John Ritter

Johnathan Southworth "John" Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor and comedian perhaps best known for playing Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules respectively. Don Knotts called him the "Greatest physical comedian on the planet."

Early life
John Ritter was born in Burbank, California, the son of Dorothy Fay (née Southworth), an actress, and singing cowboy/matinee-star Tex Ritter. He attended Hollywood High School, where he was Student Body President. He went on to the University of Southern California, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity, and majored in psychology and minored in architecture.

Three's Company
Ritter headlined several stage performances before he was made a star by appearing in the hit sitcom Three's Company (the Americanized version of the 1970s British Thames Television series Man About the House) in 1977, playing a single ladies' man and culinary student, Jack Tripper, who lives with two female roommates. The females originally were Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers). While in later years Janet remained, Chrissy left and other characters replaced her tenancy, including Chrissy's cousin, Cindy (Jenilee Harrison), and unrelated roommate, Terri Alden (Priscilla Barnes). Jack pretended to be gay to keep the landlords appeased over their living arrangements. The show spent several seasons near the top of the TV ratings in the U.S. before ending in 1984. Ritter went on for one more year on the spin-off Three's a Crowd. The original series has been seen continuously in reruns and is also available on DVD. During the run of the show, he appeared in the feature films Hero at Large, Americathon, and They All Laughed. In 1978, he played Ringo Starr's manager on the television special Ringo, and in 1982, played the voice of Peter Dickinson in Flight of Dragons.

Before Three's Company, he made his film debut in The Barefoot Executive with Kurt Russell and Joe Flynn. From 1972 to 1976, he made sporadic appearances as the Reverend Matthew Fordwick throughout the first five seasons of The Waltons on CBS. He played a disturbed soldier/patient in one episode of M*A*S*H* in 1973. He appeared in two episodes of Hawaii Five-O and in the Charles Bronson film, The Stone Killer, alongside Norman Fell. He also guest starred in one episode of The Cosby Show in 1991.

After Three's Company
After Three's Company he appeared in a number of movies, most notably Problem Child and its first sequel. He appeared in the Oscar-winning Sling Blade (almost unrecognizable as a gay, kindhearted discount store manager) and Noises Off and played the lead role in Blake Edwards' 1989 film Skin Deep. He starred with Markie Post in the early-1990s sitcom, Hearts Afire, and in the 1980s police comedy-drama Hooperman.

He starred in many made-for-TV movies, including Stephen King's It, Danielle Steel's Heartbeat with Polly Draper, and It Came From the Sky in 1999 with Yasmine Bleeth, and made guest appearances on TV shows, such as Ally McBeal, Scrubs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Felicity. He also provided the voice of the title character in the PBS animated children's show Clifford the Big Red Dog, a role for which he received two Emmy nominations. He starred alongside kickboxing actor Olivier Gruner for the buddy cop film Mercenary.

He played Claude Pichon in The Dinner Party (2000) at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway, which was written by Neil Simon. It ran for three hundred and sixty-four performances. Ritter won the Theatre World Award in 2001 for his performance in that work. In 2002, he made a TV comeback with the ABC family sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter (later retitled 8 Simple Rules following his death). His final two film appearances were as the store manager in Bad Santa (2003), starring personal friend Billy Bob Thornton and Bernie Mac, and Clifford's Really Big Movie. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6631 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

Personal life
He married twice, first to actress Nancy Morgan (married 1977 – divorced 1996) and then to actress Amy Yasbeck (married 1999 – his death). Yasbeck had played variously his wife and love interest in the first two Problem Child movies. Yasbeck also played Ritter's wife in two sitcom appearances. In 1991, both were guest stars on The Cosby Show, where Yasbeck played the in-labor wife of Ritter's basketball coach character. In 1996, Ritter guest starred on Yasbeck's sitcom, Wings, as the estranged husband of Yasbeck's character, Casey. Ritter and Morgan had three children: Carly, Tyler, and Jason. He and Yasbeck had one daughter, Stella.

Death
On September 11, 2003, Ritter felt ill while rehearsing scenes for the second season of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. He was taken across the street to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, where he died later that evening, around 10:45 pm PST. He was 54 years old, six days short of his 55th birthday. The cause of his death was an aortic dissection caused by a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect. His father had died of a heart attack almost thirty years earlier. Years later, Ritter's widow Amy Yasbeck testified in court that he had concerns for his own health because of the cause of his father's death. Ritter was interred at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His mother died less than two months later.

Following his death, Yasbeck filed a $67 million wrongful death suit against radiologist Dr. Matthew Lotysch and cardiologist Dr. Joseph Lee. She accused Lee, who treated Ritter on the day of his death, misdiagnosed his condition as a heart attack, and Lotysch, who had given him a full-body scan two years earlier, failed at that time to detect an enlargement of Ritter's aorta. "Both sides agree that his true condition -- an aortic dissection, which is a tear in the largest blood vessel in the body -- was not identified until right before his death." The trial began on February 11, 2008, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. On March 14, 2008, the defendants were found not responsible for Ritter's death by a jury vote of 9–3. The family already has received more than $14 million in settlements, according to court records, including $9.4 million from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where he died.

Response and legacy
8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter was later retitled 8 Simple Rules following Ritter's death and continued for two more seasons until its cancellation on April 15, 2005. Ritter's character, Paul Hennessy, was said that he died after collapsing in a grocery store while buying milk. ABC aired the first three episodes of the second season that had been taped before his death. The remainder of the show dealt with the family trying to grapple with their patriarch's death. New male characters, played by James Garner and David Spade, were later added as the main cast. Shortly before his death, Ritter did a week-long taping with Hollywood Squares, which was aired as a tribute to him, introduced by Henry Winkler, the executive producer of the show and very close friend of Ritter's.

In 2004, Ritter was posthumously given an Emmy nomination for playing Paul Hennessey in 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, but lost to Kelsey Grammer for playing the title character of Frasier. Upon accepting his trophy, Grammer's remarks included comments made in tribute and remembrance of Ritter. His last films, Bad Santa and Clifford's Really Big Movie, along with an episode of Scrubs (His character in this series died as well following Ritter's real life death) and King of the Hill, were dedicated in his memory. On June 6, 2008, a mural of Ritter painted by Eloy Torrez was dedicated at Hollywood High School. In March 2010, the Thoracic Aortic Disease (TAD) Coalition, in partnership with Yasbeck, and the John Ritter Foundation, announced the creation of the Ritter Rules. The purpose of the charity is to help raise awareness among the public about aortic dissection so they can reduce their risk of the same kind of tragedy that took the life of Ritter.

Awards and nominations
Chlotrudis Awards
 * 1997: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" – Sling Blade

DVD Exclusive Awards
 * 2003: Nominated, "Best Audio Commentary, Library Release" – High Noon (shared w/Maria Copper & Tim Zinnemann)

Daytime Emmy Awards
 * 2001: Nominated, "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" – Clifford the Big Red Dog
 * 2002: Nominated, "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" – Clifford the Big Red Dog
 * 2003: Nominated, "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" – Clifford the Big Red Dog
 * 2004: Nominated, "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" – Clifford the Big Red Dog

Emmy Awards
 * 1978: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – Three's Company
 * 1981: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – Three's Company
 * 1984: Won, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – Three's Company
 * 1988: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – Hooperman
 * 1999: Nominated, "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series" – Ally McBeal
 * 2004: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter

Golden Globe Awards
 * 1979: Nominated, "Best TV Actor in a Musical/Comedy" – Three's Company
 * 1980: Nominated, "Best TV Actor in a Musical/Comedy" – Three's Company
 * 1984: Won, "Best TV Actor in a Musical/Comedy" – Three's Company
 * 1987: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television" – Unnatural Causes
 * 1988: Nominated, "Best TV Actor in a Musical/Comedy" – Hooperman

People's Choice Awards
 * 1988: Won, "Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program" – Hooperman

Screen Actors Guild Awards
 * 1997: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast" – Sling Blade (shared w/co-stars)

Hollywood Walk of Fame
 * 1983: "Star on the Walk of Fame" – 6627 Hollywood Boulevard; he and Tex Ritter were the first father-and-son pair to be so honored in different categories.

Trivia:

John Ritter played the role of "Dad" in the music video of "Innocent Eyes" by Graham Nash released off the album of the same name in 1986. The video centres around the theme of eternal youth and the characters proceed to dance at a Graham Nash concert.