Comedian and actor Dave Coulier recently sat down with Faithwire’s Billy Hallowell, delving into his journey away from alcoholism and discussing his grieving process following the recent deaths of three people close to him, including his friend Bob Saget.
Coulier has portrayed the lovable Joey Gladstone in “Full House” and “Fuller House” and is the star of the new show “Live+Local,” which is now streaming on Pure Flix. In the sitcom, Coulier plays an early morning radio show host, and he compared the show to the popular mockumentary “The Office.”
Best known for his role alongside Bob Saget in “Full House,” Collier met the fellow stand-up comedian when he was 18 years old, and the two remained close friends following the end of “Full House.”
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“Bob and I became instant brothers,” Coulier said of Saget. Coulier slept on Saget’s couch while he looked for a place to live after arriving in Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. Coulier joked that appearing in a sitcom wherein he played roommate to Saget was something fit to be called “Full Circle” rather than “Full House.”
Reflecting on Saget’s unexpected death in January, and how his faith has helped him process the tragic loss of his friend, Coulier said, “I grew up in a very Catholic community here in Detroit—in the suburbs of Detroit—in a very large Catholic family. So the beauty of that is that I always had wonderful people to lean on through tough times.”
“Now, later in my life, I went through a long period of alcohol abuse, and I always equate my faith to a fire that’s burning inside of you. And I almost extinguished that fire because of my abuse with alcohol,” Coulier went on to explain. “And so I got sober two and a half years ago. And then in this last year, I lost my brother who took his own life, I lost my father, and I lost Bob—all in the same 12-month period.”
“And my thought from that terrible, you know, I’m not joking, like a hat trick of losses like that—was such a heart punch and such a gut punch that the only thing I could think was, ‘Thank goodness I don’t have alcohol in my life that is extinguishing that fire, which is my faith,’” Coulier said. “And I was able to feel those raw emotions, which I never would have felt had I been abusing alcohol, and I was in touch with myself spiritually.”
“So, for me, it was allowing that flame to ignite again, and to find my spirituality,” Coulier continued. “And it helped me through all of that.”
“It doesn’t help the sting,” Coulier clarified, “but it certainly helps you to have the fuel to continue forward and make the best of your life.”
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When asked about how he has been able to move forward with his life and sobriety, particularly after he was the one to discover his brother’s body after he died by suicide, Coulier said, “I kind of have a well. When I feel as though that well is filling with sorrow and pain and anguish, I have so many wonderful stories about my brother that make me laugh and make me smile.”
