Dave Coulier Gave Himself A Secret Naughty Name on ‘Full House’

Just when you thought there were no secrets left to be revealed about Full House, the ‘90s sitcom that gave us TGIF, backstage beefs and the Olsen twins, Dave Coulier drops another truth-bomb on his Full House Rewind podcast. 

“I got to pick my own last name, did you know that? My character last name,” Coulier told Debra Stipe, an actress who played Danny’s girlfriend Cindy for three episodes. Full House creator Jeff Franklin told Coulier during the audition process that he was trying to cook up a last name for the Joey character, and Coulier delivered. “I said, ‘How about Gladstone?’ and he laughed and goes, ‘All right, sounds good.’”

Gladstone? Why Gladstone? Was it some kind of Flintstones tribute? (The Gladstones was that series’ original name before producers settled on the rockier Flintstones.) “What was it about Gladstone?” wondered Stipe. “Was there a meaning behind it?” 

“I always thought it was a funny name,” Coulier confessed. “It was almost like, ‘I’m glad that I’m stoned.’ You know, I’m a comedian, so that was what I thought. And so Jeff laughed, and that was it.”

So “Gladstone” was a stoner punchline all along, a revelation that stands in stark contrast to Coulier’s recent confession that he had been a functioning alcoholic. He’s been sober since 2020, an announcement he made on Instagram in 2022. “I loved booze, but it didn’t love me back,” he posted. “I decided to make a decision for my own well-being, my family and for those around me who I love so dearly.”

“I was kind of the sad clown,” Coulier said later on Good Morning America. “For me, I had to really take an inner look at myself to see, ‘Okay, this is something I need to change.’”

The irony for the guy who played Joey? He’s glad he’s no longer stoned.