Undetectable heart ailment kills TV star on set of ABC show.
Sitcom star John Ritter, 54, one of television’s most genial and successful performers, died suddenly of an undiagnosed heart ailment Thursday night in Burbank, Calif.
The prolific Ritter, best known for his Emmy-winning role as hot-to-trot bachelor Jack Tripper on the ’70s comedy “Three’s Company,” was taping an episode of his current series, “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter,” at Disney studios when he started experiencing chest pain.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where surgeons were unable to mend a “dissection of the aorta,” a previously undetected flaw in his heart. “You can’t diagnose it beforehand,” Joseph Bavaria, director of the thoracic aortic surgery program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said Friday. The ailment, a tearing of the heart’s main artery, usually has “catastrophic” consequences, and strikes about 1 in 40,000 people, usually men, he said.
Ritter is survived by his wife, Amy Yasbeck, who was his co-star in the 1990 film comedy “Problem Child; their daughter, Stella; and his children Carly, Tyler and Jason, from his earlier marriage to Nancy Morgan.
Suzanne Somers, one of Ritter’s “Three’s Company” co-stars, told Fox’s “Good Day Live,” “I learned so much from (Ritter). He was the best physical comic I’ve ever watched.”
“He was extraordinary in every aspect of his life, especially as a father,” said actor Henry Winkler, who costarred with Ritter on Broadway.
The death was “just stunning, unbelievable,” said Ritter’s longtime assistant, Susan Wilcox.
Production on “8 Rules,” one of the few bright spots on ABC’s schedule, was suspended pending a network decision.
Born Jonathan Southworth Ritter, he was the youngest son of popular singing cowboy Tex Ritter. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, the son had no interest in following in his father’s bootsteps. “I couldn’t sing at all,” Ritter said in a 1994 interview. “I was more interested in becoming a baseball player or a senator.”
After graduating from Hollywood High School, where he was class president, Ritter attended the University of Southern California, studying psychology until he got “sidetracked” into acting. He graduated with a degree in theater arts.
His first regular TV role was as the Rev. Matthew Fordwick on “The Waltons” in the early “70s. In a 1992 interview with the Toronto Star, Ritter recalled some advice he got from series star Richard Thomas: “Pace yourself. Always look for other jobs. Do different kinds of things. Aim not at being a huge, big star, but to be a long star, from juvenile to leading man to character actor.”
Apparently, he took that counsel to heart. Over the years, in addition to his abundant series work, Ritter appeared in more than 25 TV movies, 30 feature films, and 50 plays.
Despite that varied resume, he was always associated with his randy role on “Three’s Company.” The bawdy farce, reviled by critics, was a hit with viewers.
“Even the executives who were assigned to our show were embarrassed by it,” Ritter recalled recently in Variety.
The show’s popularity was usually attributed to its “jiggle factor.” But it wouldn’t have succeeded without Ritter’s winning performance as Jack Tripper.
Because of his comedic talent, Ritter’s flair for drama was often overlooked, but he consistently delivered poignant turns on the big screen (“Sling Blade,” as a closeted gay man) and small (“My Brother’s Wife,” as a bitter prodigal son). His “Sling Blade” co-star Billy Bob Thornton was a frequent acting partner. They teamed up in the early-“90s political sitcom “Hearts Afire” and the forthcoming Christmas comedy “Bad Santa.”
Ritter also made guest appearances on “Ally McBeal,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Felicity” and “Scrubs.” He was twice nominated for an Emmy for providing the voice of the title character on PBS’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog.”
Though his death came with shocking suddenness, it was entirely fitting that Ritter, one of Hollywood’s most industrious and resilient actors, should have been working on a TV soundstage until the very end.
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