The advent of Fuller House has brought about full-on nostalgia for the series that spawned it. We’ve heard a lot about the years John Stamos and company spent on the set of Full House in recent months, but this week, the Grandfathered and Fuller House actor revealed a doozy. Speaking at the TV Land Icon Awards, John Stamos revealed where his “Have Mercy!” catchphrase came from. Apparently, it was Happy Days and Odd Couple producer Garry Marshall who gave Stamos the idea. Here’s what he had to say:
He always said, 'Get a catchphrase, you need a catchphrase. I'm not kidding you. The 'have mercy' thing came out of, 'Oh shit, Garry told me I had to have a catchphrase.
During the event (via EW), John Stamos and Garry Marshall recounted the early days of Full House, when Stamos was still trying to endear the Uncle Jesse character to US audiences. Garry Marshall told him about how catchphrases eventually worked on the set of Happy Days, although it took weeks and weeks of saying the phrase on the show before the audience caught on. Stamos took the advice to heart and started saying “have mercy!” for a variety of reasons on the ABC sitcom. The phrase stuck and was even used on Netflix when Fuller House hit the airwaves.
Uncle Jesse wasn’t the only character on Full House to have his own catchphrase. Stephanie also had a penchant for saying “how rude” during the original show’s run. Plus, Michelle loved to say, “You got it dude.” Uncle Joey also loved the phrase, “Cut it out.” That’s not even getting to phrases like “Oh Mylanta” or “You’re in big trouble, mister.” Now that I think about it, the original Full House might have been a little overly reliant on catchphrases. And to think, it’s all because the guy who directed Pretty Woman got involved.
A lot of the aforementioned catchphrases came back when Fuller House made its big debut on Netflix this winter. The show has already been renewed for a second season, so we’re pretty sure you’ll get the opportunity to hear Uncle Jesse throw out a “have mercy” or two in the future.
Fuller House doesn’t have a return date for Season 2, yet, but you can still catch John Stamos in action. The actor currently appears in Fox’s Grandfathered, which airs on Tuesday nights at 8:30 p.m. ET. If you aren’t interested in Stamos playing a grandfather, you can also check out what we know about Fuller House Season 2, here.
