| John Ritter Dies of Heart Problem - E! Online |
 |
| by Lia Haberman Sep 12, 2003, 5:05 AM PT Prolific funnyman John Ritter, who got famous playing a bumbling young ladies' man and recently made a comeback playing the bumbling overprotective dad of two young babes, died suddenly of a previously undetected heart problem, his reps said Friday. He was 54. |
| Ritter, who would have been 55 next week, collapsed on Thursday night while filming ABC's 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. The former Three's Company star was rushed to Providence St. Joseph hospital in Burbank, California, across from the studio where he had been taping. But doctors at the hospital were unable to save him, and he died shortly after 10 p.m., from a "dissection of the aorta," an undetected flaw in a main artery from the heart, according to his publicist. Ritter was accompanied to the hospital by the show's producers, coworkers, his wife and Problem Child costar Amy Yasbeck and his 23-year-old son Jason. "It's just stunning, unbelievable," his assistant of 22 years Susan Wilcox told reporters. "Everybody loved John Ritter. Everybody loved working with him...Whatever set he was working on, he made it a very fun place." ABC released a statement saying, "All of us at ABC, Touchstone Television and the Walt Disney Company are shocked and heartbroken at the terrible news of John's passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and children at this very difficult time." No word at this time whether ABC intends to cancel the series in light of its leading man's passing. The show, due to begin its second season Sept. 23, was one of ABC's core programs, scoring a People's Choice Award for its first season. News of Ritter's sudden death and its potential impact on ABC's prime-time lineup caused parent company Walt Disney's stock to fall two percent in early morning trading. The son of western film star and country musician Tex Ritter, John graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in drama and went on to accumulate a long list of TV, film and stage credits. His first steady gig was a role as a minister in the early '70s series The Waltons. He went on to star in more than 25 TV movies and was a guest star on everything from M*A*S*H and Hawaii Five-0 to Scrubs, Ally McBeal (which garnered him an Emmy nod) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But it was his role as swinging Jack Tripper in the '70s hit TV series Three's Company, opposite Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt, that really cemented his place in the pantheon of pop culture. Ritter won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a People's Choice Award for the role that stretched from 1977 to 1984. DeWitt's rep released a statement Friday saying: "Joyce is shocked and heartbroken and so sad for his family. She cannot find words to express her sorrow. Such a great loss to the joy in the world." Meanwhile, Somers, who was interviewed on Fox's Good Day Live, said she burst into tears when she heard the news. "So much was said about what [conflict we had] when we worked together, but I just loved John Ritter, and I loved John Ritter when we worked together." Richard Kline, who played Larry on the sudsy sitcom, also released a statement saying: "John was a dear friend and someone who's talent I idolized. My life and my work was enriched by knowing him. The world has lost one of its funniest people. My heart goes out to Amy, the children, his brother Tom and mother Dorothy. I will miss him deeply." Ritter followed up Three's Company with roles in several unmemorable series, including 1987's Hooperman and 1992's Hearts Afire, but didn't tap back into TV gold until 8 Simple Rules.... Despite the close to 30-year gap, Ritter managed to reconnect with sitcom audiences last year with 8 Simple Rules... as befuddled father, Paul Hennessy, of two precocious teenage girls and TV hubby to small-screen vet Katey Segal. When not making TV audiences laugh, Ritter flexed his acting chops in noted movies such as Sling Blade and Tadpole and not-so-notable flicks such as Bride of Chucky and the aforementioned Problem Child sequels. He had just wrapped production on Bad Santa, a comedy with Bernie Mac and Billy Bob Thornton. It was due to hit theaters in November. Ritter had also appeared in more than 50 plays, including a recent nine-month stint in the Broadway premiere of Neil Simon's The Dinner Party. The Los Angeles native leaves behind wife Yasbeck and their daughter, Stella, and three children, Carly, Tyler and Jason, from his first marriage to Nancy Morgan. Source: E! Online Back to News Index Back Home |
| posted 12 september 2003 4:06 p.m. central. story #0031 |