John Ritter

John Ritter is an American TV and film actor best known for his role in the iconic 80s series, "Three's Company."
Jonathan Southworth Ritter was born in Burbank, California, on September 17, 1948, the son of legendary country singer/actor Tex Ritter and his wife, actress Dorothy Fay. The couple had married in 1941 and had their first child, Tom Ritter, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. John enrolled at Hollywood High School where he was student body president.
After graduation from high school, he attended the University of Southern California where he majored in psychology and minored in architecture. His first appearance on TV was in 1966 as a contestant on "The Dating Game" in 1965, where he won a vacation to Lake Havasu, Arizona. After making his very first cameo appearance, he was induced to join an acting class taught by Nina Foch. He eventually changed his major to Theater Arts, graduating in 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drama. He also studied acting with Stella Adler at the Harvey Lembeck Comedy Workshop. Between 1968 and 1969, he appeared in a series of stage plays in England, Scotland, Holland and Germany.
His first starring role was in 1970 playing a campus revolutionary in "Dan August" with Burt Reynolds and Norman Fell, who later starred with him on "Three's Company." He made several appearances as Reverend Matthew Fordwick on "The Waltons (1972). His later appeareances included "Medical Center," "M*A*S*H," "The Bob Newhart Show," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Kojak," "Rhoda" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." (1970).
In 1975, Ritter was among fifty actors, included Billy Crystal from the TV series "Soap," to audition for the TV serires, "Three's Company," based on a British sitcom, "Man About the House." The series became a huge success due to his talent for slapstick and made him an international star. A ratings hit, it lasted for seven years amid massive cast changes and lawsuits regarding a pay raise demand by co-star, Suzanne Somers. In 1980, when the series was sold into syndication and became a ratings phenomenon, he won a Golden Globe in 1983 for Best Performance by an Actor after being nominated twice for Best TV Actor in a Musical-Comedy Series and later won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor In a Comedy Series after being nominated twice. When the serires ended after flagging ratings, it was followed by the spin-off series, "Three's A Crowd," but without the premise of the original series, it ended after one season.
After "Three's Company," Ritter's career flondered through a series of mediocre roles. Before "Three's Company," he had starred in the films "Nickelodeon," "Breakfast in Bed" with his close friend, Jenny Sullivan and "Americathon." In 1977, he and his brother emceed the Annual United Cerebral Palsy Telethon which he continued to support for over fifteen years. Following "Three's Company," he made the movies, "Hero at Large," "They All Laughed" and "Flight of the Dragons." In 1983, he returned to TV in the 1987 comedy/drama, "Hooperman" for which he was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe in 1988 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He also won a People's Choice Award.
Ritter continued doing more films such as "Skin Deep" in 1989 and the "Problem Child" movies. He also starred in "Noises Off..." and "Stay Tuned" with Pam Dawber before returning to another TV in another sitcom called "Hearts Afire" with Markie Post. The show proved to have strong well-written scripts but failed to reach a massive audience and was cancelled in 1995. In 1990, he had dramatic roles in the TV mini-series, "Stephen King's It" and "The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story." He also starred in "North," "Sling Blade" and provided the voice in "Clifford the Big Red Dog." He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award four times in a row, totaling seven Emmy nominations in his 35-year career. In 1999, he was also nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for a role in a 1997 episode of "Ally McBeal."
Ritter landed his last television role in the 2002 TV series, "8 Simple Rules" with Kaley Cuoco, based on the popular book. The show was a ratings winner in its first season and won a People's Choice Award for Best New Comedy and also won for Favorite Comedy Series by the Family Awards. While working on "8 Simple Rules," he also starred in his second-to-last film, "Manhood." In 2003, he felt ill while rehearsing on the set of "eight Simple Rules" and was taken across the street to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California where he was initially treated for a heart attack. He soon died from an undiagnosed aortic dissection, a tear in the wall of the aorta. He underwent surgery and died on September 11, 2003, just six days shy of his 55th birthday, survived by his wife and "Problem Child" co-star Amy Yasbeck, his ex-wife Nancy Morgan and four children. His son, Jason Ritter is also an accomplished actor having starred in the cult horror film "Freddy vs. Jason" and going on to appear in "Raise Your Voice" and "Happy Endings." He also portrayed Jeb Bush in the Oliver Stone film "W."