| deathplace = Burbank, California, USA | birthname = | othername = Johnny Ritter | homepage = | yearsactive = 1971–2003 | spouse = Nancy Morgan (1977–1996)
Amy Yasbeck (1999–2003) | emmyawards = Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
1984 Three's Company | goldenglobeawards = Best Actor in a Television Comedy
1984 Three's Company | awards = People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program
1988 Hooperman }} Jonathan Southworth “John” Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor and comedian perhaps best known for playing Jack Tripper in the sitcom Three's Company.

Early life

Ritter was born and raised 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, majored in psychology and minored in architecture.

Career

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 lived with two female roommates. Jack pretended to be gay to keep the landlords appeased over their living arrangement. 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. It 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.

Previous to his role in Three's Company, he occasionally appeared in the first five seasons of The Waltons on CBS as the Reverend Matthew Fordwick (1972–1976). He played a disturbed soldier/patient in one episode of M*A*S*H in 1973. He appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-0 & 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. He appeared in the Oscar-winning Sling Blade (almost unrecognizable as the discount store manager) and Noises Off. He starred with Markie Post in the early-1990s sitcom Hearts Afire and on the 1980s police comedy-drama Hooperman.

He starred in many made-for-TV movies including Stephen King's It, 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 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 renamed 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, once to actress Nancy Morgan (married 1977-divorced 1996) and then to actress Amy Yasbeck (married 1999-his death). Yasbeck had played his wife or love interest in the first two Problem Child movies (interestingly, she played a different character in each movie). 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 fell ill while rehearsing scenes for an episode of 8 Simple Rules. He was taken across the street to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, where he died later that day at the age of 54. The cause of death was an aortic dissection caused by a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect. Ritter's father had died of a heart attack almost thirty years earlier. Years later Ritter's wife testified in court that he had concerns for his own health because of the cause of his father's death. He was interred at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Aftermath

8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter was later retitled 8 Simple Rules following Ritter's death and continued for two more seasons; his character, Paul Hennessy, was said to have died after collapsing in a grocery store. The network aired the three episodes of Season 2 that had been taped before his death. The remainder of the show's season 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.

In 2004, he was given an Emmy nomination posthumously for playing Paul Hennessey in 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. He lost to Kelsey Grammer for 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 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.

Wrongful-death lawsuit

Following his death, his widow Amy Yasbeck filed a $67 million wrongful death suit against radiologist Dr. Matthew Lotysch and cardiologist Dr. Joseph Lee. She alleged that Lee, who treated her husband 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. 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. Several other defendants have settled out of court for a total of $14 million, including $9.4 million paid by Providence St. Joseph.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1971	The Barefoot Executive	Roger
	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
	Wholly Moses!	Satan (The Devil)
1981	They All Laughed	Charles Rutledge
1982	The Flight of Dragons	Peter Dickenson	Voice Role Direct-to-Video Release
1987	Real Men	Bob Wilson/Agent Pillbox, CIA
1989	Skin Deep	Zachary 'Zach' Hutton
1990	Problem Child	'Little' Ben Healy
1991	The Real Story of O Christmas Tree	Piney	Voice Role Direct-to-Video Release
	Problem Child 2	Ben Healy
1992	Noises Off	Garry Lejeune/Roger Tramplemain
	Stay Tuned	Roy Knable
1994	North	Ward Nelson
1996	Sling Blade	Vaughan Cunningham
1997	Nowhere	Moses Helper
	A Gun, a Car, a Blonde	Duncan/The Bartender
	Hacks	Hank
1998	Montana	Dr. Wexler
	Shadow of Doubt	Steven Mayer
	I Woke Up Early the Day I Died	Robert Forrest
	Bride of Chucky	Police Chief Warren Kincaid
2000	Panic	Dr. Josh Parks
	Lost in the Perishing Point Hotel	Christian Therapist
	Tripfall	Tom Williams
	Terror Tract	Bob Carter	Segment: Make Me an Offer
2001	Nuncrackers	Narrator	Direct-to-Video Release
2002	Tadpole	Stanley Grubman
	Man of the Year	Bill
2003	Manhood	Eli
	Bad Santa	Bob Chipeska	Posthumously Released
2004	Clifford's Really Big Movie	Clifford the Big Red Dog	Voice Role Posthumously Released
2006	Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up	Great Uncle Stew	Voice Role Direct-to-Video Release
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	Crazy World, Crazy People	Various Characters
1970	Dan August		Episode: Quadrangle for Death
1971, 1977	Hawaii Five-O	Ryan Moore Mike Welles	Episode: Two Doves and Mr. Heron Episode: Dealer's Choice--Blackmail
1972–1976	The Waltons	Rev. Matthew Fordwick
1973	Medical Center	Ronnie	Episode: End of the Line
	Bachelor-at-Law	Ben Sykes	Unsold CBS TV-Pilot
	M*A*S*H	Pvt. Carter	Episode: Deal Me Out
1974	Kojak	Kenny Soames	Episode: Deliver Us Some Evil
	Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law	Greg	Episode: To Keep and Bear Arms
	The Bob Newhart Show	Dave	Episode: Sorry, Wrong Mother
1975	Movin' On	Casey	Episode: Landslide
	Mannix	Cliff Elgin	Episode: Hardball
	The Bob Crane Show	Hornbeck	Episode: Son of the Campus Capers
	Petrocelli	John Oleson	Episode: Chain of Command
	Barnaby Jones	Joe Rockwell	Episode: The Price of Terror
	The Streets of San Francisco	John 'Johnny' Steiner	Episode: Murder by Proxy
	The Night That Panicked America	Walter Wingate	ABC TV-Movie
	The Mary Tyler Moore Show	Reverend Chatfield	Episode: Ted's Wedding
	The Rookies	Hap Dawson	Episode: Reluctant Hero
1975, 1976	Rhoda	Vince Mazuma Jerry Blocker	Episode: Chest Pains Episode: Attack on Mr. Right
1976	Starsky and Hutch	Tom Cole	Episode: The Hostages
	Phyllis	Paul Jameson	Episode: The New Job
1976–1984	Three's Company	Jack Tripper
1977, 1983	The Love Boat	Dale Riley/Reinhardt	Episode: A Oh Dale... Episode: Japan Cruise...(1) Episode: Japan Cruise...(2)
1978	Ringo	Marty	TV-Movie
	Leave Yesterday Behind	Paul Stallings	ABC TV-Movie
1979	The Ropers	Jack Tripper	Episode: The Party
1980	The Associates	Chick	Episode: The Censors
	The Comeback Kid	Bubba Newman	ABC TV-Movie
1981	Insight	Frankie	Episode: Little Miseries
1982	Pray TV	Tom McPherson	ABC TV-Movie
	In Love with an Older Woman	Robert	CBS TV-Movie
1983	Sunset Limousine	Alan O'Black	CBS TV-Movie
1984	Love Thy Neighbor	Danny Loeb	ABC TV-Movie
	Pryor's Place		Episode: The Showoff
1984–1985	Three's a Crowd	Jack Tripper
1985	Letting Go	Alex	ABC TV-Movie
1986	Living Seas	Host	NBC TV-Special
	Unnatural Causes	Frank Coleman	NBC TV-Movie
	A Smoky Mountain Christmas	Judge Harold Benton	ABC TV-Movie
1987	The Last Fling	Phillip Reed	ABC TV-Movie
	Prison for Children	David Royce	CBS TV-Movie
1987–1989	Hooperman	Det. Harry Hooperman
1988	Mickey's 60th Birthday	Dudley Goode	TV-Special
	Tricks of the Trade	Donald Todsen	Cameo Role CBS TV-Movie
1989	My Brother's Wife	Barney	ABC TV-Movie
1990	Stephen King's It	Adult Ben 'Haystack' Hanscom	ABC TV-Movie
	The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story	L. Frank Baum	NBC TV-Movie
1991	The Cosby Show	Ray Evans	Episode: Total Control
	The Summer My Father Grew Up	Paul	NBC TV-Movie
	Anything But Love	Patrick Serreau	Episode: Say it Again, Han Episode: Martus Interruptus Episode: Hello...Mali Episode: Stop Me Before I...Again (1) Episode: Stop Me Before I...Again (2)
1992	Fish Police	Inspector Gill	Voice Role
1992–1994	Hearts Afire	John Hartman
1993	Heartbeat	Margaret Gibson	NBC TV-Movie
	The Only Way Out	Jeremy Carlisle	ABC TV-Movie
1994	Dave's World	John Hartman	Episode: Please Won't You Be My Neighbor
1995	Gramps	Clarke MacGruder	NBC TV-Movie
	The Colony	Rick Knowlton	TV-Movie
	NewsRadio	Dr. Frank Westford	Episode: The Shrink
1996	Totally Animals	Host	TV-Special
	Unforgivable	Paul Hegstrom	CBS TV-Movie
	Wings	Stuart Davenport	Episode: Love Overboard
	For Hope	Date #5	Uncredited Role ABC TV-Movie
	The World's Greatest Magic III	Host	TV-Special
1996, 1999	Touched by an Angel	Mike O'Connor Tom McKinsley	Episode: Random Acts Episode: Black Like Monica
1997	Loss of Faith	Bruce Simon Barker	TV-Movie
	Mercenary	Jonas Ambler	HBO TV-Movie
	A Child's Wish	Ed Chandler	CBS TV-Movie
	Dead Man's Gun	Harry McDonacle	Segment: The Great McDonacle
	Over the Top	Justin Talbot	Episode: The Nemesis
	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Ted Buchanan	Episode: Ted
	The World's Greatest Magic IV	Host	TV-Special
1997, 2000, 2003	King of the Hill	Eugene Grandy	Episode: The Son that Got Away Episode: What Makes Bobby Run? Episode: The Witches of East Arlen
1998	Chance of a Lifetime	Tom Maguire	CBS TV-Movie
	Ally McBeal	George Madison	Episode: It's My Party Episode: The Story of Love
	The World's Greatest Magic V	Host	TV-Special
	Dead Husbands	Dr. Carter Elston	TV-Movie
1999	Veronica's Closet	Tim	Episode: Veronica's Favorite Year
	Holy Joe	Joe Cass	CBS TV-Movie
	It Came from the Sky	Donald Bridges	TV-Movie
	Lethal Vows	Dr. David Farris	CBS TV-Movie
2000	Chicago Hope	Joe Dysmerski	Episode: Simon Sez
	Batman Beyond	Dr. David Wheeler	Voice Role Episode: The Last Resort
	Family Law	Father Andrews	Episode: Possession is Nine Tenths of the Law
2000–2003	Clifford the Big Red Dog	Clifford the Big Red Dog	Voice Role
2000, 2001, 2002	Felicity	Mr. Andrew Covington
2001	Tucker	Marty	Episode: Homewrecker for the Holidays
2002	The Ellen Show	Percy Moss	Episode: Gathering Moss
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Dr. Richard Manning	Episode: Monogamy
	Breaking News	Lloyd Fuchs	Episode: Pilot
	Scrubs	Mr. Sam Dorian	Episode: My Old Man Episode: My Lucky Day
2002–2003	8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter	Paul Hennessey

Awards & 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.

References

External links

• John Ritter at the Internet Movie Database