It’s always tragic to lose a beloved entertainer, even if it’s from natural causes. But things get even more unfortunate when someone like Bob Saget, only 65 at the time of his death, passes away well before his time. When the much adored actor and comedian lost his life only a month ago, many wondered how such a thing could have happened out of nowhere for someone so relatively young. Now, it looks like the inquisitive public has an answer, for better or worse.
Saget,comedian and star ofFull House, was found dead on January 9th in his Orlando hotel room, with fans and authorities equally baffled as to what caused his mysterious death. At the time, many assumed it was from drug and alcohol use, or perhaps an undisclosed condition like Norm Macdonald, who kept his cancer diagnosis a secret until his death in September of last year. But according to Saget’s family, things are more cut and dry than expected, but that may make things all the more tragic.
RELATED:7 Great Sitcoms With Awful Pilot Episodes
Saget’s family just released a statement revealing the newly-discovered cause of his untimely death, and it’s a saddening revelation. Dr. Joshua Stephany, Chief Medical Examiner for Orange and Osceola counties, released a statement afterward, confirming Saget’s death was “the result of blunt head trauma" and the cause was “accidental.” Here’s the statement from the Saget family:
In the weeks since Bob’s passing, we have been overwhelmed with the incredible outpouring of love from Bob’s fans, which has been a great comfort to us and for which we are eternally grateful. Now that we have the final conclusions from the authorities' investigation, we felt it only proper that the fans hear those conclusions directly from us. The authorities have determined that Bob passed from head trauma. They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved. As we continue to mourn together, we ask everyone to remember the love and laughter that Bob brought to this world, and the lessons he taught us all: to be kind to everyone, to let the people you love know you love them, and to face difficult times with hugs and laughter." The Saget Family
Saget was best known for his role as Danny Tanner on theultra-wholesome ’90s seriesFull House, a role which he eventually reprised in the Netflix sequel seriesFuller House. Seen by audiences as a family-friendly father figure by pretty much everyone who watched him, many were likely surprised when they discovered his contrastingly raunchy stand-up comedy. Still, his friends, family, and acquaintances all unanimously agreed that he was one of the nicest people in Hollywood, even showing his appreciation for his fans in his very last tweet the night he passed.
This new information makes the whole situation all the more heartbreaking, knowing that it was something so simple yet so deadly. The idea of dying to an unknown injury is frankly terrifying, and knowing that Saget went through that is sure to dredge up some complicated feelings from friends and fans. On one hand, it’s such a deceptively small occurrence that feels almost unworthy of such a beloved icon like Saget, robbing him in his sleep of what would surely have been at least a couple more decades. On the other, perhaps it means that he, at the very least, didn’t suffer.
Saget enriched the lives of those around him,through his comedy, his acting, or simply the act of being around. It’s a true tragedy to see him gone well before his time, and it will be yet another death that will sting for quite some time. But his fans can rest assured that he leaves behind an immortal legacy of laughter and warm smiles.
