John Stamos is mourning the loss of his closest friend, Mike Owen, who passed away suddenly from a heart attack, as the actor shared in a heartfelt Instagram post on November 18. Stamos, who considered Owen a “brother,” announced the tragic news alongside pictures from their 50-year friendship.
The actor revealed the emotional moment when he first learned of Owen’s death while on a flight to Detroit. He received a text from Owen’s brother, asking him to call.
John Stamos remembers Mike Owen as the steady presence who brought peace to his life
Stamos, feeling a sense of dread, immediately texted back, “Is Mike OK?” The agonizing response came slowly, with the cruel three dots hovering before the simple, devastating answer: “No.”
Stamos reflected on the loss, writing, “Mike Owen, my best friend since I was 11, was gone.” He described the shock of the sudden heart attack as something that completely altered his world, leaving him with a sense of surreal devastation.
For Stamos, Owen was more than a friend; he was the friend. “He was my everything friend,” he wrote. “From the moment we met, we were inseparable, two boys finding magic in Disneyland and in each other’s company.”
Stamos described Owen as someone who always let him take the spotlight, never seeking attention for himself. “Mike had this way of making the world feel steady,” Stamos explained. “He wasn’t flashy, didn’t need to be the center of attention, didn’t hunger for more than what he had. His gift was something most people spend their lives chasing: contentment. It wasn’t complacency. It was peace.”
Looking back, Stamos believes that Owen understood the fleeting nature of life, cherishing their shared memories not out of nostalgia, but to savor the beauty of their bond. “He carried our shared history with a reverence I didn’t always understand,” he said.
The two friends spent some of their final moments together just three weeks before Owen’s passing. Stamos described their trip to Disney World as “one last gift” from Owen. “We spent days like we were kids again—laughing, reminiscing, doing old bits, sitting on familiar benches,” Stamos recalled. “It was pure joy, and I’ll treasure it forever.”
Losing Owen, Stamos wrote, felt like losing a part of himself. “It’s like chapters of my story are missing now. He knew every secret, every joy, every heartbreak,” he said. However, Stamos has a plan to honor his late friend’s memory, doing “what he’d want” by reminding others not to wait to express love. “Say the thing. Book the flight. Tell the people you love how much they mean to you, today!” he urged.
In his closing remarks, Stamos bid a final farewell to Owen: “Mike, I’ll miss you every day. You were my brother, my compass, my greatest friend. You taught me to find joy in simplicity, to laugh through life’s hardest moments, and to treasure what we have while we have it. I love you. Always. Rest easy, my friend.”
