‘Wow He Sounds Just Like Him’: ‘Uncle Joey’ From ‘Full House’ Had to be Richard Pryor’s Voice Double But No One Ever Knew

In the world of comedy, Richard Pryor carved out a niche with his raw humor and unfiltered language in what is known as ribaldry or blue comedy. Regarding television broadcasts, Pryor’s colorful language posed a problem under once-extremely strict FCC regulations in the 70s and 80s. To circumvent these restrictions, studios often employed actors to dub over some of Pryor’s dialogue in his movies with sanitized versions suitable for TV audiences. According to Studio Binder, this practice, known as language replacement or dubbing, involved replacing explicit language with more broadcast-friendly alternatives. Instead of “damn” the dubbing actor would say, “dang.” Instead of “hell” the person might say, “heck,” and the editors would punch it in on the audio of the film. Resurfaced clip reveals comedian Dave Coulier (R) did voiceovers for Richard Pryor (L) on the 1987 film “Critical Condition.” (Photo: @richardpryor; @dcoulier/Instagram) In the 1987 comedy “Critical Condition,” Pryor’s voice was dubbed by comedic impressionist Dave Coulier, best known for playing Uncle Joey Gladstone on “Full House.” Coulier’s talent for voice impersonation made him the perfect fit to replace Pryor’s hilariously foul-mouthed lines and adlibs with cleaner dialogue. A resurfaced clip from the March 26, 1991, episode of “The...