photo: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/ER/Images/john-stamos-3.jpg
Biography
Early life
Stamos was born in Cypress, California, to William John Stamos (a restaurant owner of Greek descent) and Loretta Phillips (an Irish immigrant); his paternal grandfather, Hermes Stamotopoulos, shortened the surname to Stamos upon emigrating from Greece to the USA.
John has two sisters, Janeen and Alaina (both of whom are school teachers). He was raised in the Disciples of Christ church, which he still attends.
Career
Stamos started his acting career with a role on the television soap opera General Hospital. He is probably best known for his role as the character of Jesse Katsopolis, a rocker and motorcycle aficionado, on the TV show Full House, which ran from 1987-1995. Initially his character was named Adam Cochren, but he then changed the first name to Jesse before filming the premiere. During the second season he then changed his characters last name to Katsopolis to highlight his Greek heritage, which Stamos is very proud of. He was the first to announce his departure from the show after the eighth season when he found out that the ninth season of the show was to be on the WB Network as ABC was dropping it from their lineup. His influence on the show was critical, so the ninth season never ended up forming and the eighth season on ABC ended up being the last one. He has subsequently appeared in numerous made-for-television films, stage productions and commercials (including advertisements for the long-distance phone call carrier 10-10-987 in 2004). Stamos also has an active music career, having occasionally toured as a drummer with The Beach Boys, and having appeared on Broadway as the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret.
In 1990, he was chosen by People Magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. He currently stars in the television series, Jake in Progress, which debuted in 2005 and is now off the air.
Stamos also made a guest appearance on the sitcom Friends around season 8.
Private life
Stamos has dated actresses Demi Moore, Lori Loughlin, Chelsea Noble, Tina Grey, as well as singer Paula Abdul. He married supermodel Rebecca Romijn in 1998. This was the first marriage for both of them, and they had no children. The couple separated in 2004 and officially divorced in 2005. He recently has been linked to Denise Richards, who is divorcing Charlie Sheen, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.
John Stamos is a Disney fan and a frequent Disneyland visitor. He is an annual passholder at the Disneyland Resort, and in November of 2000, Stamos was the winning bidder in the eBay auction of the fourteen-foot-tall Disneyland sign, which had stood at the entrance to the park for the past decade. He paid $30,700 for it.
Though at times he pokes fun at how cheesy and corny the show was, he enjoyed his time on Full House and still remains close to the cast to this day. He is especially close to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, whom he keeps in regular touch with. Ironically, he disliked working with them during the first season because of how much they cried (they were little babies when the show started), but he quickly developed a bond with them both which resulted in a friendship still present today.
Selected filmography
1991 - Born to Ride - Cpl. Grady Westfall
1986 - Never Too Young to Die - Lance Stargrove
