Many years ago, when I was in my mid twenties, I was asked by an friend if I wanted to go with him to a taping of an episode of Full House. I was living in Ventura at the time, so the trip down to Warner Brothers Studios, where we waited outside the lot on the street adjacent to be allowed in through the gate, and into a sound studio. Once in, we went to a set of somewhat comfortable seats on a riser, while the stages were set up in a semi-circle in front of us. We never had to move, and in fact, never got to. A half hour episode, which would last a little over twenty minutes on screen, took more than three hours to film.
During those three-plus hours, there were a few things that have always stayed with me, and while it was only a snippet of my life, telling it from my point of view, it is a much tinier snippet of the lives of the people we were watching perform on the show. It is not a lot to judge anyone by! So I am just giving the tiny observations I took there.
The different actors were introduced to the studio audience one at a time, with a chance to bow and receive applause. This was during a time when the Olsen twins were on the show playing one character, and a young set of twins were on playing the roles of the children of Jessie and Lori’s character, Rebecca.
Bob Saget was the most entertaining person on the show, by far. When the cameras were off, he was up with the studio audience telling jokes and stories, and interacting. If not that, he was rooting through the fridge, and saying how the summer sausage in it had been there since season one, or dancing on the stove-top. Bob loved what he was doing, and helped pass the time when nothing else was going on better than anyone.
John Stamos was like the guy who showed up for class without studying for the test, and in between shots, he seemed to be cramming for a test, always memorizing lines, and basically off on his own.
The girls on the show really enjoyed each other’s company, and it was easy to see that Jodi Sweetin, Candace Cameron, and Andrea Barber were all really good friends. Between shots they would hang out together, talk and laugh.
When Lori came out for her introduction, I had remembered her from the movie Secret Admirer, which I had seen as a teenager, and thought she was quite a sight, so I yelled out, “Lori!” She was blinded by the studio lights, but shaded her eyes to look out and see who had called out her name much louder than the rest of the clapping and cheering. Soon she was at work, and that was the only interaction I remember her having with the audience somewhat directly. Well, she knew that someone thought she was the cat’s pajamas that afternoon. What more could I ask?
Then there were the between shots activities. Lori paid no attention to the audience at all, really. When the cameras went off, she did not get caught up with the other actors, either. Her attention turned right to the twin babies on stage, the boys played by the Tuomy-Wilhoit twins. Every moment, she was caring for them, nurturing them, and looking after them as though they were her own children when they were on stage.
And that’s it. What impressed me most about her was her immediate and complete nurturing of those children, as though she were their own mother.
Now, this is not a defense of her recent FBI bust for allegedly paying $500,000 to get her daughter into college. It is just me wondering out loud if that is because it is in her nature to protect and nurture children? Obviously it is not a great example to set to her own daughter, which is something she is going to have to sort out with her, just like she is going to have to sort out the crime with the justice department. But after seeing how much she was caring for the children on that sound stage, it just does not surprise me that she has turned out to be one caught in this particular sting.
I am glad I went to the show, even though it really did take longer than it should have, and I was getting uncomfortable and agitated by the time it was over. If you do go for a show of any kind, plan for a long day, and even longer memories.
KJB