Bob Saget, 65, Comedian and Co-Host of Chabad Telethon in California

He was a comedian, actor and television host well-known and watched by millions of viewers worldwide. Perhaps less known, but far more important, was the warmth, care, compassion, and generosity he showed for the community in California and beyond. Over the years, he was a popular face on Chabad-Lubavitch of the West Coast’s Chabad Telethon, where he served as a guest and co-host.

An admirer of Chabad’s many social programs throughout California, he especially appreciated Friendship Circle: “There’s a program that’s very close to my heart; it’s called the Friendship Circle, which is beautifully named,” Saget explained during the 2009 telethon. “The core of the program is teens that are paired up with kids with special needs, and they befriend them. It truly is a friendship; they’ll just be in a good home, family environment, and hang with each other and feel the warmth and love of a friend.”

Saget was first introduced to Chabad by the late Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub, who was the chairman of the annual telethon. Weintraub connected him with Rabbi Chaim Cunin of Chabad of the West Coast back in 2003. “From the moment we met, he immediately struck me as a warm and special neshamah,” Cunin told Chabad.org. “He stood out in his industry as someone who lived on a completely different spiritual level with his unique love and humility.”

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It was the beginning of a relationship that would be filled with mitzvot; Saget put on tefillin with Cunin that day and became “attached” to the Friendship Circle, says the rabbi. “He did many things to help the community; he was always available for anything that came his way. A special person and a mensch,” Cunin describes him, using the Yiddish word that says all there is to say.

Saget stood out in the entertainment industry for his unique love of humanity.

‘He Was Loved By All’

Saget, who passed away suddenly on Jan. 9 at the age of 65, had a fairly typical Jewish upbringing. Born to Benjamin and Rosalyn Saget in Philadelphia in 1956, the family moved between Norfolk, Va.; Encino, Calif.; and then back to Philadelphia, where Bob graduated high school. He wanted to become a doctor, but a teacher convinced him that he’d be more suited to the film industry. His bar mitzvah was celebrated in Philadelphia, where they had family, even though the family was living in Norfolk at the time.

Fellow Jewish comic Elon Gold, who co-hosted the Chabad Telethon together with Saget, wrote online that it was a “devastating loss to us. Comedians everywhere are feeling this. We are a brotherhood. Bob was everyone’s big brother. He loved and was loved by all. He was always hilarious and always incredibly kind. There isn’t a comedian who had the privilege of knowing Bob that didn’t cherish him. He made you feel like he was your good friend. But he had a thousand good friends. He was there whenever I reached out. … Everything he did was with brilliant humor and true love. He was a giant of a man. An icon. But you wouldn’t know it when you hung out with him. He was just the funniest guy at the table.”

Cunin, who shared a number of mutual friends with Saget in the entertainment industry, said he hopes that Saget’s life will be a lesson for others: “I’m sure that he’s looking down from Heaven, encouraging countless friends and admirers to follow his example of kindness and generosity.”