John Stamos Biography

Biography

Birth Name
John Phillip Stamos
Date of birth (location)
19 August 1963
Cypress, California, USA

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A darkly handsome actor of Greek ancestry who came to prominence as teen heartthrob Blackie Parrish on the ABC serial "General Hospital" in 1983, John Stamos was originally hired for a five day guest shot but his debut was so impressive the producers not only enlarged his role but signed him to a contract. After two years on the daytime drama (during which he earned a Daytime Emmy nomination), the actor went on to star in the short-lived primetime series "Dreams" (CBS, 1984) as one of five struggling musicians trying to make it as a band. The musically able performer, who sings and plays both guitar and drums, also wrote many of the songs featured on the series and for the soundtrack album. Stamos then co-starred with Jack Klugman for two seasons on the sitcom "You Again?" (NBC, 1986-87) as a son who decides to live with his divorced father, but it was the role of sitcom Casanova, Uncle Jesse Katsopolis, on the long-running family sitcom "Full House" (ABC, 1987-95) that consolidated his national appeal. As the lovable Jesse, he may have had a tight dating schedule but he was always there when his young charges need him, eventually settling down and becoming a father himself, paired with Lori Loughlin in the latter years of the series.

In an effort to separate himself from previous characters like the immensely popular Uncle Jesse, Stamos took roles that contrasted greatly with his teen idol image. He played a scruffy drug-addicted kidnapper in "Captive" (ABC, 1991), a successful businessman accused of murdering his wife in "The Disappearance of Christina" (USA Network, 1993), and a serial killer who takes an unwitting bride in "Fatal Vows: The Alexandra O'Hara Story" (CBS, 1994). With the CBS TV-movies "A Match Made in Heaven" (1997), "The Marriage Fool" (1998), and "Sealed With a Kiss" (1999), Stamos returned to his more familiar charming persona as a romantic lead.

Stamos moved behind the camera, and had executive producer credit for the Emmy-nominated ABC TV-movie "The Beach Boys: An American Family". A guest member of the band since the mid-1980s, Stamos often toured with latter incarnation of The Beach Boys when his schedule permitted, playing the drums, and his authorized biopic even won a thumbs-up from the band's brilliant but mercurial original leader Brian Wilson. In the wake of the success of his producing debut, Stamos signed on as executive producer of a small screen remake of "Butterflies Are Free", starring his wife, supermodel and rising actress Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (set for a CBS premiere in the 2000-2001 season). With other producing projects in development including family fare for both The Disney Channel and Fox Family Channel, Stamos signed a development holding deal with Warner Bros. Television in July 2000.

Best known for his extensive work on television, Stamos made his Broadway debut in 1995, replacing Matthew Broderick in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". On the big screen, credits included his debut, 1986's "Never Too Young To Die" and a starring role as a motorcycle enthusiast in the independent period drama "Born to Ride" (1991). A frequent guest on Howard Stern's radio show, in 1997 he had a cameo portraying himself in the shock jock's biopic "Private Parts". 2000 would mark the actor's first substantial return to features, co-starring as an eccentric film editor of pornographic movies whose neighbor decides to film his suicide in the black comedy "Dropping Out," and in 2001 he starred in the critically praised but short-lived series "Thieves" as a professional criminal-turned-FBI operative. He followed with a starring turn in the independent feature "My Best Friend's Wife" (2002). In the summer of 2002, Stamos returned to live theater playing the emcee in the revival of "Cabaret" alongside Molly Ringwald, and he next appeared in the Broadway revival of "Nine," playing Guido Contini in 2003. Next were turns in "Party Monster" (2003) an the Showtime miniseries "The Reagans" (2004), followed by the shor film "I Am Stamos" (2004), in which he appeared as a wrathful version of himself who seeks vengeance on a character actor who suddenly begins to magically photograph as Stamos.

After weathering tabloid interest in the 2004 breakup of his marriage, Stamos snared a starring role in the ABC comedy "Jake in Progress" (2005 - ), playing Jake Phillips, a slick fast-talking Manhattan p.r. exec with a history of short-lived romances who finds himself longing for a more substantial.