John Ritter

This article is about the American actor. For other uses, see John Ritter (disambiguation).
John Ritter

Ritter at the 1988 Emmy Awards
Born Jonathan Southworth Ritter[1]
September 17, 1948
Burbank, California, U.S.
Died September 11, 2003 (aged 54)
Burbank, California, U.S.
Cause of death
 Aortic dissection
Education Hollywood High School
Alma mater University of Southern California
Occupation Actor, comedian, voice-over artist
Years active 1968–2003
Notable work Jack Tripper on Three's Company
Spouse(s) Nancy Morgan (m. 1977; div. 1996)
Amy Yasbeck (m. 1999–2003)
Children Jason Ritter
Tyler Ritter
Carly Ritter
Stella Ritter
Parent(s) Tex Ritter
Dorothy Fay

Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor, comedian, and voice-over artist. Ritter was best known for playing Jack Tripper on the hit ABC sitcom Three's Company, for which he won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award in 1984. He was the son of famous country/western star Tex Ritter, and the father of actors Jason Ritter and Tyler Ritter.

Ritter appeared in hundreds of films and television shows/episodes combined (and performed on Broadway), including It (1990), Problem Child (1990), Problem Child 2 (1991) and Bad Santa in 2003 (his final live action film which was dedicated to his memory). Prior to Clifford's Really Big Movie (posthumously released), Ritter received four Daytime Emmy Award nominations for his voice work on the children's television series, Clifford the Big Red Dog, in addition to many other awards Ritter was nominated for or won. Don Knotts called Ritter the "greatest physical comedian on the planet".[2]

Ritter died from an aortic dissection on September 11, 2003. His death occurred shortly after the production of an episode for the second season of 8 Simple Rules.

Early life

Ritter was born on September 17, 1948 at the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California.[3] His father, Tex Ritter, was a singing cowboy/matinee-star, and his mother, Dorothy Fay (née Southworth), was an actress.[4] Ritter attended Hollywood High School, where he was student body president. He went on to the University of Southern California and majored in psychology with plans to have a career in politics. He later changed his major to theater arts after the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Ritter graduated in 1971.[5]

While still in college, Ritter traveled to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and West Germany to perform in plays. After his graduation from USC in 1970, his first TV acting experience was a campus revolutionary in the TV series, Dan August, starring Burt Reynolds and future Three's Company alumnus Norman Fell. Ritter made his film debut in The Barefoot Executive. Ritter made guest appearances on the television series Hawaii Five-O, M*A*S*H, and many others. Ritter had a recurring role (he appeared in 18 episodes), as Reverend Matthew Fordwick, on the drama series, The Waltons, from October 1972 to December 1976. Since he was not a weekly cast member, he had the time to pursue other roles, which he did until December 1976, when he left for a permanent role on Three's Company.

Television and film career

John Ritter in 1977.

Ritter headlined several stage performances, and appeared in multiple episodes of The Waltons on television, before he was made a star by appearing in the hit ABC 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 the character of Janet remained, Somers was fired and other characters replaced her, 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 performed for one 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 Three's Company, Ritter appeared in the films Hero at Large, Americathon, and They All Laughed.

In 1978, Ritter played Ringo Starr's manager on the television special Ringo, and in 1982, provided the voice of Peter Dickinson in Flight of Dragons. Hooperman was Ritter's first acting role after Three's Company. In the show, he played Detective Harry Hooperman who inherits a run down apartment building. He hires Susan Smith (Debrah Farentino). A relationship follows and Hooperman must juggle work, love, plus the antics of Bijoux the dog. John was nominated for both an Emmy Award[6] and a Golden Globe Award for his work on Hooperman in 1988. Ritter won a People's Choice Award for this role. In 1992-95, Ritter returned to TV for three seasons as John Hartman, aide to the Senator in Hearts Afire. This series starred Markie Post as Georgie Anne Lahti and Billy Bob Thornton as Billy Bob Davis. Ritter played the role of "Dad" in the music video Graham Nash's song "Innocent Eyes" from the 1996 album of the same name.

After his time on television, Ritter appeared in a number of movies, most notably Problem Child and its first sequel. He rejoined with Billy Bob Thornton in the Oscar-winning Sling Blade (playing a gay, kindhearted discount store manager) and Noises Off, and played the lead role in Blake Edwards' 1989 film Skin Deep. Ritter starred in many made-for-TV movies, including Gramps (1995), co-starring with Andy Griffith, Rob Hedden's The Colony (1995) with Hal Linden, Stephen King's It, Danielle Steel's Heartbeat with Polly Draper, and It Came From the Sky in 1999 with Yasmine Bleeth.

Ritter also made guest appearances on TV shows, such as Felicity, Ally McBeal, Scrubs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as an episode of Law & Order: SVU where the case involves the beating of a seven-months-pregnant woman, whose unborn child has been forcibly removed from her body via a primitive cesarean section. Among the witnesses questioned, Ritter plays the woman's husband, a psychiatrist with several damaging secrets and knows more about his wife's beating than he's willing to admit. John 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 four Emmy nominations. He starred alongside kickboxing actor Olivier Gruner for the buddy cop film Mercenary.

Broadway career

Ritter 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.[7] In 2003, Ritter made what would be his final stage appearance in All About Eve a star-studded benefit for the Actors' Fund of America, held at the Ahmanson Theatre.

Personal life

Ritter had a birth defect known as a coloboma in his right eye.

In 1977, Ritter married actress Nancy Morgan, with whom he had three children: Jason (who first appeared in the opening credits of Three's Company),[8][9] Carly, and Tyler.[5] They divorced in 1996.[10]

He married actress Amy Yasbeck on September 18, 1999 at the Murphy Theatre in Wilmington, Ohio.[11] Their daughter, Stella, was born on September 11, 1998, one year before they married.[12]

Yasbeck played his 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, in which 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 was also friends with English actor Tim Curry, his co-star from It and Fish Police.

Death

Ritter's gravestone

On September 11, 2003, Ritter fell ill while rehearsing for 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. He began sweating profusely, vomiting and complained of having chest pains. He was taken across the street to the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center.[3] Physicians misdiagnosed Ritter and treated him for a heart attack, however his condition worsened.[13] Physicians then diagnosed Ritter with an aortic dissection. Ritter died during surgery to repair the dissection at 10:48 p.m, six days before his 55th birthday.[14][15]

A private funeral was held on September 15 in Los Angeles after which Ritter was interred at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.[16][17]

In 2008, Yasbeck filed a $67 million wrongful death lawsuit against radiologist Dr. Matthew Lotysch and cardiologist Dr. Joseph Lee. Yasbeck accused Lee, who treated Ritter on the day of his death, of misdiagnosing his condition as a heart attack,[18] and Lotysch, who had given him a full-body scan two years earlier, of failing at that time to detect an enlargement of Ritter's aorta.[18] In 2008, at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the jury concluded that the doctors who treated Ritter the day he died were not negligent and thus not responsible for his death.[19][20] According to court records, Ritter's family received more than $14 million in settlements, including $9.4 million from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where he died.[21]

Response and legacy

Many of Ritter's co-workers expressed deep sorrow and heartbreak following the news of his death. Ritter's Three's Company co-star and close friend Suzanne Somers said: "I'm so sad for the family. We lost a good one, it was so unfinished". Zach Braff, who worked with Ritter on Scrubs, called Ritter a "comic hero" of his and said he had approached series creator Bill Lawrence to get Ritter to play his TV dad.[22] Katey Sagal testified in the wrongful death lawsuit, calling Ritter a "funny man who was funny like nobody's business".[23]

8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter was later retitled 8 Simple Rules following Ritter's death and continued for one and a half more seasons until its cancellation in 2005. Ritter's character, Paul Hennessy, was said to have died after collapsing in a grocery store while buying milk. ABC aired the first three episodes of the show's second season that had been taped before his death, each of which was introduced by the show's cast. The remainder of the show dealt with the family trying to grapple with Paul's death. New male characters, played by James Garner and David Spade, were later added to the main cast as Ritter's replacement. Shortly before his death, Ritter had done 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. Four days after Ritter's death, Nick at Nite ran an all-night Three's Company marathon that was dedicated to his memory.[24]

In 2004, Ritter was posthumously given an Emmy nomination for playing Paul Hennessy 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.[25] Ritter's final 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.[26]

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 (JRF), announced the creation of the Ritter-Rules "Ritter Rules" which are life-saving reminders to recognize, treat and prevent thoracic aortic dissection. The purpose of the JRF is to provide accurate information to the general public about the disease and its risk factors, provide support to individuals who have thoracic aortic disease or have lost a loved one to the disease, and improve the identification of individuals at risk for aortic dissections and the treatment of thoracic aortic disease through medical research. Yasbeck worked with Dianna M. Milewicz, MD, PhD at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) to establish the John Ritter Research Program in Aortic and Vascular Diseases with the goal of preventing premature deaths due to aortic dissection by identifying genetic mutations that predispose individuals to thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1971 The Barefoot Executive Roger Debut
1971 Scandalous John Wandell
1972 The Other Rider
1973 The Stone Killer Officer Mort
1976 Nickelodeon Franklin Frank
1978 Breakfast in Bed Paul
1979 Americathon President Chet Roosevelt
1980 Hero at Large Steve Nichols
1980 Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) Snoopy (speakable voice)
1980 Wholly Moses! Satan (The Devil)
1981 They All Laughed Charles Rutledge
1982 The Flight of Dragons Peter Dickenson Voice
Direct-to-video
1983 Sunset Limousine Alan O'Black
1985 Letting Go Alex TV Film
1986 A Smoky Mountain Christmas Judge Harold Benton (uncredited)
1987 Real Men Bob Wilson/Agent Pillbox, CIA
1989 Skin Deep Zachary 'Zach' Hutton
1990 It Ben Hanscom
1990 Problem Child 'Little' Ben Healy
1991 The Real Story of O Christmas Tree Piney (Voice) Direct-to-video release
1991 Problem Child 2 Ben Healy
1992 Noises Off Garry Lejeune/Roger Tramplemain
1992 Stay Tuned Roy Knable
1993 Danielle Steel's Heartbeat Bill Grant
1994 North Ward Nelson
1995 The Colony Rick Knowlton
1996 Sling Blade Vaughan Cunningham
1997 Nowhere Moses Helper
1997 A Gun, a Car, a Blonde Duncan/The Bartender
1997 Hacks Hank
1998 Montana Dr. Wexler
1998 Shadow of Doubt Steven Mayer
1998 I Woke Up Early the Day I Died Robert Forrest
1998 Bride of Chucky Police Chief Warren Kincaid
1999 Lethal Vows Dr. David Farris
2000 Panic Dr. Josh Parks
2000 Lost in the Perishing Point Hotel Christian Therapist
2000 Tripfall Tom Williams
2000 Terror Tract Bob Carter Segment: Make Me an Offer
2001 Nuncrackers Narrator Direct-to-video
2002 Tadpole Stanley Grubman
2002 Man of the Year Bill
2003 Manhood Eli
2003 Bad Santa Bob Chipeska Posthumously released. Final live action film.
2004 Clifford's Really Big Movie Clifford the Big Red Dog (Voice) Posthumously released.
2006 Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up Great Uncle Stew (Voice) Posthumous direct-to-video release
Final animated and voice acting film.

Television

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1968 Crazy World, Crazy People Various characters TV special
1970 Dan August Episode: "Quadrangle for Death"
1971, 1977 Hawaii Five-O Ryan Moore
Mike Welles		 2 episodes
1972 to 1976 The Waltons Rev. Matthew Fordwick 18 episodes
1973 Medical Center Ronnie Episode: "End of the Line"
1973 Bachelor-at-Law Ben Sykes Unsold CBS TV pilot
1973 M*A*S*H Pvt. Carter Episode: "Deal Me Out"
1974 Kojak Kenny Soames Episode: "Deliver Us Some Evil"
1974 Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Greg Episode: "To Keep and Bear Arms"
1974 The Bob Newhart Show Dave Episode: "Sorry, Wrong Mother"
1975 Movin' On Casey Episode: "Landslide"
1975 Mannix Cliff Elgin Episode: "Hardball"
1975 The Bob Crane Show Hornbeck Episode: "Son of the Campus Capers"
1975 Petrocelli John Oleson Episode: "Chain of Command"
1975 Barnaby Jones Joe Rockwell Episode: "The Price of Terror"
1975 The Streets of San Francisco John 'Johnny' Steiner Episode: "Murder by Proxy"
1975 The Night That Panicked America Walter Wingate ABC TV film
1975 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Reverend Chatfield Episode: "Ted's Wedding"
1975 The Rookies Hap Dawson Episode: "Reluctant Hero"
1975 to 1976 Rhoda Vince Mazuma
Jerry Blocker		 2 episodes
1976 Starsky & Hutch Tom Cole Episode: "The Hostages"
1976 Phyllis Paul Jameson Episode: "The New Job"
1976 to 1984 Three's Company Jack Tripper 174 episodes
1977 to 1983 The Love Boat Dale Riley/Reinhardt

3 episodes
1978 Ringo Marty TV film
1978 Leave Yesterday Behind Paul Stallings ABC TV film
1979 The Ropers Jack Tripper Episode: "The Party"
1980 The Associates Chick Episode: "The Censors"
1980 The Comeback Kid Bubba Newman ABC TV film
1981 Insight Frankie Episode: "Little Miseries"
1982 Pray TV Tom McPherson ABC TV film
1982 In Love with an Older Woman Robert CBS TV film
1983 Sunset Limousine Alan O'Black CBS TV film
1984 Love Thy Neighbor Danny Loeb ABC TV film
1984 Pryor's Place Episode: "The Showoff"
1984 to 1985 Three's a Crowd Jack Tripper 22 episodes
1985 Letting Go Alex ABC TV film
1986 Living Seas Host NBC TV film
1986 Unnatural Causes Frank Coleman NBC TV film
1986 A Smoky Mountain Christmas Judge Harold Benton ABC film
1986 Life With Lucy Himself Guest Appearance
1987 The Last Fling Phillip Reed ABC TV film
1987 Prison for Children David Royce CBS TV film
1987 to 1989 Hooperman Det. Harry Hooperman 42 episodes
1988 Mickey's 60th Birthday Dudley Goode TV special
1988 Tricks of the Trade Donald Todsen Cameo
CBS TV film
1989 My Brother's Wife Barney ABC TV film
1990 Stephen King's It Adult Ben "Haystack" Hanscom ABC TV film
1990 The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story L. Frank Baum NBC TV film
1991 The Cosby Show Ray Evans Episode: "Total Control"
1991 The Summer My Father Grew Up Paul NBC TV film
1991 Anything But Love Patrick Serreau 5 episodes
1992 Fish Police Inspector Gill Voice
1992 to 1994 Hearts Afire John Hartman 54 episodes
1993 Heartbeat Bill Grant NBC TV film
1993 The Only Way Out Jeremy Carlisle ABC TV film
1993 The Larry Sanders Show Himself Episode: "Off Camera"
1994 Dave's World John Hartman Episode: "Please Won't You Be My Neighbor"
1995 Gramps Clarke MacGruder NBC TV film
1995 The Colony Rick Knowlton TV film
1995 NewsRadio Dr. Frank Westford Episode: "The Shrink"
1995 The Larry Sanders Show Himself Episode: "The Fourteenth Floor"
1996 Unforgivable Paul Hegstrom CBS TV film
1996 Wings Stuart Davenport Episode: "Love Overboard"
1996 For Hope Date #5 uncredited
ABC TV film
1996 to 1999 Touched by an Angel Mike O'Connor
Tom McKinsley		 2 episodes
1997 Loss of Faith Bruce Simon Barker TV film
1997 Mercenary Jonas Ambler HBO TV film
1997 A Child's Wish Ed Chandler CBS TV film
1997 Dead Man's Gun Harry McDonacle Segment: "The Great McDonacle"
1997 Over the Top Justin Talbot Episode: "The Nemesis"
1997 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ted Buchanan Episode: "Ted"
1997 to 2003 King of the Hill Eugene Grandy (Voice) 4 episodes
1998 Chance of a Lifetime Tom Maguire CBS TV film
1998 Ally McBeal George Madison 2 episodes
1998 Dead Husbands Dr. Carter Elston TV film
1999 Veronica's Closet Tim Episode: "Veronica's Favorite Year"
1999 Holy Joe Joe Cass CBS TV film
1999 It Came from the Sky Donald Bridges TV film
1999 Lethal Vows Dr. David Farris CBS TV film
2000 Chicago Hope Joe Dysmerski Episode: "Simon Sez"
2000 Batman Beyond Dr. David Wheeler (Voice) Episode: "The Last Resort"
2000 Family Law Father Andrews Episode: "Possession is Nine Tenths of the Law"
2000 to 2003 Clifford the Big Red Dog Clifford Voice
2000 to 2002 Felicity Mr. Andrew Covington 7 episodes
2001 Tucker Marty Episode: "Homewrecker for the Holidays"
2002 The Ellen Show Percy Moss Episode: "Gathering Moss"
2002 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Dr. Richard Manning Episode: "Monogamy"
2002 Breaking News Lloyd Fuchs Episode: "Pilot"
2002 Scrubs Sam Dorian 2 episodes
2002 to 2003 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter Paul Hennessy 31 episodes (until his death)
2004 King of the Hill Eugene Grandy Episode: "Stressed for Success" (Posthumously released.)

Awards and nominations

DVD Exclusive Awards

Daytime Emmy Awards

Emmy Awards

Golden Globe Awards

People's Choice Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Hollywood Walk of Fame

See also

References

  1. ↑ Douglas Martin (13 September 2003). "John Ritter, 54, the Odd Man In 'Three's Company,' Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  2. ↑ "Biography" John Ritter: In Good Company Air Date: 30 October 2002
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "John Ritter: 1948-2003". people.com. September 18, 2003. p. 1.
  4. ↑ Gliatto, Tom (September 29, 2003). "Wonderful Company". people.com.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lipton, Michael A. (December 16, 2002). "Acting His Age". people.com.
  6. ↑ "John Ritter Emmy Nominated". Emmys.com. 2003-09-12. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  7. ↑ Hodges, Ben; Willis, John A., eds. (1 Nov 2009). Theatre World 2008-2009: The Most Complete Record of the American Theatre. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4234-7369-5. ISSN 1088-4564. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Jason Ritter". Usmagazine.com. 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  9. ↑ "Jason Ritter Biography". Tvguide.com. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  10. ↑ "John Ritter". CBS News. Page 5 of 17. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  11. ↑ "John Ritter". CBS News. Page 10 of 17. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  12. ↑ John Ritter Biography. Accessed 13 November 2014.
  13. ↑ "John Ritter Legacy Lives in "Ritter Rules"". cbsnews.com. March 17, 2010.
  14. ↑ Considine, Bob (February 4, 2008). "John Ritter’s widow talks about wrongful death suit". today.com.
  15. ↑ "John Ritter: 1948-2003". people.com. September 18, 2003. p. 2.
  16. ↑ Grace, Francie (September 16, 2003). "John Ritter's Family Says Goodbye". cbsnews.com.
  17. ↑ "Where Celebrities Are Buried In LA". cbslocal.com. September 30, 2013.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Deutsch, Linda (2 April 2008). "John Ritter's family seeks $67M in medical trial". Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  19. ↑ "Associated Press" (2008-02-11). "Trial Begins Over John Ritter's Death". "ABC News". Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  20. ↑ "E! News - Jury Clears Ritter Doctors". Ca.eonline.com. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  21. ↑ Charles Ornstein (2008-01-24). "Ritter's family says he didn't have to die". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  22. ↑ Warner Bros. Online (2003-09-12). "Extratv.com : John Ritter Dies at 54". Telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
  23. ↑ Hammel, Sara. "Katey Sagal Testifies in John Ritter's Wrongful Death Trial". People.
  24. ↑ Jen Chung (2003-09-15). "Three's Company Marathon". Gothamist. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  25. ↑ Tim Lammers (2004-09-20). "'Angels,' 'Sopranos' Win Big At Emmys". KGTV. Archived from the original on 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2008-02-29. I'd like to take a minute to pay respect to John Ritter and his family", Grammer said the actor who received a posthumous nomination in the category. "He was a terrific guy and his death was a shock to all of us. He will be missed not only for his kindness, but for his work.
  26. ↑ Louise Kennedy (2004-04-23). "Clifford's 'Big Movie' will charm his small TV fans". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-02-29. ...Clifford (voiced, as on TV, by the late John Ritter, to whom the movie is fittingly dedicated)...

Further reading

External links

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