Saget, comedian and star of Full House, was found dead on January 9th in his Orlando hotel room, with fans and authorities equally baffled as to what caused his mysterious death. At the time, many assumed it was from drug and alcohol use, or perhaps an undisclosed condition like Norm Macdonald, who kept his cancer diagnosis a secret until his death in September of last year. But according to Saget’s family, things are more cut and dry than expected, but that may make things all the more tragic.
RELATED: 7 Great Sitcoms With Awful Pilot Episodes
Saget’s family just released a statement revealing the newly-discovered cause of his untimely death, and it’s a saddening revelation. Dr. Joshua Stephany, Chief Medical Examiner for Orange and Osceola counties, released a statement afterward, confirming Saget’s death was “the result of blunt head trauma" and the cause was “accidental.” Here’s the statement from the Saget family:
Saget was best known for his role as Danny Tanner on the ultra-wholesome ’90s series Full House, a role which he eventually reprised in the Netflix sequel series Fuller House. Seen by audiences as a family-friendly father figure by pretty much everyone who watched him, many were likely surprised when they discovered his contrastingly raunchy stand-up comedy. Still, his friends, family, and acquaintances all unanimously agreed that he was one of the nicest people in Hollywood, even showing his appreciation for his fans in his very last tweet the night he passed.
This new information makes the whole situation all the more heartbreaking, knowing that it was something so simple yet so deadly. The idea of dying to an unknown injury is frankly terrifying, and knowing that Saget went through that is sure to dredge up some complicated feelings from friends and fans. On one hand, it’s such a deceptively small occurrence that feels almost unworthy of such a beloved icon like Saget, robbing him in his sleep of what would surely have been at least a couple more decades. On the other, perhaps it means that he, at the very least, didn’t suffer.
Saget enriched the lives of those around him, through his comedy, his acting, or simply the act of being around. It’s a true tragedy to see him gone well before his time, and it will be yet another death that will sting for quite some time. But his fans can rest assured that he leaves behind an immortal legacy of laughter and warm smiles.
MORE: 7 Drama Actors Who Have Brilliant Comedic Timing
Source: Deadline, Office of the Orange County Medical Examiner
