Emotional Bob Saget tribute sees Jimmy Kimmel struggle to maintain composure on his late-night show

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Jimmy Kimmel struggled to keep his composure during a heartfelt tribute to his friend and fellow comedian Bob Saget on his late-night show Monday. 

Kimmel began his broadcast by acknowledging the tragic news that Saget was found dead in a hotel room in Florida on Sunday at age 65. News of the comedian’s death shocked fans, his former co-stars and many other celebrity friends, including the late-night host. 

An emotional Kimmel took to his late-night stage prior to his audience showing up for the night to discuss his friend and what he meant to him and the world. 

"If you've read anything about Bob online last night, if you saw any of the many thoughts from people who knew him personally, a word that came up a lot was 'the sweetest,'" Kimmel, 54, began. "Bob was the sweetest, he was the sweetest man, and the reason people wrote that is because it's true. It's the best word — if you had to pick one word to describe him, that was it: the sweetest."

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Jimmy Kimmel offered a touching tribute to his good friend, Bob Saget.  (Leon Bennett/WireImage)

Kimmel almost immediately began getting choked up as he held back tears. 

"I have so many wonderfully kind and supportive texts and emails, calls from Bob. He always had a compliment. He would write sometimes just to tell me he loved me, and I know he did that for many people," the host continued. 

The late-night host went on to discuss how funny Saget was both on-screen in "Full House" and as "America’s Funniest Home Videos" as well as off-screen in his relationships with friends. 

"I mean funny for real, like when you walked into a party and you saw Bob and his wife Kelly [Rizzo] in the corner, you go straight to them and stay for as long as you could because he had something funny to say about everything and nothing bad to say about anyone," Kimmel explained. 

The host noted that a cause that was very near to Saget’s heart was finding a cure for scleroderma, the autoimmune disease that he lost his sister Gay to in 1994. He suggested that anyone who wishes to honor Saget in the wake of his death should donate to that cause as it would have meant a lot to him. 

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Jimmy Kimmel shared a clip of Bob Saget and John Stamos on his show to eulogize his late friend.  (Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Kimmel broke once again, looking down at the floor as his voice cracked while he remembered going through old emails between him and Saget upon hearing news of his death. 

"Some of them were just funny and some were very serious emails about life and the wellbeing of our children and how hard it is to appreciate one of those without the other being just right," Kimmel said through tears. 

He then pulled out a printed copy of a recent email from Saget that read: "One night soon let's go out and have some meat and some good damn drinks and talk about how lucky we are that we have them."

Actor / Comedian Bob Saget attends the 30th annual Scleroderma Benefit at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on June 16, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.   (Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

Kimmel also noted that his friend was very diligent with checking up on him while his infant son, William "Billy" John Kimmel was in the hospital. He went on to extend his condolences to Saget’s adult children Aubrey, 34, Lara, 32, and Jennifer, 29.

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The host then began introducing a clip of Saget and his "Full House" co-star John Stamos on his show in the past to discuss the death of their longtime friend, Don Rickles. Kimmel had to stop for a moment when he became overwhelmed with emotion about having to offer a similar tribute to Saget just four years later. He explained that he tried to tape his tribute like 14 times but kept on breaking.

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"He was very kind to everyone, and he had no problem telling you that he loved you and what you meant to him," the host concluded.