John Ritter born on September 17, 1948 in Burbank,
California.
On September 11, 2003 John Ritter passed away
in Burbank, California from a aortic dissection. John and
Henry Winkler were rehearsing lines when John collapsed and
died soon afterwards.
John Ritter father, cowboy star Tex Ritter,
John a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to that of
his Dad.
Pretending to be gay was the role that made
John Ritter a huge star in the hit series THREE'S COMPANY
and in its spin off THREE'S A CROWD. Following in his father
footsteps, John Ritter son Jason Ritter plays a gay man pretending
to be straight in PERCEPTIONS.
Dedicated to the memory of John Ritter his final
film, BAD SANTA in 2003.
In 2004 John Ritter character Paul Hennessy,
on the hit series 8 SIMPLE RULES... FOR DATING MY TEENAGE
DAUGHTER, was ranked #48 in TV Guide's list of the 50 Greatest
TV Dads of All Time about a year after he suddenly passed
away.
Entertaining children John Ritter brought to
life the big red dog in the animated movie CLIFFARD'S REALLY
BIG MOVIE, also from 2000 to 2003 John Ritter was the voice
of Clifford in the TV Series CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG.
In the hit movie SLING BLADE John Ritter worked
with Billy Bob Thornton, Ritter played a gay manager of a
department store. Billy Bob Thornton wrote and directed the
movie.
In 1989 John Ritter was the executive producer
for 2 TV series HAVE FAITH and ANYTHING BUT LOVE.
Winning a trip to Mexico, John Ritter's first
TV appearance was as a contestant on the hit show THE DATING
GAME.
Ten years prior to John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck's
marrage they appeared in an episode of THE COSBY SHOW. Playing
a husband and wife expecting their first child.
Based on a book, John Ritter role in 8 SIMPLE
RULES FOR DATING MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER, playing a dad that has
to face a variety of challenges, he has to lay down the ground
rules for his three children. The show was such a hit becasue
they worked with real issues that face family today like sex,
drugs, and day to day family life. The Series won a People's
Choice Award for Best New Comedy and the Family Award for
Favorite Comedy Series.
John Ritter will always be remembered as Jack
Tripper in the hit series THREE'S COMPANY, playing a straight
guy pretending to be gay while living with two attractive
ladies.
THREE'S COMPANY was so popular, John Ritter
won a Golden Globe in 1983 for Best Performance by an Actor.The
hit series lasted eight season, the show began to drop in
the ratings the show was cancelled in 1984. Then came the
spin off only last for 1 season THREE'S A CROWD could not
keep the crowd like THREE'S COMPANY.
John Ritter was a TV guest star on the TV show
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES 30 times.
In 1973 John Ritter played Rev. Matthew Fordwick
in the hit family series THE WALTONS his role continued til
1976. This was John's fathers favorite program.
John Ritter's other notable credits include...
