John Stamos Reveals His Famous ‘Full House’ Slogan Was Inspired by a Roy Orbison Song

John Stamos revealed that his popular catchphrase “Full House” was inspired by Roy Orbison’s song, “Pretty Woman.”

Stamos played Jesse Katsopolis, aka Uncle Jesse, on the popular sitcom for eight seasons, from 1987 to 1995. His impeccable ’90s look and catchphrase “Have mercy!” are particularly memorable for “Full House” fans.

Even though he ditched his old-fashioned hair and fashion when he reprized his role in 2016 in the Netflix reboot “Fuller House” (which ended in 2020 after five seasons), the iconic catchphrase was back.

While promoting his new true crime podcast, “The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra,” Stamos told Insider that “Have mercy!” was inspired by the 1964 song in which Orbison sang about a “pretty woman” he spotted on the street. In the last line of the first verse, the lyrics say: “No one could be as beautiful as you, mercy.” »

Stamos explained that in the ’80s, he and his bandmates would say the phrase when they saw “a pretty girl,” but the actor clarified that he was “much more respectful” when addressing the women now.

“It was a good slogan, because people could use it, and it kind of means, ‘Hey, this person is beautiful or something,'” Stamos told Insider in July.

He added: “I’m glad it’s not a ‘sit on’ kind of thing or something that I wouldn’t want to follow me for the rest of my life.”

Stamos previously spoke about the Orbison song that inspired his famous catchphrase at WTOP in 2017.

The “Big Shots” actor also told the TV Land Icon Awards in 2016 (and more recently to Insider) that it was director Garry Marshall who asked him to come up with a catchphrase when Stamos first landed. the role in “Full House” in 1987. .

“It’s Garry Marshall’s fault. He said, ‘Yeah, come up with a slogan.’ He’s the one who really got me the job on (Full House),” Stamos told Insider.

Three years after Stamos started saying “Have mercy!” » on “Full House,” Marshall also directed the 1990 film “Pretty Woman” which is named after and features the same song that inspired Stamos’ famous catchphrase.

New episodes of “Snatching Sinatra” air every Tuesday on Wondery and other podcast platforms. The full series is available ad-free on Wondery+ for $4/month.

Read the original article on Insider