‘Uncle Joey’ jokes around with a full house

The University of Rhode Island’s Student Entertainment Committee brought comedian Dave Coulier, best known for his role as “Uncle Joey” in the 1980’s family sitcom “Full House,” to Edwards Auditorium this past Saturday.

Opening up the show was comedian Seaton Smith, known for his performance on the show “Girls” as well as his association and work with John Mullaney. Smith walked onto the stage with ease, examining and reading the crowd to see what kind of audience he would be performing to. He began by asking two students in the audience if they were dating and discussing the idea of being in a relationship in college. He offered a great amount of crowd participation as a way to get the audience excited and lively before Coulier came on stage. He cracked jokes about his current relationship, random encounters he has had with strangers, and even about politics. He put the crowd in a great mood with his energy before introducing the main act.

As Coulier walked on stage, Edwards Auditorium erupted. Only about half of the seats on the main floor were filled, but you would have thought this was a sold out show based on the audience’s cheers and screams. He thanked the crowd before referencing his signature “cut it out” move from the television sitcom, Full House. He then shared a story about a fan who ran up to him in an airport and messed the whole move up. He was laughing on stage with the crowd, sharing humorous stories about how his life has changed thanks to acting.

Coulier’s most notable role was Joey Gladstone on Full House, which was on air from 1987-1995. The show was revamped in 2016, this time with the name “Fuller House”. Coulier now reprises his role as Gladstone. In addition to the show, Coulier is highly recognized for his vocal talents. He has been a voice actor for many different shows including Robot Chicken, Muppet Babies, and The Real Ghostbusters.

Coulier discussed his time on Full House with the audience, and shared his story about how he moved out to Los Angeles at age 19 to pursue his acting career. He talked about how things in his life changed because of this move, and proceeded to joke about his family and how he was raised. He shared stories and jokes about the struggles he faced when trying to raise his son, and talked about how his parents influenced him when he was growing up.

Throughout the night, Coulier introduced a good amount of crowd interaction, cracking jokes about different things that happened within the audience that night in Edwards. He addressed students and asked them questions, tailoring his jokes to the answers given. Coulier shared stories and gave the students an opportunity to learn about his personality. He even shared one of his weaknesses with the crowd by telling students he has a difficult time writing closers for jokes, so when a joke was finished, he instead was just going to make a sound of a tuba.

Towards the end of the hour and a half long show, Coulier took the audience by surprise. Pulling out a harmonica, he started riffing on the instrument. The audience cheered and applauded, clearly impressed by his skill with the instrument. He played for about five minutes, and proceeded by thanking the crowd and closing the show.

Season one of Fuller House is currently available on Netflix. Coulier is continuing his college tour. You can check out his Facebook for more information.