ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) – Bob Saget appeared energetic and excited at his standup comedy show in Orlando Friday night, according to audience members.
Two days later, the 65-year-old was found dead in a nearby hotel.
“I said ‘no way. There’s no way that that happened. We just saw him,’” Amanda Gingold said after learning the news of Saget’s passing.
Saget performed his “I Don’t Do Negative Comedy Tour” at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios Orlando on Friday.
Courtesy: Alex Gingold
Amanda and Alex Gingold, of Claremont, were there.
“I love Bob Saget. I feel like everyone has a special place of him in their hearts and we were like, ‘let’s go. It’s Friday night, we can go,’” said Amanda Gingold.
Like so many others, the Gingolds grew up watching Saget as the kind-hearted Danny Tanner on Full House and as the host of America’s Funniest Home Videos.
Then, they followed him as a standup comic, whose darker content was a departure from squeaky-clean Tanner.
His show Friday was light-hearted and positive, the Gingolds said.
“He did a great job. This was his first show of ‘22. He kept saying how excited he was to be back on stage, to be in front of a live audience was a very exciting thing for him,” said Alex Gingold.
“He spoke about how he was the fourth responder as a comedian. How he wanted to fuel people’s positive energy and make people laugh and that was the joy he was bringing to get people through this pandemic,” said Amanda Gingold.
After the show, Saget tweeted about the “amazing audience,” “a perfect first show of 2022!!”
His opening act, Tim Wilkins, told NewsNation’s “Morning in America,” Saget was his childhood idol and he crafted these shows to bring people together.
“I changed my show between Friday and Saturday because great comedians make you want to be better every night and he noticed the change and he said ‘keep doing that, keep changing and keep pushing because that really is who you are. Continue trying to be who you are on stage,’” said Wilkins.
Saget performed for an hour and 45 minutes on Friday.
“He definitely had energy. He had a good vibe and it didn’t seem like he wanted to stop or end his set. He was really enjoying the dialogue with the audience which was really cool,” said Amanda Gingold.
The following night in Jacksonville, he was on stage for two hours.
“Loved tonight’s show @PV_ConcertHall in Jacksonville. Appreciative audience. Thanks again to @RealTimWilkins for opening. I had no idea I did a 2 hr set tonight,” he tweeted after the Jacksonville show, in the early morning hours Sunday.
At 2:17 a.m. Sunday, Saget entered his room at the Ritz Carlton at Grande Lakes in Orlando, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office incident report.
That afternoon, his family could not get in touch with him and staff performed a welfare check.
They entered the room and found Saget lying on his back in bed with one arm over his chest.
He was unresponsive.
The room was “orderly,” with Saget’s items on the nightstand, TV stand, closet and bathroom.
Saget was pronounced dead at 4:18 p.m. Sunday afternoon after officials made contact with his family.
The Orange County Medical Examiner performed an autopsy Monday morning, adding there is no evidence of drug use or foul play.
The cause and manner of death could take 10-12 weeks to be determined, pending further studies and investigation.
“It’s very sad to think back on. I’m glad we were there. Definitely glad we went out and saw him. Unfortunately that was one of the last times to see him but definitely will be a memory we’ll cherish forever, seeing him,” said Alex Gingold.
