don't think I would have written this
book if if he was still around.

Speaker 1 (08:09):
Wow, I mean clearly, I think a life event like
that has such a profound impact and reminds you of
your mortality.

Speaker 5 (08:20):
And yeah, you know you lost your husband. When is that?

Speaker 1 (08:25):
It was in nineteen ninety eight, believe it or not.
So it has been dush twenty five years now, right,
And what.

Speaker 5 (08:33):
Does that feel like? Is it like the more time
that goes by, the less you feel it. And that
feels shitty.

Speaker 1 (08:38):
Too, right, it does actually, But I mean Kelly and
I had a long conversation about that for her podcast.
And you know, I always think if something were to
happen to me, I wouldn't want the people I left behind.
I'd want them to be sad for a little while.
I'd want them to be very, very very sad, But

(08:59):
I wouldn't want that sadness to overcome them and be
a through line through the rest of their lives. As
much as you know, I'd want them to think about me,
But you want you want people to be as joyful
and feel good. You don't want people to feel terrible.
And Kelly's very much that attitude.

Speaker 5 (09:20):
I know Kelly struggled. Didn't you struggle with that? Kelly? Yeah,
you started to feel sort of good and have a
nice half a day and then you feel guilty. Right, Well,
if mom would be mad, he would be mad.

Speaker 3 (09:29):
But at this point, well that's what I'm saying, John,
Like you know, better than anybody, I've had to differentiate
between earthly Bob and heavenly Bob. Heavenly Bob, of course
would want me to be happy and would want me
to enjoy life and to.

Speaker 4 (09:43):
Maybe meet for someone, right.

Speaker 3 (09:45):
But Earthly Bob absolutely not. Earthly Bob would be like,
how dare you? How could you you're smiling? Oh, so
you didn't love me at all? Right, I knew it,
you know, Like that's how earthly Bob would be, And
so you have to separate them, you know, and you
know that better than anybody. John, Like how he would
have been if he could talk about his own death,

(10:05):
but he never wanted to talk about it because he
said he was going to live forever.

Speaker 5 (10:09):
All right. You called me yesterday crying and it was
a you know, I started crying. But what you said
was that that the people that didn't know Bob, when
they read your book, they'll they'll know the real Bob.
And that meant so much to me because I've just
been struggling with not having him around and and as
I know you are, but writing the book was it

(10:30):
was my way of getting, you know, being close to
him again and hopefully, and I feel that phone call
made me because I just wanted him to be proud
of the of the way I wrote about him, and
you know, you said he would be, so that was
all I needed here.

Speaker 3 (10:44):
Not only would he be proud, I mean I was
just so touched and blown away by how you portrayed
and depicted your relationship with him. You said things about
me and there that like I didn't even know or
that I had forgotten. And there were so many parts
of this book that I mean, even myself, as your friend,

(11:06):
somebody who knows you very well like I did, I
didn't know and it's such like what, oh, my gosh,
just even stories, stories about Bob, because keep in mind,
I had only heard Bob's perspective on a lot of things,
and you know, and we'll get to this, but you know,
your relationship with him, even when you guys first started
doing Full House together, I had I knew that you
guys weren't besties from day one, but you know, I

(11:28):
only heard Bob's side of the story. So it was
very interesting to get your side of the story.

Speaker 5 (11:32):
Yeah, it was, you know, the two hardest I thought
that the writing the chapter about Bob or the opening
chapter was gonna be the harst the hardest chapter. Two
chapters really that were the Full House ones because I didn't,
you know, I know how important the show was to people,
and people ask if. Jeff Franklin was over here the
other day and he's writing a book, and he was
asking me like, when did I come to terms with

(11:54):
the fact that you know Full House? And when did
I like it? When do I accept it? And the
truth is not until, really, honestly to myself, until I
wrote this book, until I put down on paper what
that show meant to people, how much it influenced the life,
and how it was everybody's family. It wasn't just you know,
the last key kid coming home. It was her family
and the widow who turns it up a little louder,

(12:15):
it was his family. And you know, it's become you know,
the new normal, unconventional family. And the central character on
that show was love and it was representing the best
of who we could be. And the critics used to
just drive me nuts, and I finally just let all
that go writing this book and said, this show wasn't
meant for you, guys, You're not smarter than me. I
get it. It was fast at times, it was silly, it

(12:36):
was big, But what you would you missed is right
under that when you put gave you a chance to
the brain goes to the side and lets the heart feel.
And that's what you intellectual dummies didn't get that I
got and the rest of the world got too. So
we weren't making it for you, but just digging at it,
writing it down and then talking about the relationship with Bob.
I mean it did start off rough. I came from,

(12:58):
you know, a sitcom with Jack Clug and who was
you know, one of the great television actors, and Gary
Marshall was on that show and all these brilliant comics,
and every scene that we approached was from the story
and character and why I would say this, and that's
the way I went into full house. Well, Bob certainly
didn't work that way. Bob, as Kelly could attest, was

(13:18):
a laugh junkie. He was addicted to getting laughs and
if he couldn't get him from where he's you know,
in the show, it was like going down to skid
row and getting them. He would make the crew. He
would just go for the lowest you know, not the crew,
but the type of comedy to make them laugh. And
it was it was intrusive to my process. So then

(13:39):
just trying to figure out, like when did we click,
and it really wasn't until his sister got scalaraderma and
Dave's sister had a terrible cancer. Then they found a
brain tumor and my sister, so the three of us
were not just sitcom guys that working together. We were
three brothers that were losing their sisters. And that's when
we really I think connected.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
It's been incredibly gosh. I mean, obviously I know Bob's
story well about his sister, and I've gone to events
for this scleeroderma foundation, but for Dave to have his
sister sick and you John, I know she was later
diagnosed with MS and it didn't turn out to be
a brain tumor after all, but to have those life

(14:20):
and death situations, that must have been an incredibly bonding
experience for the three of you. And it was that
the moment everything changed.

Speaker 5 (14:28):
I think. So it sort of just said, what are
we doing. Let's put aside our petty bullshit, let's learn
from each other, Let's all come a little closer to
your process you come to mind. And we did that.
And you know what else was interesting just thinking it through,
is that my sister made it, like you said, and
there's didn't. So that that was I felt guilt about
that too. It was strange, but we just continued to

(14:49):
build our love for each other. And you know, thinking
about that last dinner, Kelly, I mean, Bob was it
was just you know, it was everything you wan wanted
in Bob that night. He was just at his to
me anyway, it was his best and little things that
normally bothered me about him didn't because I too was coming,
you know, was starting to come around to be like,

(15:12):
you know, not to be such an asshole, and you
know it was. And then he wrote this beautiful thing
and you know Instagram, and you don't think of the
last time you take a picture like that, to be there,
last time with somebody.

Speaker 1 (15:23):
Set the scene for me. John and Kelly, you guys
run a double date. You were at Noboo in Malibu, right,
and Kelly, do you remember that night being as magical
as John does?

Speaker 2 (15:35):
I do?

Speaker 3 (15:36):
And but I'll I'm going to backtrack even one more second,
because John, this is something that now literally this just
popped in my head. You had said how he was
at his best and you were at your best. But
I'm thinking back to even maybe just like a month
before that is when you guys, remember you had that
work trip I think to Florida and you guys were
bickering like the old married couple the whole time. And
I remember Bob came alone and he was like, oh,

(15:58):
we were driving each other nuts. John was mean to me,
and then I'm sure I was mean to him. And
you know, you guys were bickering, bickering, bickering, and then
we had this dinner that was the complete and total
like resolution from that and so there was none of
that you guys, you know. I mean, I've been at
many dinners with you guys where even you'll you'll bicker
like the old married couple, and you guys were just

(16:20):
having the best time. And we truly did have this wonderful,
wonderful dinner that I'm so grateful that you put it
into words and you documented that better than even my
memory allowed. So I'm grateful that I had you as
my like documentarian. So thank you for that and for
kind of restating it so beautifully.

Speaker 5 (16:42):
Yeah, it was. It was special. He was you know, look,
I mean it's uh, it's you don't think of losing
someone like this like this so fast, and but we've
we've bummed everybody.

Speaker 1 (16:54):
Hut. Yeah, well you know what I mean. I actually
I think it's beautiful. We'll be back with more of
John Stamos and my date for this podcast, Kelly Rizzo,
right after this. If you want to get smarter every
morning with a breakdown of the news and fascinating takes

(17:15):
on health and wellness and pop culture, sign up for
our daily newsletter, wake Up Call by going to Katiecuric
dot com. We're back with John Stamos, Kelly Rizzo and Wah,
there is a lot more to you, John Stamos than

(17:36):
Bob Saggatt. And the book is is really while Bob
plays an important role in is the through line. As
you said, it's really a love letter also to your family,
to growing up.

Speaker 4 (17:49):
So I wanted to ask you about that.

Speaker 1 (17:51):
I mean, you grew up in Orange County in an
extremely close knit family with your parents and your two sisters,
one older, one younger.

Speaker 5 (17:59):
Could fast. You're so great. I haven't seen you do
this in a long time, you know, because you know
on the morning, it's just hearing your voice, like you
were saying Kenly, like she's so iconic, she's so You're
so e and smart, but you're also cute and you
have this this likability about you and this smile and
just to be because I don't think we've done many
interviews together to be interviewed by you like this. Sorry

(18:20):
to interrupt you, but I just don't know.

Speaker 3 (18:22):
Please don't how lucky am I to so on going
next to her. I'm just so I feel okay, and.

Speaker 5 (18:27):
You look great. You don't age either, thank you, I
say either, because I'm talking to myself.

Speaker 1 (18:34):
You look damn good. Can I just say, John Stamos,
you look damn good. It looks like Can I just say,
look at that head of hair? What is that?

Speaker 5 (18:42):
I have this very large poster, big like I asked
my sister to get a little thing for the book,
and it's it's like the whole wall.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
I think it's fitting.

Speaker 4 (18:50):
I think it's appropriate to you anyway.

Speaker 5 (18:52):
Sorry interruption, getting back to my question.

Speaker 1 (18:54):
Thank you for those nice things that you just said,
But I want you to just describe your childhood. You know,
it's so fun to hear how people grew up and
how their childhoods made them the people they became. I'm
fascinated by that. More conversations are going on about, you know,
how you're raised and trauma and all that stuff, and
it sounds like you had a pretty lovely childhood. Your

(19:18):
dad owned a restaurant called the Yellow Basket, and you
worked there as a teen, and you worshiped your dad.

Speaker 4 (19:25):
Is that correct?

Speaker 5 (19:26):
Yes? Yeah? Yeah, he was my hero. Was he was
you know, he was larger than life. And I think
when some kids they reached the age where they go, eh,
he's just a human. My dad was always a superhero
to me. He was till the day he died. He
was the coolest mother player. I mean he you know,
I got One of the perks of doing what we
do is we get to, you know, do great things

(19:49):
to meet people. And my dad loves Sinatra, and so
I got to take him to a Sinatra carus. I
didn't know Rickles at the time, but he was opening
up and that was frank and this is how cool
my dad was. So we got a chance to go back,
can meet him. It took. It was hard to do,
and they said, mister Sinatia wants to see you. You'll know,
smoke signal brow and somebody a little Tonio came during anymosion.

(20:09):
I missed that Sinatras will see it. We go back
and we're taking pictures and everything, and it was time
to take everybody to take a pictures. And I was like,
come on, Dale's got fair, here's snatchal you love me?
He said, no, I'm good, I'm good and just sat
back and just he liked he It was enough for
him to see his son with Sinatra. And my mom
on the other hand, you know, Jillie Rizzo nearly you know,
killed her. She jumped on him and she was trying

(20:30):
to kiss him. But my dad was so fucking cool man.
He just stayed back and was like, no, that's okay.
He was a great man and I got so much
from him. But one of the things that I highlight
in the book was that the way he treated people.
He he treated his bus boy the same way he
would treat his best customer. And I think and I
worked on Sundays, and I got I got General Hospital
during that time, and and and I remember getting when

(20:53):
I got the role. I was in the casting office
and I called, I got a call, and I called
home phone answers and you could get and everybody was
around the phone and said I got bad news. I
got it, and they were screaming, and in the back
you can hear min. I go make sure you don't
work on Sundays. I need you on Sundays. And sure enough,
I auditioned, I got it the two days later. I
shot it the day after that, and it aired two
weeks later, and it was thirty five million people a day,

(21:16):
you know, seeing the show Downer Hospital. And I was
I would still have to go to work on Sunday
to be my Dad's Sunday guy, you know, and people
finally start, people started coming in and recognizing me. I
said that I'm famous. Can I quit? But I think
it took. And he came out and saw me on
the set one day and he saw the way that
I handled people like he does, I think, and then
he said, all right, enough of the restaurant. This is

(21:38):
a real thing for you.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
Go.

Speaker 5 (21:39):
I love your son, be the best you can be.

Speaker 3 (21:41):
And go.

Speaker 4 (21:42):
And he wasn't that old when he passed away.

Speaker 5 (21:45):
Well yeah, he was sixty five. It was terrible, but
and he wasn't. He was emotional enough, you know how
you know, strong Greek dad, he was you know, my
mom would say I love you every other word, and
he said, damn at Latti say it.

Speaker 3 (22:00):
Though.

Speaker 5 (22:02):
He came to Yugoslavia when I was doing a movie
in the nineties or and he came home and he
wrote this beautiful letter and faxed it to me and
I read it then whatever. So when he when he
had a stroke in the airport in Las Vegas, it
was in a stroke, it was it. He was, what's
up to think? Getting choked up here?

Speaker 3 (22:22):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (22:22):
He was a colma for six months and he was
at our house and I knew he was going to
die any day, and I was looking around in his
closet and his drawers for something I could keep it.
He was a super humble guy, drove the same car forever.
I found a crappy old watch that didn't work. But
I moved his shirt or something and I saw I
love you Dad. I was like, oh, my heart stopped,
like what is this? And it was the original letter

(22:43):
that he had faxed me in Yugoslabya and I have
it up there. And the way he laid it out was,
you know, A, you know, being on the set, the
way you handle people really maybe proud and B my
chest is sixty inches, you know, wow because of you
and C. He says, A man doesn't have many great moments,
but you have given me many.

Speaker 4 (23:00):
I love your dad, And now you have that framed
in your office at home.

Speaker 5 (23:06):
Yeah. Yeah, I write a lot of notes to my kid.

Speaker 1 (23:09):
I don't know if you know, but now now I'm
feeling like I should have written. My mom used to
write put little notes in my lunch bag and say
things like don't get stuck in your peanut butter sandwich,
but or when she put a banana that's no banana lady,
that's my nose, Jimmy to Ranny, but not that. I mean,
those I think were the only two notes she wrote me.

(23:29):
But it is a very sweet thing, and.

Speaker 3 (23:31):
I mean, I love how I mean. Obviously, I've heard
wonderful stories about your mom, but the way she's depicted
in your book, of course is I mean, she's an angel,
she's a saint. And I love that these notes that
she's written you, that you actually have in the book,
they're like these little guide posts and signposts throughout each chapter.

Speaker 2 (23:49):
So how did you come up with that idea?

Speaker 5 (23:51):
Well, I was looking for a hook, I guess, to
this book, like you know. And I remember telling the
agents like I don't like like that book, like the
art of not giving a fuck, like I need something
like that, you know. And if you would have told
me thing. A friend of mine said, hey, why don't
you call it if you would have told me, because
I've said that forever. He a friend of my Neel
was over and Mike Love was calling me, and I
didn't answer it, and I said, Toff, you would have

(24:12):
told me. When I was a kid. My first show
I ever concerted, I went to it was The Beat sports,
and I wouldn't answer the Vollain Mike love call. So
it was so that I started that. And then the notes.
I knew I had them, and I knew my sisters
had some, so I gathered all those together, sort of
laid them out. I was like, oh, this is kind
of going along with my you know, the first chapter.
You know, when I was getting ready to get in
my car and go see Bob at the palm and

(24:35):
you know, and I never made it. I looked out
the wall, all those frame walls, and I have one
of her notes frame and said, don't give the devil
a ride, He'll end up doing the driving. And I go, wow, wow, Okay,
so that goes there.

Speaker 1 (24:47):
So she just did it all the time. Or when
would she give you these notes? Would she put them
on your pillow? How did it work?

Speaker 5 (24:54):
Sometimes they'd be on the pillow. Towards the end when
my dad died and I always got divorced, and you know,
we were both in a rough place and we needed
each other. It was close to being, you know, too much,
but it was it was definitely a needy relationship. I
would go there and she called her house the Castle
of comfort, and so there'd be not saying welcome to
the Castle of comfort. But a lot of them, you know,

(25:15):
I found in like birthday cards. It's like some of
the stuff she said in these birthday cards were like wow,
you know, like thank God gave you to man dad
and me and your dad and my life, you know.
And I found one too. I don't know if it's
in I think so. Yeah. It was like I was
the only person that shared a heartbeat with her, Like
where does she get that from? But that's I never
thought about that. But yeah, that's true.

Speaker 2 (25:36):
That's beautiful.

Speaker 4 (25:36):
It is.

Speaker 5 (25:37):
I write sometimes. Caitlin and I both wrote Billy a
letter when he was born, and we put it in
the safe. But what I do is I set up
an email account for him, so I'll email him once
a week, once a month or whatever. And it's easier
just to kind of talk into the phone and email.
And then someday, I guess I'll write him out. But
he's probably got already a couple hundred, you know, letters
from me waiting for him.

Speaker 4 (25:58):
That's so cool.

Speaker 1 (25:59):
You know, I had wanted to do that, you know,
the best laid plans of mice and men. I had
wanted to write my daughter's a letter every year to say,
this is what happened this year. You know, this is
what you did. These were some of the moments we had.
And John, do you think I did it?

Speaker 4 (26:16):
Of course not.

Speaker 2 (26:17):
How great idea.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
They're thirty two and twenty eight now, so I would
like to write them one letter just you know, my book.
But my book was kind of my letter to my girls,
you know, and they I kind of put it all
out and my life lessons are And that's actually one
of the reasons I wanted to write my book. I
wanted to record something not necessarily for strangers, but for

(26:43):
my daughters, you know, that would memorialize my life. And
I think this is this is something great for your son.

Speaker 5 (26:51):
You know, yeah, I think so. You know, he's a
little shit today. He slept with us. He slept with
me and Kit was on for a couple of nights,
so crawl into bed with me and it was yesterday
and wake up in his like, you know, his little
face is right up my nose right now, And uh
is it?

Speaker 3 (27:07):
Dad?

Speaker 5 (27:08):
Yeah, you smell like the bathroom at my school. Well,
thank you, son, Billy, thank you, Billy. Well, he's so
funny and he and his humor is a lot closer
to Bob's than mine. And that's you know, sometimes I
really get bummed out when I that Bob doesn't get
because he just he said, Dad, when if you have

(27:30):
to pee and you hold it longer, the pea nest
goes away or something like that. That's something Michael Bob
would have talked about.

Speaker 3 (27:37):
That is very close to a Bob joke that we
know about.

Speaker 5 (27:42):
I walked by and uh not a couple of months,
a couple of weeks after Bob passed away in and
he was the nanny was showing him Full House. And
most time he watches it just to get enough Ammo
to make fun of, you know, to goof on me,
and they'll start like, Billy, go clean up your toys.
You got it. But this particular show, he's five and

(28:05):
a half and it was The Beach Boys, and he
it was this this scene where where Danny was telling
Uncle Jesse he wishes that his life rock and roll
are cool, and Jesse was saying, I wish I had
your life of family and stuff, and in truth, it
was it was the real us. It wasn't the characters.
And I just lost it and I was kind of
he could see me out at a side of perpet

(28:26):
and and you know, in a moment of coolness that
that I haven't maybe haven't seen since he let me
have that moment, and I was, you know, I was
just choked up, and he looked at me and I
just kind of walked away. But so sometimes he can
be cool. He's the light of mine.

Speaker 1 (28:44):
He's so cute. He's so cute. He's like a little
mini John is a handsome kid. I stalk you guys
on Instagram.

Speaker 5 (28:52):
So weird. I try to teach him because now it's
like he's a lot of people know you're cute. You're trying,
and I said, no, you're not. You know, I gotta
figure out how.

Speaker 1 (29:00):
You don't want to get to well. Also, you have
to praise different things. You have to praise his grit,
the fact that she doesn't give up, that he tried
to think, the fact that he's kind to other people. Yes, yeah,
that's so important because especially for girls, like I used
to say, if somebody said to my girls, so you're pretty,
and I'd say, but they're very smart. Actually they're they're

(29:21):
smarter than they are.

Speaker 5 (29:22):
Yeah, yeah, I tell him now, just this morning. I said, people,
you want people to like you because you're smart, and
you're kind and you're compassionate, which he is. Yeah, that's
what you know. But he's a little and I wasn't
like this as a kid. I guess Caitlyn was a
flirt of her. He he's got girls. Remember Kelly at
my birthday party a couple of weeks ago, Gabella still

(29:42):
Isabella and too much. We were in Disney in Paris,
and I swear this so he It was two days
and the first day we had a guide, older French woman,
very nice but maybe in her fifties or sixties, and believes.
The next day, this beautiful third thirty year old French
shows up. It was a bit and billy like boom

(30:04):
and here's his move, which I can't use because I'm married.
But he's like, uh so, what's my favorite color?

Speaker 3 (30:12):
Still? So?

Speaker 5 (30:12):
What kind of uh? What's my favorite animal? Huh? Like
he's quizzing them on his stuff. So and then I
kind of overhear him talking about his girlfriend, Bella. He's
gotta go my girlfriend Bella and she lives in the neighborhood.
It's really nice and spiring. Mamma then the lady goes,
excuse me, I have to go the Beth of them
super walks me it's soon, swear to God. As soon
as she's out of earshot, he goes to me, goes,
why did I tell her I had a girlfriend?

Speaker 4 (30:36):
Wow, he's already a player.

Speaker 2 (30:39):
That is.

Speaker 5 (30:40):
I don't like it. I don't like it.

Speaker 3 (30:41):
Wait, So, speaking of Disney, so obviously I know you
as the biggest Disney freak of anyone I've ever met
in my life. Like, I didn't know like Disney File
was a thing until I met you. But in your
book you talk about like the origins of it, which
was so interesting to me because I never really knew
where it came from.

Speaker 5 (30:58):
Growing up next to Disney. Yeah. Well, I mean you're
talking child and my childhood was it was. It couldn't
have gone better. And I think a lot of people
kids would go to the Disney to escape whatever they
were dealing with at home, and I it was the
opposite For me. I just loved it. But it was
also when once you walked through those gates, the artistry,
and you know the way that that these brilliant imagineers
want you to feel. Age Lambs, I really got attracted

(31:19):
to that, and it was a place that's sort of
where I reached puberty. There was a place to you know,
trying to pick up, try to pick up girls. I
never really quite got it.

Speaker 4 (31:26):
It was kind of your like your mall growing up maybe.

Speaker 5 (31:29):
Yeah, yeah, right right, yes, and so yeah, I'd be
standing in line there with my dad's members only jacket
and zits and hair and feather members.

Speaker 4 (31:38):
Oh my god, that brings back memories my dad.

Speaker 5 (31:41):
Still, the chicks didn't like that. I realized that. But Kelly,
we all went. We had a great Remember, we all
with Dave and his wife Melissa, and we all wore Onesies. Remember.

Speaker 3 (31:55):
Yeah, Bob was not happy because it didn't quite fit.

Speaker 5 (31:57):
It was didn't like he couldn't quite sip it.

Speaker 2 (31:59):
And he was very unhappy that we forced him to
wear the ones.

Speaker 1 (32:02):
But you proposed to your wife at Disney World or Land.
I guess disney Land out here, Disney World in Orlando.

Speaker 5 (32:10):
Yeah, yeah, like I had a choice. I was done
with Disney until I met her, and then she's fucking
back in again.

Speaker 1 (32:16):
One of the things you write about John is that
you wanted to be famous from the beginning. I mean,
why What did you see that sparked that in you
that said I want to be a household name or
I want it, I want people to know me.

Speaker 5 (32:29):
Yeah. I do say that a lot, and it is true.
But in closer look that it was really about being
liked because I, you know, I was before the bullying
was even a term. Some jack asked gave me a
black eye because his girlfriend wanted to go out with me,
and you know that was so humiliating, and I wasn't
you know, I was a dorky kid. I like puppets
and magic and nothing cool about any of it. And girls.

(32:52):
I put a picture in the book of me with
a puppet trying to impress some girls. She's like, oh,
then you know the next picture you see me on
drums like I gotta. But so I think it was
more of just wanting to be liked. But I did
you know, being famous was something that I wanted first,
and then then I learned acting. Acting Okay, I don't
learn that, but it was yeah, you know, it was

(33:15):
you know, maybe did you find this writing your book
that I really discovered my story as I was writing it,
Like again, like I didn't think it's your life, so
you go, ah, it's okay, it's not do that. I
play with it. But as you when you write it
all down, there's a lot.

Speaker 1 (33:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (33:28):
And I was always sort of trying to find the
relatable you know places, and certainly being a dorky kid
and being bullied, you know, was one. And being cheated on.
You know, I think you know, people probably think, oh,
he's never gonna get cheated on looking at him, and
you know, my wife cheated on me because I have
no money. I'm not good like no, no, no, no, no,
it's people are assholes. That's why he got cheated or not.

(33:51):
But so I was trying to find as many relatable
moments throughout the book, and they kind of came. But
what I was going to ask you was, did you
find like as I was discovering my story, I realized
so many things that happened back then that I get now.
It was in the middle of a lot of cultural
being on General Hospital, and the storylines between the black

(34:11):
actors and the white actors was so different, and they
had to get their hair done in another place and
look back, I said, wait a minute, that's segregation, you know. Now,
you know, we're dealing with homophobia in the theater, inequality
in the workplace for women, my dad. It was so
great to write about my dad. He never held my
mom wanted to be a housewife and she was great,
and my dad never held that over. He never said,
I'm not going to make the money you don't. In fact,

(34:33):
he thought her and praised her for her job was
harder and more important, and it was. Those are the
examples that I had. But looking back at all those
you know, those kind of tent poles moments of my life,
was interesting.

Speaker 1 (34:46):
It is interesting. I think also if you look back,
how much things have changed. You know, I mean, I'm
older than you are, John, I think by six years,
but you're, well, how are you? I'm sixty six, Yeah,
so kind of the same generation. And you know, you
think about like when we were little, nobody was out
if they were gay. I mean, it was a very

(35:07):
closeted world. So much homophobia you think about, you know,
there was if there wasn't segregation, obviously there was de
facto segregation with a black part of town where I
grew up. And women obviously the role of women and
the aspirations you could have as a young woman. My
mom was a housewife as well, and my dad never

(35:28):
you know, lauded that over her. But she just didn't
have that many choices, you know. There weren't that many
opportunities for my mom to have a life outside the
home in a very tangible way. So sometimes when I
was writing my book, I would be like, Wow, we
have really evolved as a culture. Obviously, we have a
long way to go. It's not like we've eradicated sexism

(35:51):
or racism or all the isms that haunt us as
a society. But the progress that has been made, it
is the changes in attitudes. It's pretty something, you know,
it's something to behold.

Speaker 5 (36:03):
Yeah, and I think, you know, yeah exactly. And I
think about a lot about, you know, some of the
sexual endeavors that I went through in my life that
you know, you think of them as. Back then, it
was like, oh, every school boys dream, you know. I
walked into my dressing with a naked girl in the closet,
and and and this penthouse pet came in and had
sex with me, and and I, you know, I'm happy

(36:26):
to say that they were not what I thought it
was going to be. I didn't feel good after. I
didn't like it. I wanted to love, I want to
like my family. But yeah, so I found those things.
We certainly, this me Too movement has been so incredible
because it's just it really, women have really done a
brilliant job at making us men, you know, straighten up

(36:47):
and look at you know, look at the way that
they've been treated over the years. Uh So, a lot
of that, But then you look at so then we
you know, with racism and some of this stuff like
have we not got past this yet? Come on, there
was so much of it, I guess stamp down without Okay,
we're moving forward, and now it's bubbling up again.

Speaker 1 (37:07):
But I think we're having the kind of conversations about it, John,
that we never did when we were younger. I think
it was just sort of part of our lives. And
I remember when I did my my daytime talk show,
which I renamed My Stupid daytime talk Show, even though
there were some good episodes, but I remember thinking, well,
it wasn't It's just I that's a longer story, read

(37:30):
my book. But it's just that I never got to
the kind of things that I really wanted to explore.
Was not necessarily perfect for what a daytime audience.

Speaker 5 (37:39):
Was looking for nowadays, you would do, you would say,
fuck you, this is the way I want to do
my show, and here's what I'm talking about.

Speaker 1 (37:46):
Well I did, and it was canceled. But anyway, well, okay,
good though, Yeah, yeah I did, and but but I
remember wanting to do a story of an episode or
a show on Race and I remember, like nobody, we
couldn't figure out how to address it or how to
attack it because it just wasn't part of the national

(38:06):
conversation back then. So in a way, we've had so
many growing pains talking about systemic racism and even sexism,
but at least they're being talked about, if not solved, right, yeah.

Speaker 5 (38:23):
Then there's some culpability. There's some people that are having
to you know, it's interesting they didn't. The publisher kept saying,
where's Laurie want to talk about the you know, the
college gatter you got to write about there. I said, no,
I don't, And I talked to Laurie about it. She says, yeah,
go ahead, We'll trying to say anything you want. You
can defend me. I said, Asheria, and I sort of
wrote it out. I said, no, this is not I

(38:43):
didn't like it. And then so it was nothing there.
And then I said, it does feel like there's something missing,
and I went back and I just wrote about from
my point of view, the way she went through it.
Everybody makes mistakes big and small, and by the way,
like the last person you think on full that would
go to jail first be me, probably Jodie or both

(39:03):
of us together. But the way she you know, it
was a study and resilience and the way she got
up every day and you know, took care of a
family and took care of a marriage. I mean I
would have crumbled way for she did. So that was
interesting to be able to just write about her and
have that conversation, not picking sides.

Speaker 2 (39:22):
She is so strong.

Speaker 3 (39:23):
Just her attitude and outlook on everything, you know, for
what she went through to just have such a positive
just a smile on her face and a positive outlook.

Speaker 2 (39:35):
On things, it's really remarkable.

Speaker 1 (39:37):
That must have been mortifying and horrifying for her to
go through. And people, I mean, I'm not saying what
she did was right, but people are so cruel and
so righteous and judgmental.

Speaker 4 (39:53):
That must have been really hard.

Speaker 5 (39:55):
The mud that was slung at her kids daily too,
you know, in her family. But she you know, yeah,
I mean it was the way that she handled it,
and she she was accountable. She did everything she was
supposed to do. Go to jail, do this, you know,
and and and a lot of people don't know that
during that time she was going and helping kids in
schools and you know, under privileged kids and bringing food

(40:15):
to anyway, she's a saint, and she you know, she
made a big mistake and typical Lori fashion, weish she
got out of jealous. How was it, she goes, Oh,
it wasn't bad. I met some I met a couple
of really nice ladies. We're in our book club now,
and it was like, okay.

Speaker 2 (40:28):
She said.

Speaker 3 (40:29):
She took the time to get to know everyone there
and learn their stories, and they all had a lot
of difficult stories, and she really wanted to understand, like
what brings people to that place.

Speaker 4 (40:39):
You know, she's never.

Speaker 1 (40:40):
Really done an interview, has she No, No, you should
get her only about it anyway, John, I wanted to
ask you just a few more things about the book.
And one is your obsession or lifelong love, I should say,
of music. And you included a niche quote in your
yearbook without music life would be in the steak.

Speaker 5 (41:01):
Yeah, my dad thought it was so stupid. He goes,
that's the dumbest thing I ever heard, really, Dad, Well,
look who I'm playing with today.

Speaker 1 (41:09):
Yeah, well, let's talk about your music and how you
fell in love with music and the whole process of that.

Speaker 5 (41:16):
I was drumming was my main thing. And by the way,
if you can see, can you see, Kelly was kind
enough to give me Bob's guitar. It's the back when
in the middle, see that. And I don't play it
because if I picked it up and started playing it
be like dog licked my balls. Fu fu fuck. But
you know, so I try not to pick it up,
but not a digress and I'll go back to you

(41:38):
need to we need to, Kelly. There's one recording of
this song before Bob died, and he was working it
into his act and it's about I just saw it
the other day. He sings a song about falling in
love with her dad.

Speaker 3 (41:51):
It's about my dad. It's called I'm Not in Love
with my Wife's father. Yeah, and it's about my dad
and it's hilarious. And there's only one because he never
recorded it and he never it was going to be
in his new special, and so he didn't want anyone
else to record it because he didn't want to getting
out there because it's supposed to be a surprise in
the special. And so I recorded it at his one

(42:12):
of his last shows ever in Denver, and I have
a video of it, and at some point I need
to release it. And John had, you know, a good
idea for maybe how we should release that one day.

Speaker 1 (42:22):
But maybe you could do it and raise money for
Clara Derma or something.

Speaker 5 (42:25):
What was the idea to play it right now?

Speaker 1 (42:27):
On Katie's podcast, No, No, No, I wish I was thinking,
of course, you know, I like the way you think,
John Stamos.

Speaker 4 (42:33):
But then I was thinking, no, no, Kelly's way too
smart for that.

Speaker 5 (42:36):
Well, it's got to be debuted somewhere.

Speaker 4 (42:38):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (42:39):
Well, No, she had a good idea. It could be
to raise money for the SRF.

Speaker 5 (42:43):
By the way, this is a This is the bracelet
that we put out to raise money for Bob's charity
and Kelly's charity, and it's the biggest selling bracelet. It's uh,
we have a thing called Saint Amos and you can
buy a bracelet this this is one's for Bob.

Speaker 2 (42:58):
I know, I love that you guys did that.

Speaker 4 (43:00):
And wait, what does it go for? Is that first
claraderma something else?

Speaker 3 (43:03):
Yeah, well it's their charity like in conjunction with the SRF,
which is really really nice.

Speaker 4 (43:08):
And what is your charity?

Speaker 2 (43:09):
John so thoughtful?

Speaker 5 (43:10):
Well, I've devoted over the last thirty thirty five years
to the abused children and you know, to stop that
which it's you know, there's been on the rise since
the pandemic and I, you know, I talk a little
bit about it in the book. You know something that
happened to me. I felt sort of like a Charlottan
not talking about you know, I had a instiand with

(43:31):
a babysitter when I was twelve or so, and it
was I stopped it away and I I came back
when I was writing a speech for an event that
they were giving me an award for the childhood and
I said, you know what, now is not the time
I'm going to pack this away. And then when I
was writing the book, I was just like, yeah, I

(43:52):
did I work? Did I put everything in here that
I will? Oh wait a minute, what about that? And
I talked to my sisters and I talked to Kate
then and it's very brief, but I but you know,
it was important to me to talk about it. It's
a very you know, uncomfortable situation with a babysitter, and
you know, I think that I think the the rate

(44:13):
is like seven out of every twenty five girls have
been you know, sexually abused, and only four something out
of every twenty five men boys. But that's because boys
don't talk about it. So I felt it was sort
of important to tell my my incident there.

Speaker 1 (44:29):
The numbers are really amazing, aren't they When you think
about it, how prevalent it is, and you know what
a hidden, dark secret is for so many, so many people,
and how how much it shapes them going forward with
their view of themselves and the way they look at
others and relationships and all that.

Speaker 5 (44:49):
Yeah, that's why I thought it was important. And we
have a one eight hundred number one eight hundred four
a child and this is one of the reasons why
I mentioned the book too, so I could talk about
that because if you you know, if you feel like
there's abuse going on, you can call. The other thing
is like we talked to if your parent and you're
stressed and and you're thinking about getting angry at your kids.
You can call that number two. So that was important.

Speaker 1 (45:14):
We'll be back with more of John Stamos and Kelly
Rizzo my Plus one right after this. We're back with
Kelly Rizzo and John Stamos. Let's go back to music,

(45:34):
because I feel like you didn't really tell me about that,
because you write without music, life would be a mistake.
That's a Nietzche quote. My dad thought it was stupid.
I don't think he knew how important music was to me.
Of course, he didn't think it was so stupid. When
I went on to play drums with the Beach Boys,
John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen, BB King, Willie Nilson, Little Richard, America, God,

(45:56):
remember America. I loved America, Tom Jones and many more
grades over the years. That's so cool.

Speaker 5 (46:03):
Yeah, vibe. Yeah, I've been blessed to I'm a good
I'm a decent drummer. I'm not a terrible singer. And
a melody was always sort of escape. I love hearing it,
but I can't play, so I played drums. It was
my identity, you know, even before wanting to be an actor.
I didn't evenly act in school, and I didn't really
it wasn't in any of the plays. And I wasn't
a good singer. But finding something early and I encourage

(46:25):
any parent to steer the kid towards something that they
helped find their identity. And that's how I wasn't junior
high school and high school. I was a music I
was a drummer. I was in the marching vantag Jutment.
I just loved it. I just loved it. And the
first time I heard the Beach Boys song at Disneyland,
I was across the park at the Matterhorn and I
heard Sloop John b and it pulled me over like
a like you know, like a pied piper, you know.

(46:47):
And I pulled up. I just got to the stage
and they were singing this a cappella part of Slop
John Bean. Was like, oh my god, what is it?
What is that? You know? It was? I call the
Beachwoys music heart music. You don't have to think about it.
But and so I just set off and being the
acting cut sort of took off first. I always wanted
to play drums on TV. When I was on General Hospital,
there was a I was asked, can I play drums? Like,

(47:10):
we're not taking requests, kid, you know, relax. And then
one day I said to my dad, Dad, this guy
named Sammy Junior. Something's on the show. What about like
samm David Junior. M yeah, oh my god, he's a legend.
And that started my love for the rat pack of
my dad saying you got to listen to Otra, to
Dean Martin or Sammy. So I said, what do I
talk to him about? He said, well, he's a drummer.
Talked to him about playing drums maybe. So the scene

(47:31):
was that that Sammy was playing a character and I
was the host of the talent show at the Waterfront.
We were raising money for the street kids stuff, and
I was I was standing next to him. I said,
mister David, they won't let me play drums on the
He said right. And I talked him about music and
I had a real conversation about it, and I do impressions.

Speaker 4 (47:49):
This, yea, yeah, do it. I was like, keep going.

Speaker 5 (47:54):
So so he's so. I talked to him about music
and he said, okay, ba, how hold on man? And
he goes over to uh somewhere to talk to the
producers and he comes back and just do what I say, man,
I know what, And I remember him being very firm,
just do what I said in the scene, like okay.
So I introduced him as the character and he comes
out and then he goes, uh, Blackie, you playing drums? Right,

(48:15):
I'm like, and it completely had lived and you can
it's on YouTube. I'm like, yeah, let's come up here.

Speaker 3 (48:20):
That's the best way to start the show, since I'm
an opening act.

Speaker 5 (48:24):
It was a little jazz come together, that's it. And
he plays there was a drum, there was a band
set of it, and he's playing piano and I'm playing
drums and you want two three four, And you could

(48:46):
see this stage like passing on to the young man
like you you got you one of us. You're a musician,
you get it. And it was the most beautiful and
we just kept playing. They didn't stop us, they didn't
dare stop us. And I heard later that everybody in
New York and LA and they were all everyone was
walking towards the monitors like, you know, like, oh my god,
what having And he and it ended and he gave
me his big hug, and it was just, you know,

(49:06):
it was I've been playing music on the TV ever since.
Thanks to him.

Speaker 4 (49:10):
What a great story, What a great story.

Speaker 1 (49:11):
And now you and Mike Love and the Beach Boys
are like BFFs, right, the Beach Boys.

Speaker 5 (49:16):
I was obsessed with the Beach Boys as a kid.
I was obsessed with them and I it was the
first concert I ever went to at the Universal level theater,
you know, before I had the roof on it. And
I just never imagined that one day I'd be with him.
One of the first times I played with them was
in They would do these concerts, you know, at the
Fourth of July, and they did a few shows, and

(49:38):
then James Watson they're attracting the wrong people. They're not
America's band, blah blah, and they banned them and brought.

Speaker 4 (49:44):
Oh they did the Interior Secretary.

Speaker 5 (49:46):
Yeah, that's Jacks and and they got Wayne Newton instead,
and so don you know, and Nancy Reagan's now I'm
more of a you know, she was more of a
surfer girl than had dunka Shane Gallant. So they got
rid of him and then brought the Beach Boys back.
And that's when I did it with him. In the afternoon.
It was in Philadelphia for a million people and there

(50:08):
were bobs from and then DC for seven hundred and
fifty thousand people. That was one of the first times
I played with them.

Speaker 1 (50:14):
Wow are you worried about anything in this book? John,
I mean you talk about your marriage to Rebecca Romaine.
That was challenging and difficult, and I always thought, Wow,
two people in the same profession must be a very
fraught situation, right, And it turned out to be for
you all.

Speaker 5 (50:35):
Yeah, I don't know if it was because I mean
she yeah, I don't know. It was interesting that again,
that was a discovery that I made, Like the and
you know what, you're the first person asking me about that.

Speaker 3 (50:45):
This.

Speaker 5 (50:46):
They were saying, well, you have to write about that.
I said, no, I don't, but I guess I did.
And what I came to discover, you know, all these
years I was like, she's a terrible president. She even
did this, and she did that, blah blah blah. And
in Rihab when I was doing the twelve step, the
fourth step is to down all your resentments, and she
did that. You know, I had a field day with that.
And that you know, the guy says you're done, and
I said, no, there me another pen writing all this stuff,

(51:08):
and he said, no, what part did you play in that?

Speaker 3 (51:10):
Is it?

Speaker 5 (51:11):
What? I don't paid it, even if it was one
percent of it. And I started writing that down, and
I realized I had more to do with the demise
of our marriage than I was willing to admit all
these years. And at that moment I had just learned
to forgive and let it go. But so that was
the only way I really was going to write about that.

(51:33):
You know, what happened in the book that you know
that that she was It just didn't work out. No
good guys, no bagg you. It is just the way
it is.

Speaker 1 (51:40):
Well, you know, I think writing a book, you have
to be honest about your flaws, and sometimes that's kind
of embarrassing, you know, but you you know, you have
to say where you fell short and what you wish
you had done differently. I mean, it's a it's a
very sometimes painful look at your life. Obviously, there are
a lot of incredibly wonderful things that happened, but you

(52:00):
have to reassess some of the things that you did
and own it.

Speaker 5 (52:05):
Yeah, otherwise, what's you know, what's the point. I did
start out like to write a hero story I did,
and then I was like no, no, no, no, and
then it became a human story.

Speaker 3 (52:14):
Well, you said you wanted it to be relatable, and
that's how you can be relatable is when you're human
and you're showing you know, as you said, like how
you fell short, and you know, if you're the hero story,
it's not going to be as relatable to people.

Speaker 1 (52:30):
Right before we go, Kelly, obviously, I think for you
from what I understand reading about Bob and reading what
John wrote about Bob and what he meant to him,
I mean, that must have been an incredible experience for you,
both one of of pain but also one of great memories.

(52:53):
And when you called John after you read the part
about Bob, what did you say, Yeah, well.

Speaker 3 (52:59):
I wanted John to know in case we didn't have
as much time to discuss it today, like just to
hear from me how much it meant to me, not
only as Bob's wife and as John's friend, but also
just as somebody in the public who's going to read this,

(53:20):
how they're going to see Bob and see how he
was portrayed as a person, as a friend as I mean,
because you know, you write about even parts of our
relationship or mine and Bob's, you know, as a husband,
as a friend, as a brother, which you had said
that you guys had always both you wanted brothers, and

(53:41):
so you guys finally did become that to each other
after you know, wasn't right away.

Speaker 2 (53:45):
Took a few years.

Speaker 3 (53:47):
But I told you yesterday when I called you in
tears that it just meant so much to me that
you told his story so beautifully and about just who
he was and how people reading this are just to
gets such an incredible picture of who he truly was
as a person. But also the memory that you have

(54:08):
of so many of these instances were so detailed, And
it was also so great to get it from your perspective, because,
as I said, I had really only heard Bob's perspective,
and you just did such a beautiful, wonderful tribute to him.
And he would be so proud. I know his girls
are going to be so proud. I'm so proud, and
you should just be so proud.

Speaker 5 (54:27):
Than that means the world to me. I was really
you know, I didn't know what I didn't know. I
was really thank you. I appreciate that.

Speaker 1 (54:34):
I mean, I was telling Kelly, I lost a good
friend recently, and I am going to carry her in
my heart and try to be more like her moving on.
And I'm just curious if you if there's anything about
you that changed after losing Bob.

Speaker 5 (54:54):
Well, yeah, of course. I mean, you know, Kelly can
attest that his whole thing was he never left anything
on the table. I always said, I love you, I
care about you know, and tomorrow is never promised. And
Bob lived his life that way, right, And he went out.
I remember talking to him home Jamie the Curtis she
wrote the thing in the front. I remember telling Jamie
like he was so alive, and she said, yeah, and

(55:16):
that wouldn't you rather die alive and vibrant than some
old you know, comrudging on the couch, you know that
didn't you know, fulfill the dreams? Kelly can attest he was,
he had a new thing about him. He felt like
a teenager again. He was doing new stuff. And he
played that last night. That last show he played was
like a two hour show, right. I mean, he just

(55:37):
and and you know I just wrote about just picturing
him going, you know, on his way home, he called
Kelly and said he had a great show, and he
had a picture and he wanted her to fix it up,
and she said, you look handsome, but I don't need
to fix anything there, and he and it was beautiful,
and he just loved you so much, Kelly, and and

(56:01):
he I just pictured him going to bed thinking about
all of us, all the people that he loves, that
he would see us again, and that the laughter didn't
have time to die down and he left us. But
I just, uh, that's the way, That's what I hope
he felt when he fell asleep and didn't wake up.

Speaker 3 (56:24):
Well, if I could just share one thing, sorry, I
just I love you John anyway. That really got me.
That made me like start bawling. This is why I
called you yesterday because there was one quote from it
that you know, for people listening to this that it
was such an incredible, like personal little exchange that just

(56:46):
shows how well you knew Bob too. And it's just
kind of explained this like all three of our relationship.
But you said, I knew from the start that she
really loved Bob for the way we all did. She'd
listened to him rattle on about himself for a bit
longer than I usually would. The first time she said
to him, this isn't all about you, Bob, I knew

(57:08):
she was the one.

Speaker 2 (57:10):
He'd pout.

Speaker 3 (57:10):
She'd kiss him, and in a sweet tone, she'd say,
you know, I love you, honey as we hug in
the driveway. Tell her you got ripped off. You didn't
have him long enough. And you know, and I've said
before that that's one of those things that it's so
understandable why people think that, because you know, we'd only
been we'd only had three and a half years of
being married. But and I'm sure you feel this now too,

(57:32):
that it's just there's so much of an overwhelming feeling
of gratitude that we did have him at all, versus
feeling we didn't have him longer.

Speaker 5 (57:40):
So that's true. We're all better off because of him,
and you know, we have to really take his thing
and just live each moment the most we can and
be loving.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
And as you said, leave nothing unsaid. Maybe that's a
good lesson from Bob. You know, tell people in your
life regularly what they mean to you.

Speaker 4 (58:02):
Amen.

Speaker 5 (58:03):
And you both mean so much to me.

Speaker 4 (58:05):
Oh thanks John.

Speaker 1 (58:07):
By the way, when I instagram stalk you, you were beloved.
I mean everyone loves you, John Stamos.

Speaker 5 (58:14):
What is that supposed to mean?

Speaker 4 (58:16):
You're very popular?

Speaker 1 (58:17):
Like when it was your birthday, all the notes and
the comments. I was like, good lord, this guy is
is very well loved. And I meant it as a compliment,
not as a diss and well, no, I agregiate it.

Speaker 5 (58:29):
But yeah, okay, thank you. I mean, you know, but
I think that's another reason to write a book. And
I'm sure you felt this too. It's like, the book
is not like an Instagram post and a blip here
and a blip there, and here look what I'm doing here.
You know, it's a deep, deep die. Right, But thank you, Katie.
I'm gonna listen to you. I'm gonna start listen to
your book tonight. Really, Okay, did you enjoy that the audio?
That was my favorite part was the hardest, But I

(58:51):
really loved doing the other.

Speaker 1 (58:53):
It was hard, honestly, and it was during the pandemic.
So this makeshift studio I put together in a bedroom,
I have like blankets. It was like a fort we
build as a kid, with pillows and blankets and under
you know, this huge.

Speaker 4 (59:08):
Mess of stuff.

Speaker 1 (59:09):
Because we didn't have a recording studio to do it
in and it was exhausting. I have to say it
was exhausting, but it was worth it because I think
to have you narrating your own book, telling your own story,
I can't imagine getting someone else to read your words.

Speaker 4 (59:24):
And by the way, you're a very good writer.

Speaker 5 (59:26):
John, Oh, thank you. Yeah. It was the hardest that
they said, oh, you can get it done a five
or six days. I took like thirty two days or something,
because you would it would just start, first of all,
your cold reading your life, and that's weird, and you
could change things that didn't sound right, and it was
very emotional. I would just go after a couple hours
and be like, I gotta go too much.

Speaker 4 (59:46):
Yeah, you got to pace yourself.

Speaker 5 (59:48):
I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad to talk
to you guys today about this.

Speaker 4 (59:52):
Yeah, and I'm excited to hear your audio as well.

Speaker 5 (59:55):
Well.

Speaker 1 (59:55):
Thank you for doing this, John Kelly, thank you for
doing it this, Thank so for coming on in. I
think Kelly added such an important dimension, and it's really
nice for me to witness your friendship and how much
you love each other and mean to each other, and
the fact that you tell each other that and leave
nothing unsaid.

Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
I appreciate you Ken, I love you brother.

Speaker 1 (01:00:22):
Thanks for listening. Everyone. If you have a question for me,
a subject you want us to cover, or you want
to share your thoughts about how you navigate this crazy
world reach out. You can leave a short message at
six oh nine five one two five five five, or
you can send me a DM on Instagram. I would
love to hear from you. Next Question is a production

(01:00:45):
of iHeartMedia and Katie Kuric Media. The executive producers are Me,
Katie Kuric, and Courtney Ltz. Our supervising producer is Ryan Martz,
and our producers are Adriana Fazzio and Meredith Barnes. More
information about today's episode, or to sign up for my
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(01:01:06):
podcast app, or visit us at Katiecuric dot com. You
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