By Antonia Komarkowski
John Stamos, the Greek American actor widely known for his role as Jesse Katsopolis, the handsome and charming Uncle Jesse from ABC sitcom ‘Full House’ and its revival ‘Fuller House' has paid a heartfelt tribute to his late father Billy Stamos, who he has named his son after.
John took to Instagram to tell his followers how much he appreciated his late father, Bill “now more than ever”. In the sweet tribute, John also shared a throwback pic of himself and his “best friend”, acknowledging just how much he misses his dad, 17 years after his death, especially now that he is a father himself.
Fans poured their love and support in the comment section of the emotional post, sympathising and commenting on the photo, where one follower wrote “I’m sure he’s watching over you and your family and very happy and proud,” and "He must have been a great guy. He did a good job raising you," another fan added.
The Full House star has previously been been very outspoken about the incredible bond he shared with his late parents. In 2016, while holding back tears, he gave him a special shout-out while accepting his prize at the TV Land Icon Awards, saying "I want to thank my parents. Boy, they would've loved this, Loretta and Bill... They were really good people. They taught me to be kind and to be generous and to be loving to everyone that you meet on this journey."
The 54-year-old became a father for the first time in April this year, when his wife Caitlin McHugh gave birth to a son, Billy Stamos. John showed his pride and admiration for his father and followed the Greek tradition of naming his son after his dad, when their bundle of joy was born in April.
John is also very proud of his Greek background, even wanting to portray his Greek heritage while acting. In the television series ‘Full House’, John’s character was originally named Jesse Cochran, however John reportedly wanted his character to better reflect his Greek background, so the creator of the show Jeff Franklin, decided to change the character's surname to Katsopolis. The series was a major success, winning 16 awards and skyrocketed John’s acting career.
Being a Greek American, John was also personally invited by President Obama to the White House Greek Independence Day celebration in 2015. He shared his greek pride and experience on Jimmy Kimmel, mentioning how honoured and humble he was by the experience, being personally invited by the President and how he was in the company of so many prestigious Greeks and Greek-Americans. John even stated that Obama told him he was the “best looking Greek man in the entire World.”
John also spent his name day in Greece last January, where he spent time in Athens, visiting the ancient sites and also visiting his relatives.
This year was John's first father's day and he also expressed how much it meant to him to finally become a dad himself.
"My first Father’s Day means that I don’t have to hand a kid back to the parents when someone yells cut. It means when people ask me if I'm a father, I don't have to use the goofy line, “No, but I play one on TV” My first Father’s Day means that from this day forward— I will start to look my age (and older) Most importantly, it means that for the rest of my life, I’ll always be known as someone’s dad. And that’s all I ever wanted."
