John Ritter

Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor.

Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter.

Johnathan Southworth Ritter was born on September 17, 1948, at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California.

Ritter had a birth defect known as a coloboma in his right eye.

His father, Tex Ritter, was a singing cowboy and matinee star, and his mother, Dorothy Fay (née Southworth), was an actress.

He had an older brother, Thomas "Tom" Ritter.

Ritter attended Hollywood High School, where he was student body president.

He attended the University of Southern California and majored in psychology with plans to have a career in politics.

He later changed his major to theater arts and attended the USC School of Dramatic Arts (formerly School of Theatre).

Ritter was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at USC.

While still in college, Ritter traveled to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and West Germany to perform in plays.

Ritter graduated in 1970.

Ritter headlined several stage performances.

After his graduation from USC in 1970, his first television acting experience was as a campus revolutionary in the television series Dan August starring Burt Reynolds and future Three's Company co-star Norman Fell.

Ritter made his film debut in the 1971 Disney film The Barefoot Executive.

He made guest appearances on the television series Hawaii Five-O, M*A*S*H, and many others.

He had a recurring role as the Reverend Matthew Fordwick on the drama series The Waltons from October 1972 to December 1976.

Because he was not a weekly cast member, he had time to pursue other roles, which he did until December 1976, when he left for a starring role in the hit sitcom Three's Company (the Americanized version of the 1970s British Thames Television series Man About the House) in 1977.

He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom Three's Company (1977–1984), and received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the role in 1984.

In 1978, Ritter played Ringo Starr's manager on the television special Ringo.

In 1982, Ritter provided the voice of Peter Dickinson in the animated film The Flight of Dragons.

Ritter became a household name on Three's Company, portraying struggling culinary student Jack Tripper with two female roommates.

Ritter co-starred opposite Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers, and then later Jenilee Harrison and Priscilla Barnes.

Much of the comedy centered around Jack's pretending to be gay to keep the old-fashioned landlords appeased over the co-ed living arrangements.

The series spent several seasons near the top of the ratings in the United States before ending in 1984.

A year-long spin-off, Three's a Crowd, ensued, as the Jack Tripper character has a live-in girlfriend and runs his own bistro.

The original series has been seen continuously in reruns and is available on DVD.

During the run of Three's Company, Ritter appeared in the films Hero at Large, Americathon, and They All Laughed.

Ritter briefly reprised the role on the spin-off Three's a Crowd, which aired for one season, producing 22 episodes before its cancellation in 1985.

In 1986, he played the role of Dad in the music video for Graham Nash's song "Innocent Eyes" from the album of the same name.

Hooperman was Ritter's first regular television role after Three's Company.

Detective Harry Hooperman inherits a run-down apartment building and hires Susan Smith (Debrah Farentino) to run it.

A relationship follows, and Hooperman must juggle work, love, and the antics of Bijoux the dog.

In 1988, John was nominated for both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his work on Hooperman.

Ritter won a People's Choice Award for this role.

He appeared in over 100 films and television series combined and performed on Broadway, with roles including adult Ben Hanscom in It (1990), Problem Child (1990), Problem Child 2 (1991), a dramatic turn in Sling Blade (1996), and Bad Santa in 2003 (his final live action film, which was dedicated to his memory).

From 1992 to 1995, Ritter returned to television for three seasons as John Hartman, aide to a U.S. Senator, in Hearts Afire.

This series starred Markie Post as Georgie Anne Lahti and Billy Bob Thornton as Billy Bob Davis.

His final roles include voicing the title character on the PBS children's program Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000–2003), for which he received four Daytime Emmy Award nominations, and as Paul Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules (2002–2003).

In 2002, Don Knotts called Ritter the "greatest physical comedian on the planet".