Malaysia-born actor Ronny Chieng remembers Bob Saget in touching tribute

Ronny Chieng, a stand-up comedian in Australia before relocating to the United States, said that he opened for Bob Saget in Sydney in 2014. Photo: Ronny Chieng/Facebook

After the sudden death of Bob Saget on Sunday (Jan 9), scores of celebrities have paid tribute to the actor on social media, with most remembering him as a nice guy.

Malaysia-born actor Ronny Chieng also took to social media to remember Saget whom he worked with in 2014.

Chieng, a stand-up comedian in Australia before relocating to the United States, said that he opened for Saget in Sydney in 2014.

"When I got to the venue, the call sheet before the show specified 'No dirty material'.

"I got worried because all I had was swear words. But when Bob showed up backstage he said, 'Say whatever you want!', which really put me at ease," the 36-year-old wrote on his Facebook.

Chieng met up with Saget a year later when he moved to New York for his stint in the Daily Show.

"Bob invited me to go watch him on Broadway perform in Hand To God. We met up after and took the photo above," he said posting a wefie with the Full House actor.

"Over the next few years he would regularly send me messages of encouragement. I was lucky to run into him every so often at stand up comedy adjacent events, and he would be just as kind and hilarious as always," he continued.

Saget even sent Chieng a congratulatory message after watching the Marvel film, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.

"LOVED you in Shang-Chi. Just watched it tonight. You're so good Ronny. Just popped off the screen," Saget wrote to Chieng who played Jon Jon in the movie.

Chieng added in his Facebook tribute to Saget: "Peer recognition is the biggest driving motivator for all real stand up comedians.

"And for this American comedy legend to go out of his way to connect with and support this young Malaysian kid whom he had absolutely nothing (in) common with other than an insane obsession with telling jokes on stage is a testament to how big Bob’s heart was."

Saget, 65, was found dead in a hotel room in Orlando, Florida on Sunday.

The cause of his death was unclear. Reuters reported that emergency responders found the actor unresponsive in a room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando and pronounced him dead at the scene.