“Full House” stars recall 'dangerous' scene John Stamos had to shoot with a chimpanzee: 'Don't look it in the eye'
- - “Full House” stars recall 'dangerous' scene John Stamos had to shoot with a chimpanzee: 'Don't look it in the eye'
Ryan ColemanOctober 31, 2025 at 5:03 AM
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John Stamos and Ginger the chimpanzee on 'Full House'
Full House doesn't immediately spring to mind when considering shows that subjected their stars to great risk in order to pull off memorable scenes. But one season 5 scene with John Stamos and a chimpanzee ought to change that.
Sitcom stars–turned–rewatch podcasters Andrea Barber and Jodie Sweetin recently revisited season 5, episode 18, "Too Much Monkey Business," in which the Tanner family must temporarily cohabitate with a chimpanzee named Ginger, whom Danny's (Bob Saget) younger sister Wendy (Darlene Vogel) brings back from a research trip to Africa.
Barber and Sweetin recalled Stamos telling them he was "terrified" of acting opposite Ginger during one close contact scene, "because they were like, 'Don't look it in the eye.'"
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The cast of 'Full House' in 1987
"Chimps are dangerous!" Barber contended. Sweetin agreed, remembering that the primate's handlers informed the cast, "If you have to interact with it, it has to get to know you a little bit. But don't look it in the eye, don't smile at it."
Barber described the memorable scene Stamos and the chimp had to film together as "wild," consisting of "a lot of physical interaction — like, the monkey is smacking him at one point."
There was indeed ample smacking after Ginger crawls into bed with Uncle Jesse (Stamos), who assumes the animal's initially gentle taps and caresses are those of his wife, Becky (Lori Loughlin). "Is that new perfume? It's a walk on the wild side," he says with his eyes closed, Ginger perched behind him, while the real Becky tries to keep from bursting out laughing on the other side of the room.
Eventually, Ginger's playful touches turn to rowdy smacks on Jesse's behind. "The rough stuff tonight, huh, honey?" Jesse jokes, blithely unaware, before shooting out of bed after locking eyes with the chimp.
"Props to John for getting through this," Barber observed. Sweetin observed that "John is laughing so hard, too. It's like he's trying to keep it together, and he cannot, which I get. Like, if there were a monkey spanking me, excuse me, a chimp spanking me, I also would not be able to keep a straight face."
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Candace Cameron Bure, Lori Loughlin, John Stamos, and Jodie Sweetin in 2024
Stamos has reflected on the comical yet nerve-wracking scene before, telling PEOPLE in 2017, that he got "welts on my butt" from all of Ginger's smacking.
"I think when they ran out of ideas they would say, 'Let's put Stamos with monkey. Bring a ferret. Do you have a ferret?'" he reflected. "It was a different animal every week."
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Ginger is among the most memorable animals to appear on the ABC sitcom, but there was season 1's ferret, discovered in the titular home's attic. Later, the series added a golden retriever, Comet, and showcased a parrot, a turtle, a horse. In the season 3 episode "The Greatest Birthday," the family go all in on little Michelle (Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen) turning three by throwing her a circus-themed bash, complete with a real, live elephant.
You can listen to the full breakdown of "Too Much Monkey Business" on How Rude, Tanneritos! above.
on Entertainment Weekly
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