Tragic Details About Full House Star Dave Coulier

Life can be unfair. Actor Dave Coulier has filled the homes of many with laughter, yet has experienced tremendous tragedy in his own life. Best known as "Uncle Joey" on the ABC sitcom "Full House," which was nominated for a TV Land Award in 2004, Coulier's acting career spans four decades. In line with his humorous appeal, Coulier voiced characters for numerous animated series, including "Pinky and the Brain," ABC's "Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters," and "Robot Chicken." He's also served as a producer for "The Clean Guys of Comedy," and TV series "Live + Local," and host for "America's Funniest People." 

Although Dave Coulier has never seen an entire "Full House" episode, he returned as Joey Gladstone in the 2016 spin-off "Fuller House." The series boasted five seasons before it was canceled in 2020. Cast members have confirmed that many close relationships were formed among the "Full House" stars, including a heartfelt friendship between Dave Coulier and the late Bob Saget. Despite the show's wholesomeness, cast members John Stamos, Jodie Sweetin, and Lori Loughlin still managed to find themselves at the center of tragic scandals. Coulier is no exception, having experienced a hefty amount of tragic events over the years.

Before Dave Coulier made his big break with "Full House" in the late 1980s, he auditioned for a role on "Saturday Night Live." "I told everybody in my life," Coulier said during a 2022 SiriusXM interview. "I boxed up everything in my apartment and then like 10 days go by, and I don't hear anything." However, "SNL" later rescinded the offer after an NBC executive said the comedian and Dana Carvey, who played The Church Lady, were too similar.

For Coulier, the news was devastating. "I had to call everybody in my life and say I'm not going," he told hosts Jim Norton and Sam Roberts. "I remember thinking, 'Wow, I'm such a loser. What's next?' ... You never really shake something like that off." After celebrating the opportunity with friends and preparing to move to New York, he suddenly found himself unpacking the boxes he'd already sealed and trying to convince others he hadn't been lying about the offer. While the actor was busy with stand-up and some other acting roles, the reversal left Coulier feeling a bit frustrated and defeated. However, he'd land the role of Joey Gladstone on "Full House" a year later, an opportunity he would have missed had he been cast on "SNL."

Dave Coulier married model and actor Jayne Modean in 1990. Modean, known for cover appearances on Seventeen magazine, the Penney catalog, and Inside Sports, even appeared in her husband's show the year they married. In a Season 3 episode titled "Those Better Not Be the Days," the episode focused on Danny, Jesse, and Joey's concerns about the girls taking them for granted. Danny had a dream that the girls would grow up still living at home and exhibiting even worse behavior. During the dream, Modean makes her appearance as an adult Michelle. "Oh, I'm not in the mood for breakfast, have any 'ouce' cream?" Modean asked, mimicking the younger version of her character.

Coulier and Modean welcomed a son, Luc, the same year they married, however, the honeymoon phase was short-lived, and the couple ended up divorcing in 1992. Neither Coulier nor Modean disclosed the reason for their split. In 2014, Dave Coulier married Melissa Bring.

Cancer has claimed the lives of several women in Dave Coulier's family. Coulier lost his mother in 2014, his sister Sharon at age 36 in 1992, and his niece Shannon at age 29 to breast cancer. "I saw what those women in my family went through, and I thought to myself, 'If I can be just 1/10th of a percent as strong as they were, then I'm going to be just fine," he told People in 2024. Dave's girlfriend at the time, Alanis Morissette, was a major supporter of Sharon during her battle. "She actually drove to Detroit with her guitar and sat with my sister playing songs and singing to my sister in the hospital," he said on the "Jim and Sam Show" in 2022. "That's the kind of human being she is. So I've never had anything bad to say about her. She's lovely." 

His older sister Karen was also diagnosed with cancer and has been an emotional resource for him amid his own health challenges. "My sister was a registered nurse, and so she's seen this from different optics than I have," the actor told People. "She's been so supportive, and she's funny. So we're making jokes about this."

In 2022, Dave Coulier took to Instagram to confess his struggle with alcoholism. "I was a drunk. Yes. An alcoholic. I've been alcohol free since January 1, 2020," wrote Coulier in a caption for a selfie where he has red wounds on his face. "When I drank, I was the life of the party. I could make people laugh until they fell down. In this picture, I was the one who fell down ... I was hammered and fell, going up some stairs made of stone ... I was always the 'final final' guy in the room. The 8 hours of drinking, laughter and funny stupidity [were] followed by two days of feeling like a bowl of dog mess. I loved booze, but it didn't love me back."

On the "Tamron Hall Show" in 2022, after experiencing the loss of loved ones amid his sobriety journey, he realized he'd been using alcohol to cope with grief. "I should be feeling this pain. I should be feeling this incredible love for these people," Coulier said. "With alcohol, I was covering all that up. It was a real stark reminder to me that alcohol had been stealing all of those moments in my life for a long, long time."

Dave Coulier's family took another big hit when his brother and father died less than a year apart. The actor's brother, Dan, died by suicide in early 2021, a few weeks before his 59th birthday. The "Full House" star questioned if he could have done anything to better support his brother amid his mental health battle. "He was talented beyond belief, incredibly funny, and a sweet, tortured soul. Because of mental illness, it was difficult for him to embrace life," Coulier captioned a funny photo of them with their mother on Instagram. "Each day was a battle for him ... Sometimes I think that if I'd held him tighter he would not have left this world so soon by taking his own life. I miss him terribly." Coulier found his brother deceased in their dad's basement. He told Tamron Hall, "A part of me died that day, as well, because I really loved my brother."

On February 25, 2022, the actor's father also died. Coulier further noted how humor and supportiveness ran in his family in an Instagram post, writing, "He loved to laugh. When I was a kid, he never missed one of my hockey or baseball games ... I don't know how he ever afforded to put all four of us kids through private schools, but he did. I'll miss his smile and, at times, his crabby viewpoint about our world. As I held his hand, and with him looking into my eyes, I got to say goodbye to him and say all the thankful things that a son can say to a father. I will miss him. I love you Dad."

Dave Coulier was devastated by the unexpected death of his longtime friend and "Full House" costar, Bob Saget. Coulier wrote in an Instagram post, "I wish I could lean on you right now through all these tears. I love you." On January 9, 2022, Saget was found dead in his hotel room amid his comedy tour. The cause of death was said to be head trauma, likely caused by an accidental fall. Coulier told Tamron Hall he'd spoken with Saget hours before his death. "He was texting me and making me laugh, and we were texting back and forth and making each other laugh very, very hard," Coulier shared. "The last thing I said to him was, 'Have a great show tonight.' That was my last real connection with Bob."

Saget and Coulier had a close relationship that began before the "Full House" sitcom. "I was 18 years old, and he was on a comedy short tour," Coulier told HuffPost. "He walked into a little comedy club in Detroit, and I hadn't even done much stand-up. ... So Saget came in on this comedy short tour and did a guest set with two other comedians from the West Coast, and I watched them, and I said, 'Oh man. These guys are so good. That's what I want to be.'" Coulier even slept on Saget's couch for some time when he first moved to Los Angeles. He told the HuffPost, "we do 'Full House,' and I end up basically sleeping on a couch on the show, and I was just like, 'OK. This is life imitating art, which is really weird.'" Dave Coulier has shared several posts in honor of Bob Saget that will have you in tears.

At age 65, Dave Coulier was diagnosed with stage 3 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in October 2024. He was informed of his condition while visiting the doctors for "an upper respiratory infection [that] caused major swelling in his lymph nodes," People reported. "Three days later, my doctors called me back, and they said, 'We wish we had better news for you, but you have Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and it's called B cell and it's very aggressive,'" he recalled. "I went from, 'I got a little bit of a head cold' to 'I have cancer,' and it was pretty overwhelming." Coulier described the journey as a roller coaster filled with highs and lows. He experienced low-energy days aided by nausea and dizziness, as well as more energetic days where he'd be able to skate with friends.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that develops in the white blood cells that aid the immune system in protecting the body. According to the American Cancer Society, this type of cancer begins in the lymphatic system, which supports immunity and helps the body transport fluids. Five months after his diagnosis and a grueling chemo treatment series later, a doctor informed Coulier he was cancer-free. However, the tragic health struggles didn't end there.

Obviously, Dave Coulier's battle with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma was a physical burden, but it also took a toll on his loved ones. His wife, Melissa Coulier, immediately went into caregiver mode, ensuring his meds were organized and his diet was aiding his recovery. He told Fox 2 Detroit that she kept track of important dates, was at his side during every chemotherapy appointment, and massaged his legs when he'd have cramps. While Coulier was appreciative of his wife's care, he couldn't help but notice the impact it was having on her. 

"I could see how it was affecting her, and that, I think, it's harder for the people around you than it is, you know, for you," he said. "Because you're trying to power through it ... They're going through it on a similar but different path, and that's what really stuck with me was how incredible she was through this entire journey."

The comedian also said the experience negatively impacted his own sense of identity. "Cancer kind of takes your life force away from you as you're trying to battle through this. You've only got so much energy and stamina, and I just kind of felt like a candle that was burning lower and lower ... I had creative ideas — I just couldn't act on them. ... I couldn't get myself out of bed, and it was pathetic," he recalled. "I looked at this guy in the mirror, and I said, 'Who is this guy who's not being productive with the swollen face, with the swollen stomach,' and I didn't recognize myself. So psychologically, there are a lot of hurdles that you have to overcome with this as well."

If going through a cancer battle wasn't challenging enough, Dave Coulier caught a cold during his last chemotherapy session. The treatment took a toll on his immune system, making him more susceptible to illnesses that his body would typically be able to fight off. As a result, the cold became a life-threatening experience. He had a fever that wouldn't break, resulting in hospitalization. The Michigan native spent four days in the hospital receiving antibiotics and undergoing tests. Results showed he was at risk for a severe heart attack. "I was a mess ... then we took some other tests, and they finally boiled it down to, I had a rhinovirus," Coulier told "How Rude, Tanneritos!" podcast hosts Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber. "And as my immune system started to regenerate a little bit, I started to come back. And on the fifth day, they finally said, 'Your fever's gone, you can go home.' But they said, 'Had you waited another 48 hours with this, we could have lost you.'"

Coulier's "Full House" co-star, Candace Cameron Bure, shared that her TV uncle was cancer-free on March 31, 2025. "DAVE IS CANCER FREE!!!!" Bure captioned an Instagram post of herself, Coulier, and his wife, Melissa. "Join me in celebrating this AMAZING news — let's shower him with all the love in the world!" However, the celebration was short-lived as Coulier would soon receive another shocking diagnosis.

Less than a year after completing treatments for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Dave Coulier was diagnosed with tongue cancer. The 66-year-old shared the news on the "Today" show in December 2025. "In October of this year, I went in for a PET scan, just a routine checkup, and something flared on the PET scan. And it turned out that I have a P16 squamous carcinoma at the base of my tongue," he said. The comedian revealed that his diagnosis was unrelated to his previous cancer.

The biopsies performed to diagnose him involved removing pieces of his tongue, which he said was very painful. The actor also shared that his remission plan involved 35 radiation treatments scheduled to be completed by December 31. He noted that P16-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma has a 90% curability rate, but the experience is still pretty devastating. 

"To go through chemotherapy and feel that relief of 'Whoa, it's gone,' and then to get a test that says, 'Well, now you've got another kind of cancer,' it is a shock to the system," Coulier said. "It was a really tough year; chemotherapy was grueling." Despite the tragic details of his cancer journey, the star expressed joyous hope for entering 2026 cancer-free. "I get to start the new year saying, I finished radiation yesterday! It's kind of serendipitous," he smiled.