Bob Saget died unexpectedly on Jan. 9 in Orlando, Florida while on tour with a new stand-up show. He was 65.
Years before the beloved comedian, host and actor became known as America’s Dad, Saget was the winner of a Student Academy Award.
In 1977, Bob Saget was a film student in Philadelphia at Temple University when he made the 11 minute black-and-white 16mm Documentary Short Through Adam’s Eyes, a film about his young nephew undergoing facial reconstructive surgery. The following year, he won the Student Academy Award for his touching work.
The Student Academy Awards is an international student film competition, established in 1972. Each year, college and university film students from all over the world compete for awards and grants in the following categories: Animation, Documentary, Live Action Narrative and Alternative/Experimental. Past winners include Spike Lee, Robert Zemeckis, John Lasseter and Trey Parker.
"I think that Adam is the reason that I was even recognized by the Academy," Saget told The Associated Press. "I filmed him and his beautiful spirit. And it was just his courage, and that's why."
Saget always considered winning a Student Academy Award to be an important moment in his life. "When I found out that I was being flown out, that was like winning a beauty contest. I couldn't even believe that it happened," he told USA Today. "It was a remarkably exciting thing. It's not like winning a radio contest. It's the Academy."
Ten years later, he would be cast as Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House, a role he later reprised in the Netflix revival, Fuller House. In between, he hosted America’s Funniest Home Videos, narrated How I Met Your Mother and was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Comedy Album in 2014.
He is survived by his wife Kelly Rizzo and his three daughters Aubrey, Lara, and Jennifer, whom he shared with ex-wife Sherri Kramer.
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