5 revelations from John Stamos' memoir

John Stamos has been typecast all his life like every other actor a part of a megahit American sitcom like "Full House." But the actor who played the himbo rockstar Uncle Jesse is ready to shed that image in his new memoir "If You Would Have Told Me.” Throughout the book, he reveals many of the interworkings of his long-term career like his short-lived beef with child stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, known for making him the famous Uncle Jesse.

The actor also dives into strange connections like one of his mother's best friends, Doreen Lioy, who fell in love with convicted serial killer Richard Ramirez and even asked his mom to be her maid of honor. Also, Stamos reveals that an old acting coach of his gave him an intro to Scientology book. He attended a meeting at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International where he was questioned by a man and was probed about "some strange sex inquiries." He was of course turned down: "Apparently, I’m not Scientology material. Darn it.”

Here are some of the most surprising revelations from the veteran actor's memoir:

1 Stamos initially didn't like the Olsen Twins nor Bob Saget

The actor, most known for his role as Uncle Jesse in "Full House," and Jesse's most memorable scenes were with Michelle, the youngest of the Tanner clan played by the Olsen twins. But in Stamos' memoir, he shared that he tried to get the twins fired when they were only 11 months old. He gave the show's creator an ultimatum: “It’s either me or them. They’re not going to work out. They’ll ruin this show and my career.” 

 

So a new pair of twins were brought into the show who were “quiet, calm, and homely as hell.” But he reneged on his ultimatum and actually asked for the Olsen twins to come back. Ultimately, he ended up loving the twins and learned that  “Mary-Kate is stronger in the emotional scenes, Ashley scores in the comedic ones.” He also wrote that their sister Elizabeth Olsen (now known as Wanda Maximoff/ Scarlet Witch in the MCU) visited the set and “she quickly becomes my new favorite Olsen.”

 

Stamos shared that the late Bob Saget was jealous of his onscreen relationship with the Olsen twins and Dave Coulier. Stamos said he didn't even think Saget was right for the role of patriarch Danny Tanner because he was not an actor but a comedian. 

 

“Bob is the humblest egomaniac I’ve ever met, but he undercuts his narcissism by being so damn lovable. A walking contradiction, he makes up for his self-inflicted insecurity by being a self-inflicted aggrandizer,” he said. “I know Bob is wickedly talented. I just don’t tell it to his face at this point. But If I want to learn anything about comedy, I need to study Bob . . . Bob and I tolerate each other and attempt to avoid interfering with each other’s creative processes, though it can be challenging.”

But the three lead male actors bonded when each of them had sisters who got sick: “Bob, Dave, and I are no longer three guys who work on the same show; we are brothers worried about amazing women slipping away from us,” he wrote. “All the fear, fighting for family, and frustration of loss has pummeled down some of our pettiness on the set. We’re seeing not only what is important in our own relationships with each other, but also our relationships with the fans out there who are struggling with issues of life and death.”

Stamos learned of Saget's death in 2022 after he received a call from his publicist, sharing the TMZ story and then a text from Candace Cameron Bure. Then Kelly Rizzo, Saget’s wife called. He told Coulier and Lori Loughlin.

“When you lose a best friend, you lose a piece of your history," he said. The "Full House" cast gathered at Saget's home and grieved together.

2 Stamos turned down "Nip/Tuck" because then wife and actress Rebecca Romijn said it was anti-women      

The hit Ryan Murphy medical satire "Nip/Tuck" which aired for six seasons was offered to Stamos right before its start on the then brand new channel FX.

 

Stamos wrote: "The show sounds daring and edgy. Exactly what I need. I pass on ‘Charlie’s Hookers,’ but I know Ryan is the real deal, and I should take this offer seriously."

 

But his then-wife and actress Rebecca Romijn read the script and told him: "‘It’s demeaning to women,’ she says dismissively. I think there’s more to the show, but we talk it out and I turn down ‘Nip/Tuck.'”

 

Stamos eventually worked with Murphy in his hit "Glee" and his canceled show "The New Normal."

3 Stamos said that he was sexually abused by his adult babysitter

Stamos not only discussed the most pivotal moments in his career but also some of the most heartbreaking moments in his adolescence. The actor opened up about sexual abuse he experienced as a child by his then 18- or 19-year-old babysitter. 

 

He shared on Instagram that “About five years ago, I was writing out a speech that I was going to make at a Child Help charity and I started writing and all of a sudden it just came back. Just like flooded me with a crystal clear vision of what happened back then and I was like — it was very unsettling. And I thought, ‘Well, should I talk about it in my speech? And then I thought ‘No, the night was about the kids and not me.’"

"So I packed it away and I thought, ‘Some day will be the right time to talk about this.' I’ve had three friends text me today. Three. Saying that they had a similar situation that happened to them and never told anybody. So if sharing my story has helped even those three friends of mine, then I’m glad I did it. Please know that it is never your fault and you deserve to be heard and you deserve to be supported,” he shared.

4 He begged his team to get him off of "Full House"

Prior to the formation of the iconic Uncle Jesse, every teenage girl and woman fell in love with across America in the 90s, Stamos's character was named Uncle Adam, and he hated it.

 

At a table reading for the first season, the cast was "to gather around a baby’s crib and sing the theme song to ‘The Flintstones.’ By the time we get to ‘Have a Yabba-Dabba-Doo Time,’ I’m having a Yabba-Dabba-Don’t Time. The reading ends, thank God, and I head to the lobby as fast as I can, avoiding everyone babbling how great the reading went. I dig through my pockets for change. I jam a quarter into a pay phone, get my agent on the line, and gently suggest, “Get me the **k off this show!'”

The show's first season did not have great ratings and it almost crashed and burned "faster than my reputation, and I hope I can salvage some dignity with my next project," he wrote. And it almost was canceled until ABC put one of its biggest hits as a lead-in over the summer reruns which helped land the show into "in the top ten throughout the summer. We find an audience and they follow us to season two.”

5 He was told he would never work again after he quit "General Hospital"

Prior to "Full House," Stamos was on the soap "General Hospital" as the character Blackie Parrish. He was in the show for 139 episodes and paid $400 an episode. After a decade on the show, he was ready to leave. Producer Gloria Monty took him out to lunch and they ran into Dean Martin who told him to “get out while you can."

 

Stamos told the told the producer he wanted to leave and do a sitcom ("Full House"). She responded, “You know, if you leave, dear, you’ll never work in this town again. Fortunately for Stamos, "Full House" became an All-American classic.