" Cut It Out. "
― Joey's Catchphrase
Joseph Alvin "Joey" Gladstone (played by Dave Coulier) is the childhood best friend of Danny Tanner, and adulthood friend of Jesse Katsopolis. Joey, Danny, and Jesse had actually known each other since grade school. But didn't actually become friends with Jesse til adulthood when Joey moved in with Danny (Bob Saget) shortly after the death of Danny's wife, Pam, to help raise D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle. Joey tries to be a stand-up comedian, whose act usually includes imitations of cartoon-character voices such as Popeye, Bullwinkle, Pepe Le Pew, Elmer Fudd, and many more. Joey initially slept in the alcove of Danny's living room. However, after complaining of not being able to find privacy, Danny and Jesse reconstructs Danny's basement garage into a bedroom for him. In college, Joey got a degree in Education. This way if being a comedian didn't work out he had a solid career to fall back on.
Background[]
Joey Gladstone was born on September 21, 1958, to Mindy and Colonel Gladstone. His father, who was a Lieutenant Colonel in World War II, was known to be strict and did not approve of Joey's comedy career, while his mother did, which caused them to get a divorce.
Joey Meeting Danny
When Joey was 10 years old, he saved Danny Tanner from another school mate named Sheldon ("Pal Joey"). This caused them to become best friends.
In high school, Danny asked Joey, who he said was an expert on romance, to ask Pamela to go to the senior prom with him because he felt that she did not feel the same about him ("Danny's Very First Date").
In 1976, Joey faced Hershel "Stonewall" Binkley in hockey, but he lost, embarrassing him because his family and Danny were watching him during the game in his college days ("Nice Guys Finish First").
He was there at the hospital when D.J. was born. Danny and Pam wanted to name her Farrah, but Joey persuaded them that it would be an unfortunate name for her (see "Joey Gets Tough"). So they named her Donna Jo "D.J." Tanner.
During his Sophomore year in high school, he dated Patty Fogerty, but she left him for a guy named Michael Winchester, leaving Joey heartbroken because he wanted to spend his life with her ("Blast From the Past").
After Pamela Tanner died, he quickly moves into the house. There was some tension between Joey and Jesse when they first move in, but they quickly became best friends and business partners. He usually handles the day-to-day raising of the kids by doing chores like making meals, driving the kids to school, appointments, and after school activities, taking care of Michelle as a baby, and helping the kids with their homework. He also buys D.J. her first car for her 16th birthday, which ended up being stolen.
Only once does he have to play the role of parent. In "Joey Gets Tough" (2.7), D.J. gets home an hour late from karate practice and does not call. He grounds her the weekend of the karate tournament. After a little chat, he decided not to tell Danny what happened and ended up moving D.J.'s punishment to next weekend. In "Easy Rider" (5.13), he teaches Michelle to ride her bicycle without training wheels and reminds her that she has to learn to ride, not only without training wheels but without a grown-up at her back. In "Driving Miss D.J." (5.20), he reminds Michelle that while she and Stephanie share a room, she must go play elsewhere in the event that Stephanie has her friends over, similar to what Stephanie did when she shared the room with D.J. and D.J. had her friends over. In "The Play's the Thing" (6.8), after he and Jesse give the Yankee Doodle role to Derek Boyd over Michelle, Michelle thought they were being unfair, but he and Jesse think that she was being more unfair by sitting out the practice session after being given another role (that of the Statue of Liberty). He reminds her that they can't play favorites, and even preaches the classic proverb "You can't always get what you want in life", and his example is that he wanted to be Fred Flintstone growing up, but he "had too many toes". In "The Heartbreak Kid" (6.16), he reminds Michelle that married people (in real life) have to move out of their initial home, asking if that's what she really wants.
Jesse asks Joey to be his best man at his wedding. Jesse also insists his children call Joey, "Uncle Joey" as a sign of respect.
| “ | Cut it out! | ” |
Employment[]
Throughout the series, Joey has held various jobs in addition to his work as a stand-up comic at comedy clubs. In seasons two and three, he and Jesse work in advertising together. They end up forming J&J Creative Services, which they use to compose jingles for television and radio ads. In "Joey Goes Hollywood", Joey wins a role in Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello's new sitcom Surf's Up.
Joey's most successful job is as Ranger Joe on an afternoon children's variety TV show. Ranger Joe's sidekick is his wise-cracking ventriloquist puppet Mr. Woodchuck. In "Radio Days", he is fired when he does not work well with his new on-screen partner, Jungle Jenny, who happens to be the boss's wife. Later in that episode, Joey and Jesse become partners again in an afternoon radio show called, "Rush Hour Renegades" on FM KFLH 95.
Hobbies[]
Joey was something of an "everyman." His hobbies include:
- Ice hockey (in "Nice Guys Finish First", he initially decides against playing in the game because of a horrible moment from 15 years before with his old nemesis Hershel Stonewall Binkley; in the rematch, he defeats Binkley and is able to put that nightmare behind him at last)
- Makes impressions of cartoon characters
- Playing the harmonica
- Cooking
- Biking
- Watching old TV shows/cartoons/movies with the girls
- Football
- Basketball
- Inline skating
- Flying (episode "The Wedding")
With the help of Danny, Joey was a contestant on Star Search '90 and receives a rating of 4 stars (highest) by the show's judges. (He goes on to lose the competition to the returning champion because of an audience tie-breaking vote.) Although initially upset with himself for failing to win Star Search, Joey vows to continue with Stand-Up comedy, because he loves to make people laugh. It is also noted that he plays piano (as seen in season 8's "We Got the Beat").
Full House - Stephanie's Mother Daughter Sleepover with Joey
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Mindy Gladstone (mother)
- Colonel Gladstone (father)
- Jasper (uncle)
Danny[]
Joey and Danny have been friends since February 23, 1968, in elementary school.
Dating[]
Joey has off-and-on-again relationships. They do not last long. His dates include Danny's sister, Cheryl, Patty, Stacy, Christine, Roxy, and others. He started dating a woman name Ginger and would end up marrying her having 4 children.
Cheryl[]
Joey meets Cheryl on a triple blind date with Jesse and Danny. Whilst the night does not work out for his friends, he begins to date her.
Voices[]
Joey is not known for phrases (except for "Cut it out"), but what he is known for is doing voices of well-known characters and famous people, such as:
- Bullwinkle (4.23, 5.13)
- Jacques Cousteau (3.6)
- Daffy Duck (3.17, 6.12, 7.23)
- Rodney Dangerfield (2.12)
- Elmer Fudd (1.4)
- Pee-wee Herman (1.21)
- George Jetson (and "his boy Elroy") (1.3)
- Kermit the Frog (6.9)
- Robin Leach (4.14)
- Popeye (1.1, 2.14, 3.6, 4.21, 8.5)
- Olive Oyl (3.6)
- Jay Leno (2.12)
- Joe Pesci (5.1)
- Roger Rabbit (2.1)
- Rod Serling (3.6)
- Scooby-Doo (2.16)
- Bill Murray as Carl Spackler (5.2)
- Scotty from Star Trek (6.6, 8.9)
- Snagglepuss (8.18)
- [1]Tasmanian Devil (Looney Tunes) (5.2)
- Terminator/Arnold Schwarzenegger (the latter in 3.8, the former in 5.2)
- Walter Brennan (as Grandpa Amos McCoy) (4.14)
- All of the main characters in The Wizard of Oz (1.8)
- Yosemite Sam (1.4, 7.5)
- The Godfather (6.1, 7.6)
- Gonzo (7.4)
- Pepé Le Pew. (4.12)
Trivia[]
- Right-handed ("A Pox in Our House")
- He and Danny both agree that they have horrible middle names.
- His parents are divorced.
- In A Pox in Our House, Joey caught the chicken pox from Stephanie; however, in Viva Las Joey, his father mentions that Joey had the chicken pox when he was three years old.
- Joey is an avid Detroit Red Wings fan, as his room features Red Wings memorabilia (in real life, Dave Coulier is also a Red Wings fan).
- While He and Danny were in college, they played a game where Danny would jump on Joey (Support Your Local Parents).
- His Michelle Impression sounds like Yoshi from Super Mario.
- Joey along with Steve and Becky are the only main characters to not have a birthday celebrated in an episode.
- According to the Fuller House episode “Cold Turkey”, Danny didn’t want Joey to move in the house at first.
- Joey, Danny, Jesse, Michelle and Stephanie are the only main characters to appear in every episode.
Fuller House[]
- Main article: Fuller House
After Full House ended, Joey moved to Las Vegas, Nevada as a resident stand-up comedian. Sometime around that point in time, he met and married fellow Vegas performer Ginger, and the two had four children together:
- Phyllis Gladstone (daughter)
- Lewis Gladstone (son)
- Joan Gladstone (daughter)
- Jerry Gladstone (son)
Trivia[]
- It is assumed that each of his children is named for famous comedians: Phyllis Diller, Jerry Lewis, Joan Rivers, and Jerry Seinfeld
- In "Our Very First Show, Again", Joey states that he is "kicking Carrot Top's butt" in his comedy career in Las Vegas
- At the end of the series, he is the only main character not to be related in some way to the Tanner family
Gallery[]
Full House[]
Fuller House[]
