‘Full House’ stars donate $125K to children’s hospital

ST. CLAIR SHORES — “Full House” stars Dave Coulier and John Stamos recently tested their knowledge on the famous game show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and brought home $125,000 each for their charities.

Coulier, who is a St. Clair Shores native and a Michigan resident of five years, donated the money to the Children’s Foundation and presented it at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit on Aug. 8.

Coulier played Joey Gladstone and John Stamos played Jesse Katsopolis on both “Full House” and its sequel “Fuller House.” The lowest amount of money Stamos and Coulier could win was $32,000.

Coulier said he chose the hospital because he’s visited with the children, staff and parents over the years.

“It’s a phenomenal place and they’re doing phenomenal work,” Coulier said.

Winning the money was no walk in the park. Coulier said it was quite difficult to answer the questions correctly. He said no one knew the $500,000 question Stamos and Coulier stopped at. They opted to not answer the question and took the money from the last question they answered correctly, which was $250,000.

The $500,000 question was this: “Since he reportedly hated the name ‘Scarface,’ Al Capone’s inner circle called him by what name, slang for stylish.”

The correct answer was “Snorky.”

“It was a really fun game to play,” Coulier said. “I got to be with my brother John Stamos. But it was hard. We ran out of lifelines.”

Players receive a series of lifelines to give them an advantage in answering a difficult question. Potential lifelines include “Phone a Friend,” “Ask the Audience” and more.

Coulier received the call about the game show around eight weeks prior to the presentation.

“Then I found out that I was going to be on with John Stamos and I said, ‘Alright, game on, let’s do it,’” Coulier said.

Children’s Hospital was the only place he thought of to donate the money.

“It was really the No. 1 choice and the only choice, so it was a really easy decision to make,” Coulier said.

Archie Drake, CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, said he knew about the money before Coulier donated it, saying the celebrities had to indicate which charity they chose.

“I was aware we would be the recipient. I didn’t know how much it would be,” Drake said

Drake said he has watched the show before and that he has answered one or two of the questions right. He learned the amount of money around two weeks prior to the presentation.

He said he was excited about the donation.

“At first I was humbled that Dave chose this hospital to be (the) recipient of his generosity,” Drake said.

He wanted to share the celebration and excitement with hospital staff and patients. Some of the staff as well as some patients met Coulier when he presented the check.

“It truly isn’t about me, it’s about them,” Drake said. “And the fact that they can share in this phenomenal gift just touched my heart.”

Drake said Coulier stopped by the hospital before he won the money and that the actor is part of the family.

“He’s not new to us, we’re not new to him,” Drake said.

Rick DiBartolomeo, vice president of finance at the Children’s Foundation, said their foundation represents the hospital when it comes to donations.

“The proceeds go actually to the Children’s Foundation and then we put it towards youth, whether it be research, grants and so forth to the children’s hospital,” DiBartolomeo said.

Ashley Ashkenazi, development director at the Children’s Foundation, said the entire staff watched the episode featuring Coulier. Though there were no watch parties: everyone watched at their homes and texted each other.

DiBartolomeo said the money will go directly into research and Ashkenazi said some of the money will also go toward improving the lives of patients.

“Making sure that kids have as normal of a childhood, even as they are patients,” Ashkenazi said.

The services include supplying therapy and making sure teachers are available to the patients.

DiBartolomeo said he thinks the future of the hospital is looking great.

“Unfortunately, we continue to see children being affected with diseases and the like, but it’s great to have such a world-renowned hospital as we have here right here in the city of Detroit,” DiBartolomeo said.