Interview: DAVE COULIER Talks FULLER HOUSE, The Stress Factory Performance, and More
By: Leigh Scheps Jan. 17, 2016
He is everyone's favorite funny uncle. Dave Coulier has an exciting year ahead of him. The Netflix series of 'Fuller House' will be premiere on February 26th. In April, the stand-up comedian is releasing an electronic kid's book full of familiar voices. In the meantime, Coulier's spending time making people laugh and is set to appear at The Stress Factory in New Brunswick for a 3-night show. When I spoke to him, he dished about it all: from what happened to Mr. Woodchuck, being back on that famous 'San Francisco set,' to his brotherly bond with John Stamos and Bob Saget.
Leigh Scheps: How excited are you for 'Fuller House?'
Dave Coulier: We are all very excited. We weren't expecting to be so popular on the Warner Brothers lot. We are next to THE BIG BANG THEORY stage, and they all come over to meet us and take a picture. All the attention going back there caught us all by surprise.
Leigh Scheps: It must be surreal being back on the set of 'Full House.'
Dave Coulier: No, because we never left each other. We are so close, we're like family. We've been through so much together: births, deaths and divorces. We've been through this show being picked up as a pilot and all the emotional arcs you can possibly have. It feels like we never left and clicked right back into our characters when we hit the stage. It took a day to re-acclimate us to the physical space of being on that set again.
LS: Was there anything you took from the original set that producers said, "Hey guys, we need that back for 'Fuller House?'"
DC: I did take Mr. Woodchuck home with me because I made him with a puppet maker for the series. My dog eventually ate Mr. Woodchuck's face.
LS: No!
DC: When me, John [Stamos] and Bob [Saget] did Jimmy Fallon's [The Tonight] Show together, Jimmy made me a new one and gave that one to me.
LS: So are we going to see the new Mr. Woodchuck on the show?
DC: I can't tell you. It's a big secret.
LS: How about any other hints or any funny references from 20 years ago that you can divulge?
DC: We'll all be saying our familiar catch phrases we used.
LS: Speaking of catch phrases -- your signature line, 'cut it out,' didn't originate on 'Full House.' It actually was from a show you were on before the sitcom. How did you bring that with you?
DC: My best friend since we were 8-years-old, Mark Cendrowski (who's a director on 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'Fuller House'), and I were a comedy team growing up. He had this 'Mark Slob' character where he would unbutton his shirt and expose his chest to some unlucky lady in the front row. And he would wink and say 'cut it out.' I told him I was going to steal that when I start stand-up solo. Then I started doing it when I got [this] series on Nickelodeon called 'Out of Control' and it stuck. When I started 'Full House,' I kind of threw it in. [The producers and writers] all laughed and said "We are going to put 'cut it out' on the show, it's really funny."
LS: What's your least favorite episode of 'Full House?'
DC: Oh boy, I don't think I've ever been asked that question. Usually, it's what's your favorite? Least favorite? There weren't any because I got paid for every one of them.
LS: Good answer!
DC: But there were some that weren't so fun. I was never a big fan of doing on-location because I love hearing a live audience. The shows when we went to Disney and Hawaii weren't so fun because I couldn't hear the audience's laughter.
LS: What is it about 'Full House' and other 90's TV shows like 'Boy Meets World' that draws audiences back for these spin-offs? Why are we so obsessed?
DC: They have a completely different tone than anything that gets produced now. [On those shows] they told each other they loved each other. Back then, there were stronger family values. There was a stronger bond between family members which played throughout each of the shows. I think it reminds people of a softer and simpler time.
LS: Is it really 'Fuller House' without the Olsen twins?
DC: Mary-Kate and Ashley have an open invitation to come on the show whenever they want. We are all very understanding of the fact their lives have turned 180 degrees away from 'Full House' and acting. It would be hard for any of us to try and reconnect with something you started when you're eight months old and in diapers.
LS: But when you were taping, did you feel their presence missing?
DC: It's like when a family member doesn't come home for Thanksgiving dinner. "Oh, I wish they were there." They were babies when they started. We share a lot of stories and they were probably getting their diapers changed when it was happening.
LS: Can you give me a rundown of what goes down when you get together with Bob Saget and John Stamos?
DC: We are three real brothers complaining about each other. We just had a whole text [message] spree that went on forever two days ago about the first episode. We all lost our moms within a year of each other, so the first show is going to have a dedication to our moms at the end of the episode. So John [Stamos], Bob [Saget] and I were texting about that and it went on forever. It's so convoluted the way our text go. Stupid jokes get woven in as well as dirty humor and off color remarks. It would be impossible to decipher the code if [anyone] read it.
LS: It sounds like family then if it's in code.
DC: Jodie Sweetin is coming here tonight for dinner to play Cards Against Humanity. [She plays one of the characters in] a musical story book I'm writing called, The Adventures of Jimmy Bugar. I've written 15 songs [for it]. John Stamos plays the drums. Lori Loughlin is [also] doing one of the characters. I guess we really love each other like this weird dysfunctional family that can't get enough of each other.
LS: When can we get our hands on it?
DC: I am shooting for April 1st.
LS: No one's going to believe you.
DC: I thought it would be the perfect day for a comedian to release an electronic book. The lead character is a booger and each chapter there will be a picture of a nose, and you'll be able to pick the nose where it takes you to the song.
LS: Tell me about your show at The Stress Factory. What can we expect?
DC: It's a different show than my filthy Jewish sister Bob Saget's show. It's very eclectic and more of a birthday clown on stage. I talk about 'Full House,' play my harmonica, do voices and impressions and tell stories. It's all over the place. But audiences love it and that's all I care about.
Catch Dave Coulier perform stand-up comedy at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 7:30pm; Friday, January 22, 2016 at 7:30pm & 9:45pm and Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 7:30pm & 9:45pm. For tickets, visit The Stress Factory.
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