John Ritter

Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. The son of the late singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason Ritter and Tyler Ritter, he was best known for his role as Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom Three's Company (1977–84), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award in 1984. He briefly reprised the role on the spin-off Three's a Crowd, which aired for one season. Ritter appeared in over one hundred films and television series combined and performed on Broadway, with notable roles in It (1990), Problem Child (1990), Problem Child 2 (1991), and Bad Santa in 2003 (his final live action film which was dedicated to his memory). In 2002, Don Knotts called Ritter the "greatest physical comedian on the planet". His final roles include voicing the title character on the PBS children's program Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000–03), for which he received four Daytime Emmy Award nominations, and as Paul Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules (2002–03). Ritter experienced discomfort during a rehearsal for the latter on the afternoon of September 11, 2003 and died later that evening of an aortic dissection at the age of 54. His final film was Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004), an animated film based off the television series, which was released posthumously.