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Ritter would have turned 55 next week.
(CNN) -- Actor and comedian John Ritter has died unexpectedly after he was rushed to the hospital for a "dissection of the aorta," his publicist Lisa Kasteler told CNN. (http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/12/ritter.obit/index.html)
The son of a legendary country singing musician/actor (Tex) and his wife (Dorothy), Jonathan Southworth Ritter was born in Burbank, Cal., on September 17, 1948. His older brother, Tom, became a lawyer, but John was destined to follow in his father's footsteps. In 1977, he and his brother emceed the Annual United Cerebral Palsy Telethon (a neurological condition particularly close to their hearts because of Tom's triumph over it) and racked up millions of dollars for the cause. John was enrolled at Hollywood High School, where he was a student body president, and later attended the University of Southern California, where he majored in Psychology and minored in Architecture. After a couple of years, he was induced to join an acting class taught by Nina Foch. He changed his major to Theater Arts, graduating in 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drama. In addition to Nina Foch, 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 in Germany. His father was entertaining troops in Germany at the same time that his son was performing at an air base there. Unfortunately, John's father passed away in 1973, before his son achieved the celebrity status that arrived with his second series, Three's Company (1977).
In March 2001 viewers watching reruns of the series on Nick at Nite reported that in one episode John Ritter's genitals could be briefly seen slipping out of his blue boxers when his character throws himself on bed. Nickelodeon confirmed this goof and announced that the scene would be edited out of all future airings of the unnamed episode.
:yabbse-cry: :yabbse-cry: :yabbse-cry:
So shockingly sad. I grew up watching "Three's Company," but was really glad that Ritter grew as a actor and did memorable roles in "It" and "Sling Blade". It'll be sad a moment when seeing him in "Bad Santa" now. R.I.P.
the latest thing i'm forced to remember him by is a conan interview he did where he talked about a testicle of his that was shown briefly during an episode of three's company and how the execs sent him a tape of it or something. weird interview but funny. poor john. i hope you're telling fucked up jokes like that where ever you are right now.
I liked John Ritter. A lot. Three's Company was one of my fav shows when I was a kid. This new one of his, while not being great, was at least gonna do well for him. This is a fucking sad day.
RIP John.
As a note, at least he got to be in a Scorsese movie.... in one of the clips DeNiro watches in the theatre in Cape Fear.
yeah i used to watch threes company re-runs all the time. i saw that conan too. isnt his show 8 simple rules like a big hit? what are they gonna do?
im so sad right now :(
three's company was a staple of my childhood... and the problem child flicks were good in a "theyre-so-bad-theyre-good" way... :oops: :cry: :cry: :cry:
Quote from: Cinephilethe latest thing i'm forced to remember him by is a conan interview he did where he talked about a testicle of his that was shown briefly during an episode of three's company and how the execs sent him a tape of it or something. weird interview but funny. poor john. i hope you're telling fucked up jokes like that where ever you are right now.
Yeah, I saw that too...it was hilarious.
Apparently someone was taping all the shows, and decided to go through one scene frame by frame. In the scene, Jack is wearing boxers, and he has to do a little jump towards the camera before doing one of his pratfalls.
Well, during a few of the frames, one of John's family jewels makes a
brief appearence. The man then called Nick', and they decide to edit those frames out of the next showings of the episode.
John's publicist was asked to have John comment on the whole thing, and in John's letter to the press, he came up with a compromise.
John wrote, approximately, "I think that Nick @ Night should show the unedited version some nights, and the edited version other nights, because...'hey, sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don't'."
RIP John
I can't believe he's dead. I just can't. No words to desribe how I feel about this.
i can't believe it!
i feel so sad now :cry: :cry:
my grandmother was her fan, she'd feel so sad if i tell her
my mother used to be her fan too
oh god, i feel so sad :(
Quote from: Vile5i can't believe it!
i feel so sad now :cry: :cry:
my grandmother was her fan, she'd feel so sad if i tell her
my mother used to be her fan too
oh god, i feel so sad :(
:shock:
Roger Ebert in his review of Sling Blade:
"One of the many pleasures of the movie is John Ritter's performance as Vaughan; the character has a complexity and sensitivity that seem to have come right out of his small-town time and place."
Ritter could act, which is something that some sitcom stars just never get props for.
Too bad there weren't more little gems like his role in Sling Blade that we could enjoy.
R.I.P, John, and watch out for that couch in the great beyond...
i also rather enjoyed his performance in Tadpole
John Ritter dying kinda scares me, considering he's only two years older than my dad o.O
This is shocking, when i was younger i watched threes company, and never really thought he was talented but i liked him because he seemed like a nice guy..... its sad when somebody so young dies, im not so sad about Cash because I expected it, and this morning i wasnt surprised at all, it seems kind of cool of him in a way, like he died of a broken heart. So i expected him to die soon, for JR i just expected his career to die soon..
I wonder how they will deal with this on 8 Simple Rules as a way of ending the series, kind of like on News Radio when PH died, but I guess this is the end for 8SR because its not an ensemble like News Radio, JR was the star, which was probably proportional to how much it sucked, but nonetheless this is really sad and I liked John Ritter a lot....
I guess this kind of kills my hopes for a Problem Child prequel....
btw, did you know somebody actually directed Problem Child!?
Quote from: BrainSushiJohn Ritter dying kinda scares me, considering he's only two years older than my dad o.O
Yeah my dad too, and my grandpa died of a heart condition just like Ritter's. Sad sad day...
IM fucking i cant.............what the fuck ??????????? why
he was my childhood , i lost jack tripper we all grew up on that show and still watch it on nick at night ( tacky to say this but could this be yet another threes company esc misunderstanding like john went and died his hair and don knotts only heard half of the sentence from joyce dewitt, while eves dropping while fixing a sink)
and me and my girlfriend watch 8 simple rules just as fun harmless kick ya know
what the fuck................ ?????????
johhny cash has been a hero of mine but he died a beautiful death months after his muse left him
wholly shit 2003 is the worst celeb death year ever and were not done yet
I am so saddened by all of this. I really enjoyed him in 8 Simple Rules and he was wonderful in Slingblade. But more importantly, he did seem like a genuinely wonderful guy who will be sorely missed.
God bless his family and friends.
Truely a sad day for everyone. :cry:
Quote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalonesIM fucking i cant.............what the fuck ??????????? why
Quote from: tremoloslothQuote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalonesIM fucking i cant.............what the fuck ??????????? why
thats how i felt like wow weird what the fuck this is wrong
That's exactly how I felt too
Quote from: tremoloslothThat's exactly how I felt too
Ohh i thought this was some new bit of yours just quoting people im sorry
yeah wow why ?????? he was a good guy and fucking jack tripper i have both threes companya nd 8 simple rules on my tivo and now i will feel sad
fuck this life is very short and theirs no .......... :: relizes where this s going and resists urge to break out into " we can work it out" by the beatles::
ohh man i kid and im sad , thats life you laugh you cry but ritter was one of the ebst physical comedians of his time and never got credit for it
thats why threes company can play anywhere in the world ( and does) and people laugh just the looks on his face and the falls he would take and the crazy silent movie era stunts he did
oh course the dirty double meaning jokes were great too like when mister roper would walk near the bathroom and hear " bend over crissy and let me stick it in" " no its too big jack it wont fit "
the man was greatness now that i think about it
Come and knock on Heaven's Door John
They've been waiting for you
ABC: THE SHOW WILL GO ON
Conceived as a light-hearted comedy about a father raising two high school-aged girls, ABC's "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter" is about to evolve.
"8 Simple Rules"-- and its viewers -- will now be forced to grow up, as the show tackles a subject normally confined to hourlong dramas: the death of a parent.
The necessary revamp comes as ABC and Touchstone execs announced Tuesday that the show -- albeit, a very different one -- will go on. Writers for "8 Simple Rules" are huddling this week to figure out how to handle the death of star John Ritter.
That includes exploring the passing of Ritter's character, Paul Hennessy, and the effect it has on the show's on-screen family.
"No question this show is now being turned 40 degrees to the right," said ABC Entertainment TV Group chairman Lloyd Braun. "We are going to be doing something here that we recognize is uncharted territory. I'm not sitting here saying we have all the answers. But this is the best thing for the show."
As it stands now, ABC will go forward with airing the three episodes of "8 Simple Rules" that Ritter had already taped, starting with the season premiere Tuesday. Introductions by members of the show's cast will be wrapped around each episode.
The series will then go into repeats, as production slowly resumes on new episodes. The show's fourth seg, which will revolve around the initial shock and loss of Ritter/Hennessy, will likely air in November.
"We're not recasting John, we're playing out the situation as real life has interceded," Braun said.
"8 Simple Rules" had faced an uncertain future following Ritter's death, from a heart condition, on Thursday. Braun and ABC Entertainment prexy Susan Lyne said they first considered halting the show altogether.
"That was our initial instinct, because John is clearly irreplacable," Lyne said. "But the more we talked about it, the more we saw the impact of his death not just in our family, but across the country, and felt there was another way to go here, that there was an opportunity to do something maybe that would break out."
"8 Simple Rules" is also a key property for the net and studio. Not only is it one of ABC's top-rated laffers, but it also commands some of the net's best sitcom ad rates. And while the net could have replaced the show with repeats or a comedy from another night, its absence would have been felt.
Braun, Lyne and Touchstone TV prexy Steve McPherson said they consulted with Ritter's wife, actress Amy Yasbeck, as well as the show's cast and exec producers (Tracy Gamble, Flody Suarez, Tom Shadyac and Michael Bostick) before ultimately deciding to continue.
The execs said the cast and crew will likely use the show's return as a catharsis, to work through the loss of Ritter. ABC also released a statement from Yasbeck, who gave her blessing to the relaunch of "8 Simple Rules."
"John always dealt with anything that life threw at him with humor," she said. "He felt so lucky to be working with such wonderful people every day. They all had such a warm friendship, and I know John would want his friends to be able to continue doing what they love."
Still, the show now faces a tough task: How to balance comedy with an honest portrayal of a family tragedy --something the show, created by Gamble and based on W. Bruce Cameron's book of the same name, wasn't developed to do.
In the history of primetime TV, few shows have had to cope with the loss of a lead character. And none have found a way to make it work.
Series like "Cheers," "The Sopranos" and "The District" have been able to absorb the void when a supporting actor or actress died. But shows that attempted to move on when their primary star died -- Redd Foxx on "The Royal Family," or Freddie Prinze on "Chico and the Man" -- couldn't survive such a huge blow.
"There aren't many examples where it's been tried, and fortunately it's not something that's happened very often," Braun said. "We'll try to do the best we can given our best judgment. We certainly can't point to precedent in past shows that support this decision. I do believe we'll put a powerful TV show on the air, and it will be a show we're proud to put on the air."
In the process, series co-star Katey Sagal, who plays matriarch Cate Hennessy, will now be required to carry much more of the show's weight -- as will Kaley Cuoco, Amy Davidson and Martin Spanjers, who play the Hennessy children.
"While no question John was the central figure of the show, we have some fantastic actors around him," Braun said. "Katey obviously being one of them, she is more than capable of taking on a greater role in the show. It will undoubtedly be more of an ensemble comedy now. I'd say that's the biggest change."
The execs said it was too soon to determine the show's storylines, including what characters might be added to the show to fill Ritter's absence, and whether name stars will join the show. Contrary to rumor, Henry Winkler -- who had been slated to guest star in the show's scrapped fourth episode -- has not been approached, they said.
Net and studio will be walking a tightrope in the coming months as they look to relaunch the show without appearing too crass. First up: ABC unleashed new promos Tuesday night, during the net's special tribute to Ritter, to promote the show's premiere in what execs hoped was a tasteful way.
Meanwhile, there are no plans to change the show's full title, despite its obvious reference to Ritter's character. And even though the show has dramatically changed, McPherson said he believed the studio would still be able to sell future episodes alongside Ritter's episodes when it comes time to sell "8 Simple Rules" into syndication.
"This will not be the end of one show and the beginning of another," he said.
Braun, Lyne and McPherson said they're also not sure how long the "8 Simple Rules" storylines will revolve around a family in mourning.
"This kind of thing hits real families, it hit the Ritter family," Braun said. "But as it feels right and organic, comedy will be reintroduced into this show." (As reported by VARIETY)
Quote from: Duck Sauce
btw, did you know somebody actually directed Problem Child!?
yeah the same guy who directed big daddy and happy gilmore. isn't that odd?
I MISS JOHN RITTER! He was my hero!
~*John*~ :cry:
Jeeze.. John Ritter was the best.. not to mention his son is hot in FREDDY vs JASON.. i felt like dying wen i heard the news.. :cry: i was just dumbfounded.. i guess... :shock:
problem child 2 was a staple of my childhood. i think i re-watched the cockroack-in-the-food scene an infinite amount of times. that was probably one of the first 5 non-disney movies i ever watched. "It" with ritter was also a movie that deeply affected me as a child.
i was going through cvs today and noticed the cover of mad magazine, proudly proclaiming it had made a spoof of 8 Simple Rules. i looked at it saying "this must be an old issue" but finding oct, 2003 on there, i realized it wasn't. i opened it up and the first joke has ritter saying something like "i'm back on tv, but now i'm older, pudgier, and even cushier than before." that was really fucked up and it made me pissed off. i hope that issue had hit stands before his death and not after, when they had a chance to recall it. i don't know, it got me all riled up.
Quote from: mogwaiproblem child 1 and 2. :(
I loved those films. That kid made my day!
From Jam! (Spoilers)
Sitcom says goodbye to John Ritter
Tonight's hour-long episode of 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter (CTV and ABC, 8 p.m.) gets off to a typical sitcom start. Kids are bickering, the studio audience is chuckling and mom's in the kitchen.
"Your dad will be home with the milk in a minute," Cate (Katey Sagal) tells her three warring kids. The phone rings, but we already know what happens. John Ritter is not coming home anymore.
His character, Paul, has a heart attack and dies at the grocery store. Ritter collapsed on the set of his series less than two months ago. He was 54.
The other actors and producers (and especially hit-starved ABC) all decided that the show must go on. Last month, Ritter's final episode drew 17.72 million U.S. viewers, making it one of the top-rated shows on TV.
Tonight's tender episode serves as a bittersweet bridge between what was a broad comedy based largely on Ritter's charismatic appeal and a story about a single mom and her multi-generational clan.
After the first commercial break, the tone completely changes. Gone is the familiar sitcom laughter. The kids and mom are in shock, with older daughter Bridget (Kaley Cuoco) feeling all the guilt from her last words to her father: "I hate you."
Enter Suzanne Pleshette and James Garner, two of the most reassuring people on the face of the earth. The old TV pros play Cate's separated parents, brought together at their daughter and grandchildren's hour of need.
The producers wisely play much of what follows straight. There are some teary -- and awkward -- moments at the funeral parlor. Larry Miller aces a difficult bit as The Guy Who Says The Wrong Thing -- then pulls it out at the end. John Ratzenberger and Patrick Warburton find the comedy moments that will resonate with anyone who has stifled a laugh at a funeral parlor.
Warburton, who plays Ritter's newspaper boss, mentions something to Cate about retrieving his last column. By the end of the episode, it is found, and, well, keep the Kleenex box handy.
The episode is filled with special moments; life lessons from grandfathers and grandsons, mothers and daughters. The sadness of an empty room and an empty pitcher of milk, of shoes left on the stairs.
Cate asks why God would let this happen. "We live under the impression that we get what we deserve," says Garner.
The final effect is a big, fat, group hug for all of Ritter's fans to share. There are some indications that the show could go on, especially in the scenes between crotchety-but-lovable Garner and the Hennessy's youngest, Rory (Martin Spanjers). Sagal shows she can handle drama even better than comedy.
But, as her character Cate wistfully says, "somebody's going to have to take up the cornball slack around here." Amen
http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/nov4_8rules-sun.html
Mark my words: This show will be canceled within 6 months (ie. it will NOT be renewed for another season).
Quote from: TheVoiceOfNickMark my words: This show will be canceled within 6 months (ie. it will NOT be renewed for another season).
id like to join that bandwagon