John Ritter

Following John's unexpected death, the name of the TV sitcom in which he had been starring was shortened to 8 Simple Rules (originally known as 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter).

Before his death John taped three full episodes of his show 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughters second season.

He formed his own production company in 1984 named Adam Productions.

John appeared in several stage performances in Europe in 1968 to 1969.

A sudden onset of nausea and chest pain, misdiagnosed as a heart attack, ended with the death of actor John Ritter on Sept. 11, 2003 (Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California). Heart disease was the culprit: The 54-year-old sitcom star had actually suffered an aortic dissection, a tear in the wall of the largest blood vessel in the body, the aorta.

He studied four years at the Harvey Lembeck Comedy Workshop.

He attended the University of Southern California, where he graduated with bachelor of fine arts in theater arts in 1971.He majored in Psychology and minored in Architecture.

Growing up, John was a member of the Boy Scouts of America, and was active in both Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting.

He went to Hollywood High School and he was student body president. He graduated in 1966.

He is a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.

John's performance as Jack Tripper in the comedy series, Three's Company (1977-1984), ranked #80 on Bravo's The 100 Greatest TV Characters, a five-part countdown televison special that aired in 2004.

John ("Jack Tripper") and Richard Kline ("Larry Dallas") were the only two Three's Company actors who also appeared on its spin-offs: The Ropers and Three's a Crowd.

John was the only castmember to appear in every episode of Three's Company.

Years before John and Amy got married they starred together in part 1 and 2 of Problem Child. They also appeared in an episode of The Cosby Show ten years prior to their marriage. Coincidently they played a husband and wife expecting their first child.

John's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located next to his father's. Upon his death, his star was heavily decorated by fans.

He was the first guest on The Wayne Brady Show. Upon his death, the episode was reaired in his honor.

Prior to his untimely death (September 11, 2003), John taped a week's worth of episodes of The Hollywood Squares. When the game show installments aired in late September and early October, they were preceded by the program's then executive producer and Ritter's close friend, Henry Winkler, who offered a dedication to John.

During the Three's Company episode titled "Dying to Meet You" (Season 5, Episode 20), John's character, Jack Tripper, is forced to fake his death to avoid being hurt by a girl's jealous boyfriend. Tripper's roommate, Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), explains that Jack died because he was so afraid of the boyfriend, that "his heart couldn't take it." Cindy Snow (Jenilee Harris), another roommate, then adds, "God forgot to wind it." Ironically, John would later suffer from an aortic dissection, causing his untimely death.

John's father, legendary country singer and actor Tex Ritter, never lived to see John's big break as Jack Tripper in Three's Company. However, he did get to see his son's recurring role in The Waltons, Tex's favorite show.

When John died, his character Paul on "8 Simple Rules" was written out by having him collapse due to a heart attack while shopping for groceries, reflecting John's actual cause of death.

He is the brother of Tom Ritter, who suffers from cerebral palsy. It is because of this that John has contributed much to the cause, and in fact, co-hosted the United Cerebral Palsy national telethon for over 15 years.

John's untimely death would make Bad Santa (2003) his final film, that of which was dedicated to his memory in post-production.

In Three's Company (1977), he played a straight man pretending to be gay. In Perceptions (2005), his son, Jason Ritter, played a gay man pretending to be straight.

Shortly before his unexpected death, John reconciled with his Three's Company co-star, Suzanne Somers, ending their 20-year estrangement.

He is buried at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California (actually borders Glendale and Griffith Park). Lot 1622 Court of Liberty near Stan Laurel's gravesite.

Nearly a year after his untimely death, John Ritter as his character, Paul Hennessy, on the hit series 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter (2002), was ranked #48 on TV Guide's list of the 50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time (20 June 2004 issue).

John has four children: Jason Ritter(born February 17, 1980), Carly Ritter (born March 1, 1982), Tyler Ritter (born 1984) and Stella Ritter (born September 11, 1998).Marriages: Amy Yasbeck (18 September 1999 -untill his death on September 11th 2003) 1 child Nancy Morgan (16 October 1977 - September 1996) (divorced) 3 children

John died in Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, California, the same hospital he was born in.

One of John's last public appearances was at Disney's Prime Time Weekend at Disney's California Adventure Park, four days before his death.

He was rehearsing lines with actor Henry Winkler when he collapsed and died soon afterwards.

In 1967, college student John was one of three bachelors hidden from view during the questioning period in an episode of The Dating Game. When the bachelorette asked him, "If we were to be married, what sort of unusual wedding could you dream up?", John's date-winning answer was: "We would drain out Lake Michigan and have Butterscotch Ripple dropped from airplanes on our heads."

Height: 6' 1" (1.85 m)

John died on September 11, 2003, the same day as his daughter, Stella's fifth birthday. It was also a day before his wife's birthday and six days before his fifty-fifth birthday and a week before their fourth wedding anniversary.