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Jesse Katsopolis
Hermes "Jesse" Cochran/Katsopolis is a fictional character on the sitcom Full House, portrayed by John Stamos. Jesse is the show's main protagonist throughout all 8 seasons. He is Danny Tanner's brother-in-law, and uncle of D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle, and is Pam's younger brother.
| Jesse Katsopolis | |
| |
| General Information | |
| Gender: | Male |
|---|---|
| Birth: | April 15th 1963 |
| Series Information | |
| First appearance: | Our Very First Show |
| Last appearance: | Michelle Rides Again, Part Two |
| Portrayer: | John Stamos |
Contents |
Character
Edit
FamilyEdit
Jesse Katsopolis was born on April 15, 1963 to Nick and Irene Katsopolis. He was named after his great-grandfather, Hermes, but when he was teased so much in kindergarten, he begged his parents to change his name to "Jesse," for Elvis Presley's late twin who was also the protagonist of his own show. During the first season, his full name was Jesse Cochran, but Stamos requested it be changed to Katsopolis to honor his own Greek heritage. Since the actor is not the character, though, this doesn't explain why the character changed names. Though one can argue for a retcon, a stage name is just as likely, as Cochran could have been chosen to make him seem more American, and then he changed back after a while to honor Pam.
Jesse had an older sister, Pam, who married Danny after high school. Jesse went on to attend Golden Bay High School, but dropped out. In a later episode, he realizes he is the only adult in the house without a high school diploma, which prompted him to go to night school graduating as a valedictorian. He gave his speech on a broken-down subway train to an angry mob during a black-out, which prevented him from reaching his graduation ceremony.
On the first episode of the show, Jesse moves in with Danny to help him raise his kids after the death of his big sister, Pam. However, he only expected to stay a couple of weeks but ended up staying, along with Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier), for the whole series, without paying rent. Jesse describes in later episodes how Pam was a great influence in his life, and how, despite his rebel attitude, she managed to keep him in check.
MusicEdit
Jesse was involved in rock and roll throughout the whole series. In one episode, he mentioned he had two bands during high school: Feedback and Discipline Problem. . For most of the show, he fronted a band called Jesse and the Rippers in which he sang lead vocals and played guitar. They would eventually get a record deal from their hit single "Forever" (which was a cover of a Beach Boys song, and even had the Beach Boys themselves as background vocals in the music video), and tour around the country in local clubs during the summer.
In Season 2, Michelle's friend Howie left to go to Nebraska, and he tried to cheer her up with a song he wrote for her: Michelle's Smiling.
In later seasons, he is kicked out after a fight with his fellow band members concerning his lack of commitment. Though he was no longer a member, his founder status continued to earn him royalties of literally hundreds of dollars through the end of the series. It is revealed in the episode Making Out is Hard To Do that Barry Williams took over Jesse's place. Therefore it was called Barry and the Rippers. After Jesse and the Rippers, he formed another band called Hot Daddy and the Monkey Puppets. Jesse was still the lead singer, but in this band he played drums instead of guitar.
In certain seasons, him and Joey ran an advirtisement business, Double J, and he created most of the jingles for the group, with Joey's help.
JobsEdit
Aside from his music career, Jesse is shown to have various jobs during the series. During the first season, he works as an exterminator for his father's business. During the second season, he enters the advertising business with Joey, becoming advertising executives. Their agency was called JJ Creative Services.
In later seasons, Jesse and Joey start a career as radio hosts with a show called The Rush Hour Renegades (KFLH FM 95.6). Jesse would then inherit and re-open The Smash Club, which was a nightclub that he attended frequently while growing up, and where his band played regularly. In some episodes, he mentions that he saw The Doors, The Grateful Dead, The Mamas & The Papas, Sonny and Cher, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin perform there, despite the obvious inconsistency presented by the age of the character.
RelationshipsEdit
In the episode 13 Candles, it is revealed that his first kiss was with Diane Van Zant.
During the show's first season, he is seen with several girlfriends. Some of them are:
- Vanessa ("Our Very First Show")
- Adrianna ("Daddy's Home")
- Clayton ("Another Lover")
- Robin ("Half a Love Story")
- Jill ("Half a Love Story")
- Samantha ("The Seven-Month Itch, Part I")
- Roxanne (Sea Cruise)
- Bobby ("Please Don't Touch The Dinosaur")
During the second season, Jesse meets Danny's co-host, Rebecca Donaldson, and they started dating. They almost eloped in Nevada at the end of Season 2, but she felt she wasn't ready. During Season 4, they did get married and had twin boys in Season 5(Nicky and Alex).
During the 4th season when Jesse and Becky were engaged, Jesse saw his ex-girlfriend Carrie at their 10 year high school reunion. She wanted to dance with him, but he freaked out and left.Then after Jesse talks to Danny and Joey for advice he tries to leave to go to talk to her but she arrived at their house and told him that she wants to get back together after graduating high school and she left for Paris. After talking they kissed. He told her that he is in love with Becky now and things should change from high school now that he is getting married. He then goes to Becky and tells her that he kissed Carrie and Becky got mad. Then Jesse told Becky that he is only hers now.
In the episode ("Greek Week") Jesse sees his old girlfriend Elena and finds out that they were already "married" for almost 13 years, due to a "traditional Greek wedding", when they held flowers and walked around a table. They walk backwards around the table to get divorced. Then at the end of that episode he proposed to Becky for good.
Personality and hobbiesEdit
On early seasons, Jesse was portrayed as a rebel and motorcycle aficionado. However, as the show progressed, he matured and was seen to have finally set foot. He was always shown to be a caring uncle. In an episode he revealed that the reason he moved in with Danny was because of how much he missed his big sister.
Jesse's famous catch phrase throughout the series is "Have mercy!" as well as "Watch the hair!", because of his obsession with his hair. He is often seen measuring his hairline in the mirror with a tape measure from the top of his eyebrow to his hairline. Whenever he picks up the phone, he says "Talk to me!". He frequently makes references to Elvis Presley, his favorite musician. Jesse is also known for his famous recipe of fried chicken.
In addition to "Have mercy!", Jesse's trademark sayings throughout the series include "per se" and, usually when talking to Michelle, "kapesh", which is Sicilian for "do you understand?" or simply "understand?". He occasionally calls Danny and Joey by their full first names, Daniel and Joseph.
Early in the series, when Stephanie would try and get Jesse to do something he didn't want to do, they would have an exchange where Jesse would say "Uncle Jesse doesn't want to" (do something) and Stephanie says "Yes he does!". Jesse would then say "no he doesn't" and Stephanie would respond "yes he does!". Jesse would say one last time, rather emphatically, "No he doesn't", and Stephanie would respond while faking crying, "Yes he does".
John Stamos on his characterEdit
Originally, Stamos signed to play Adam Cochran, but he changed the name to Jesse before the show began. He later requested his Greek heritage to be implemented in the show by changing his character's last name to Katsopolis.
During the eighth season of the show, Stamos announced his departure, and the producers opted not to continue the series concerned by the loss of such a major character. Stamos planned a reunion of the actors in 2007.
