21 Facts About Full House

Since making its debut on September 22, 1987, Full House has never really been off the air. If anything, the show’s cancellation in 1995 seemed to improve its ratings, considering how well the series's 192 episodes have performed in syndication and on cable. So it was hardly surprising when it was announced last year that Full House would be joining the recent trend of TV shows being brought back to life.

Netflix's Full House spin-off, Fuller House, began streaming today. The series stars Candace Cameron Bure, who reprises her role as D.J. Tanner, now a recent widow and mother of three who recruits her sister, Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and best friend, Kimmy (Andrea Barber), to help her out during her time of need. Before you binge-watch, read up on some surprising facts about the original series.

1. AN EPISODE OF THE ORIGINAL SERIES WAS TITLED "FULLER HOUSE."

It was the 20th episode of season four, in which the recently wed Jesse couldn’t emotionally handle moving out of the Tanners’ home. Meanwhile, Stephanie struggled with fractions.

2. THE ORIGINAL PREMISE WAS CALLED HOUSE OF COMICS.

Jeff Franklin, a former writer for Laverne & Shirley, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, and Bosom Buddies (where Bob Saget was the warm-up comic) initially conceived of a show about three stand-up comedians living in the same house. ABC told him they were looking for their own version of the very popular family-oriented shows of the time, like Family Ties, so he made some changes. Franklin admitted that he never thought ABC would like his idea, and that the scenario he dreamed up of a widower inviting his best friend and his brother-in-law to live with him and help raise his children is a scenario that exists “nowhere in the real world.”

3. BOB SAGET DID NOT PLAY DANNY TANNER IN THE ORIGINAL PILOT.

Saget was Franklin’s first choice, but he was employed on CBS’ The Morning Program. Paul Reiser was also on the list, but he opted to star in My Two Dads, the other new sitcom involving a plethora of fathers, instead. John Posey portrayed Danny in the original pilot seen by the network, but after Saget was fired from his job (The Morning Program would end up lasting all of nine months anyway), Franklin re-shot the pilot for broadcast with Saget.

4. SAGET AND DAVE COULIER HAD KNOWN EACH OTHER SINCE 1979.

Aspiring stand-up Dave Coulier met established comic Bob Saget in 1979. Six months later, Coulier took Saget up on his offer to give him a call if he was ever in Los Angeles. "The irony of all of this is that when I didn't have an apartment, I slept on Bob's couch," Coulier told The Huffington Post.

5. COULIER STOLE "CUT. IT. OUT." FROM HIS FRIEND.

Mark Cendrowski is a television director who has been behind the camera for virtually every episode of The Big Bang Theory. In their brief time as a comedy duo, Cendrowski played a “Mark Suave” character who would tell a woman in the audience, “You’re in love with me, now cut. It. Out.” "So I told him, 'I’m going to steal that. I’m going to use that someday,'" Coulier admitted to BuzzFeed. "And he said, 'Ah, you can’t steal that.' So I starred on a show on Nickelodeon called Out of Control and it became my hook on the show. And when Full House started, I just brought it over and it stuck."

6. UNCLE JESSE WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO BE UNCLE ADAM.

But John Stamos told Franklin he was much more comfortable as a “Jesse.” Franklin had no problem with that, because Jesse was the name of Elvis Presley’s twin brother.

7. MARY-KATE AND ASHLEY OLSEN WERE HIRED BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T CRY AT THEIR AUDITION.

Because child labor laws severely limit the hours a very young child can work in a day, twins were needed to play the role of Michelle, the youngest Tanner. Out of the 10 sets of twins who auditioned, Mary-Kate and Ashley were the only ones who both behaved.

8. COMET WAS ALSO AIR BUD.

Comet the dog was actually named Buddy. Buddy was a golden retriever who could shoot a basketball, stop soccer balls and hockey pucks, and catch baseballs. Those basketball skills landed him the starring role in Air Bud and Air Bud 2. Sadly, he died from synovial cell sarcoma in 1998.

9. ONLY ONE EPISODE WAS ACTUALLY SHOT IN SAN FRANCISCO.

That was the season eight premiere, “Comet’s Excellent Adventure.” Aside from the three episodes shot on location in Hawaii and Walt Disney World, every installment was taped on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles.

10. THE HOUSE FROM THE OPENING CREDITS WAS SOLD IN 2014 FOR $3.1 MILLION.

It’s the largest and oldest of the seven San Francisco houses known as the "Painted Ladies." The owner was asking for $4 million for the five-bedroom home, which was built in 1892.

11. THE WRITERS OF "EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK" ALSO WROTE THE THEMES FOR PERFECT STRANGERS, FAMILY MATTERS, AND STEP BY STEP.

Jesse Frederick was the performer, and Bennett Salvay was the writing partner. (Jeff Franklin also received a writing credit for the Full House theme.)

12. D.J. STOOD FOR DONNA JO.

The eldest Tanner child’s full name was Donna Jo Margaret Tanner.

13. CANDACE CAMERON’S FIRST KISS WAS ON THE SHOW.

The young actress was embarrassed because she was 13 and inexperienced. She had to ask Lori Loughlin, who played Becky, if she should keep her eyes open or closed.

14. D.J.’S BOYFRIEND STEVE WAS THE VOICE OF ALADDIN.

Scott Weinger’s big Disney gig was referenced in their two-part Disney World episode “The House Meets the Mouse.”

15. LITTLE RICHARD ACCIDENTALLY SLAPPED JODIE SWEETIN.

In “Too Little Richard Too Late,” the singer inadvertently finished a piano flourish with a smack to Stephanie Tanner’s face. "He felt so bad," Sweetin told The Huffington Post. "But I'm on a fairly short list of people who can say they've been slapped by Little Richard."

16. TWO ADDITIONAL SEASONS ALMOST RAN ON THE WB.

Because the budget was getting bigger and bigger, and family shows were suddenly not as cool, ABC cancelled the top 25-rated show after eight seasons. The brand new WB Network wanted an established major network show to poach, but some of the actors weren’t interested in that arrangement. (The WB ended up becoming Sister, Sister’s new home instead.)

17. FRIENDS FILMED IN FULL HOUSE’S SOUND STAGE AFTER ITS CANCELLATION.

When John Stamos guest starred on Friends’ 2003 episode “The One With the Donor,” he claimed that Dave Coulier’s underwear was still on the roof of his old dressing room.

18. GAIL EDWARDS RETIRED FROM ACTING SOON AFTER PLAYING VICKY LARSON.

Vicky and Danny broke off their engagement in the season seven episode “The Perfect Couple,” and Edwards never returned to the show. At about the same time, her recurring role on Blossom also concluded. The next year, she made one final TV appearance on Touched By an Angel before leaving show business altogether at the age of 41, moving to the Southwest.

19. ALEX KATSOPOLIS GREW UP TO BECOME A FOLEY ARTIST.

Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit has made sound effects for Game of Thrones and Furious 7. His twin brother, Blake, is a firefighter.

20. THERE HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTS AT TELEVISION AND MOVIE REMAKES BEFORE.

In 2008, Stamos pitched a “semi-remake” of Full House that went nowhere. In 2009, he said he was working on a movie idea, and had James Franco in mind as Uncle Jesse, Steve Carell as Danny, and Tracy Morgan as Joey.

21. JESSE AND THE RIPPERS REUNITED IN 2013.

Stamos, in character with his old band, performed their popular (in Japan) Beach Boys cover “Forever,” Elvis Presley’s “Little Sister,” The Beatles' “Hippy Hippy Shake,” and “Everywhere You Look” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Saget and Loughlin made cameos.