John Stamos Biography
Summary
"John Stamos" () (born August 19 1963) is an Emmy-nominated American actor. He is best known for his role as the character of Jesse Katsopolis on the TV show "Full House", and currently the role of Tony Gates on the TV series "ER".
Career
Television
Stamos began his acting career with a role on the television show "General Hospital" as Blackie Parrish. Then "General Hospital" casting director Gary Price noted that Stamos did not read for any particular parts. His stint on "GH" got him noticed with daytime viewers, but by 1984 Stamos decided to move on when he auditioned for, and got the lead role, in a short-lived CBS sitcom called "Dreams", in which he played an aspiring rock musician.
Stamos kept up television guest appearances until he landed a starring role opposite Jack Klugman in the NBC sitcom "You Again?", in which he played Klugman's 17 year-old-son who had come back to live with him after many years. This series lasted exactly one year, and upon its cancellation, Stamos was approached by producer Jeff Franklin about a new comedy pilot for ABC, which eventually became "Full House". Stamos signed on originally as "Adam Cochran", but he then changed the first name to Jesse before taping the premiere. "Full House" gradually became a hit, and the show solidified Stamos' career. During the second season he then changed his character's last name to Katsopolis to highlight his Greek heritage. Ref. "Jeff Franklin in the Full House DVD releaaseCommentary of the pilot."
After the eighth season of "Full House", ABC decided to drop the show from their lineup. The ninth season was to be shown on the WB Network. Due to this, Stamos announced his departure from the show. Because his influence on the show was critical, the eighth season on ABC ended up being the last one. He has subsequently appeared in numerous made-for-television films, stage productions and commercials (including advertisements for the long-distance phone call carrier "10-10-987" in 2004).
He has also had starring roles in the television series "Thieves" in 2001, and then in the show "Jake in Progress", which debuted in 2005. However both shows ran for only a few episodes, and then were cancelled afterwards due to low ratings. In 2003, Stamos played "Zach", a friend that "Chandler" brings home to use as a sperm donor, in the episode "The One with the Donor" in the popular American sitcom "Friends".
In 2006 he joined the cast of "ER" as paramedic-turned-intern Tony Gates. The producers originally wanted him earlier, but his appearance was postponed when ABC renewed "Jake in Progress".
Stamos has recently starred as the lead character, Shel, a gay wedding planner, in the A&E television romantic comedy movie, Wedding Wars (he said in an interview that his performance reflected his personal support of same-sex marriages). He appeared as a voice-over cameo (as himself) in the MTV animated series "Clone High" in the episode, 'Changes: The Big Prom: The Sex Romp: The Season Finale'. He made a guest star appearance as a security guard in the animated series KABLAM. He also made voice cameo in the Bob Saget written and directed parody film "Farce of the Penguins". He also played in the movie 'Sex, Love and Lies' which was created in 2004 and plays on LMN.
In 2006, Stamos agreed to play the role of John Hanlon, a very plain, very lovable-loser character based on the short story 'When It Rains, It Pours,' written by critically acclaimed author Jordan Mueller. The major motion picture, which is set to release in the Fall of 2008, will share the same title.
In 2007, Stamos arrived in Australia for a promotional tour. He appeared on a sketch on "The Nation" and an interview on "Mornings with Kerri-Anne" during which his behavior was erratic. A spokesperson for the network initially told reporters that it was due to jet-lag, however Stamos later states that it was in fact due to Ambien, a prescription sleeping medication.
Music and theater
Stamos also has an active music career, having occasionally toured as a drummer and backing vocalist with The Beach Boys, and having appeared on Broadway as the Master of Ceremonies in "Cabaret", and also in "Nine" and "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying". He is known for singing the Dennis Wilson (from The Beach Boys) song 'Forever'. He played in the band The Signals.
Marriage
Stamos married Rebecca Romijn on September 19, 1997; they were officially divorced on March 1, 2005
External links
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about John Stamos.
