By The Numbers: From Three's Company To Eight Simple Rules
I think one of my first crushes was on John Ritter's character Jack Tripper on "Three's Company". He was such a funny guy and seemed like a real person. That was John Ritter's gift - the ability to portray a regular guy. And, he did it well, as his many awards are a testament to. Even though it was cut short by his untimely death, his career was filled with so many shining moments. Keep reading and I'll fill you in on some of them:
John Ritter At A Glance
Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter (September 17, 1948 - September 11, 2003) was an Emmy- and Globen Globe-award winning American actor and comedian best known for his role of Jack Tripper in the sitcom "Threes Company".(...from Wikipedia)
His Life
John Ritter was the son of singing cowboy matinee star Tex Ritter and American actress Dorothy Fay. He was born in Burbank, CA, on September 17, 1948. Ritter attended Hollywood High School, where he was Student Body President. He went on to the University of Southern California, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity, majored in psychology and minored in architecture. He married twice, once to actress Nancy Morgan (married 1977-divorced 1996) and then to actress Amy Yasbeck (married 1999-his death). Yasbeck had played his wife or love interest in the first two "Problem Child" movies (interestingly, she played a different character in each movie). Yasbeck also played Ritter's wife in two sitcom appearances. In 1991, both were guest stars on "The Cosby Show", where Yasbeck played the in-labor wife of Ritter's basketball coach character. In 1996, Ritter guest starred on Yasbeck's sitcom "Wings" as the estranged husband of Yasbeck's character Casey. Ritter and Morgan had three children: Carly, Tyler, and Jason. He and Yasbeck had one daughter, Stella. John Ritter Photos Found On Flickr
as Jack Tripper
as Jack Tripper - wearing a girl's robe
as Jack Tripper sleeping in a filled bathtub
at the 40th Emmy Awards, August 1988
John Ritter presents... Hollywood High.
as Jack Tripper, with Janet and Chrissy
His Acting Career
John Ritter headlined several stage performances before he was made a star by appearing in the hit sitcom "Three's Company" in 1977, playing a single ladies' man and culinary student, Jack Tripper, who lived with two female roommates. Jack pretended to be homosexual to keep the landlords appeased over their living arrangement. The show spent several seasons at or near the top of the TV ratings in the U.S. before ending in 1984. Ritter went on for one more year on the spin-off "Three's a Crowd". The original series has been seen continuously in reruns. It is also available on DVD. During the run of the show, he appeared in the feature films "Hero At Large", "Americathon", and "They All Laughed". In 1978, he played Ringo Starr's manager on the television special "Ringo", and in 1982, played the voice of Peter Dickinson in "Flight of Dragons".Previous to his role in "Three's Company", he occasionally appeared in the first five seasons of "The Waltons" on CBS as the Reverend Matthew Fordwick (1972-1976). He appeared in the Charles Bronson film "The Stone Killer" alongside Norman Fell. He also guest starred in one episode of "The Cosby Show" in 1991.
After "Three's Company", he appeared in a number of movies, notably "Problem Child" and its first sequel, "Problem Child 2". He also appeared in the Academy Award-winning "Sling Blade" (almost unrecognizable as the discount store manager) and "Noises Off". He also starred with Markie Post in the early-1990s sitcom "Hearts Afire" and on the 1980s police comedy-drama "Hooperman".
He starred in many made-for-TV movies including It "Came From the Sky" in 1999 with Yasmine Bleeth and made guest appearances on TV shows such as "Ally McBeal", "Scrubs" and "Felicity". He also provided the voice for Clifford in the animated children's show "Clifford the Big Red Dog", a role for which he received two Emmy nominations.
Ritter played Claude Pichon in "The Dinner Party" (2000) at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway, which was written by Neil Simon. It ran for three hundred and sixty-four performances. Ritter won the Theatre World Award in 2001 for his performance in "The Dinner Party".
In 2002, he made a TV comeback with the ABC family sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter".
Ritter's final two movie roles were as the store manager in "Bad Santa" (2003), starring personal friend Billy Bob Thornton and Bernie Mac, and "Clifford's Really Big Movie".
John Ritter Movies Available From Amazon
John Ritter's Filmography
- The Barefoot Executive (1971)
- The Other (1972)
- Nickelodeon (1976)
- Americathon (1979)
- Hero at Large (1980)
- Wholly Moses (1980)
- The Comeback Kid (1980)
- They All Laughed (1981)
- Pray TV (1982)
- In Love With An Older Woman (1982)
- Sunset Limousine (1983)
- Letting Go (1985)
- A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986)
- Unnatural Causes (1987)
- Real Men (1987)
- Tricks of the Trade (1988)
- Skin Deep (1989)
- The Last Fling (1989)
- Man Of Miracles (1989)
- Problem Child (1990)
- It (1990)
- Everybody Wins (1990)
- The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story (1990)
- Problem Child 2 (1991)
- Stay Tuned (1992)
- Noises Off (1992)
- Prison for Children (1993)
- My Brother's Wife (1993)
- North (1994 in film)
- The Colony (1995)
- Mercenary (1996)
- A Child's Wish (1996)
- Nowhere (1996)
- Sling Blade (1997)
- Sink Or Swim (1997)
- A Gun, a Car, a Blonde (1997)
- Bride of Chucky (1998)
- The Million Dollar Kid (1999)
- It Came From the Sky (1999)
- Dead Husbands (1999)
- Lethal Vows (1999)
- Tripfall (2000)
- Terror Tract (2000)
- Panic (2000)
- Manhood (2002)
- Tadpole (2002)
- Bad Santa (2003) - posthumously released
- Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004) (voice) - posthumously released
John Ritter Television Episodes Available From Amazon
John Ritter's Television Series
- The Waltons (1973-1976)
- Three's Company (1977-1984)
- Ringo (1978)
- Flight of Dragons (1982) voice
- Three's a Crowd (1984-1985)
- Hooperman (1987-1989)
- Hearts Afire (1992-1995)
- Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000-2003) voice
- 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter (2002-2003)
John Ritter Videos From YouTube
Some Guest Starring Roles
- Hawaii Five-O (1971,1977)
- M*A*S*H (1973)
- Kojak (1974)
- The Bob Newhart Show (1974)
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1975)
- Rhoda (1976)
- Starsky & Hutch (1976)
- Phyllis (1976)
- The Cosby Show (1991)
- NewsRadio (1995)
- Wings (1996)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
- Ally McBeal (1998)
- Felicity (2000)
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2002)
- Scrubs (2002)
Three Reasons To Love John Ritter:
- He's got one of the best, most infectious smiles ever.
- His dad was Tex Ritter - how cool is that?
- His comic talent just got better and better.
John Ritter's Awards:
- Daytime Emmy Awards 2004 -- Nominated -- Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for: "Clifford the Big Red Dog" (voice of "Clifford") (posthumously)
- Emmy Awards 2004 -- Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for: "8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (posthumously)
- Daytime Emmy Awards 2003 -- Nominated -- Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for: "Clifford the Big Red Dog" (voice of "Clifford")
- Daytime Emmy Awards 2002 -- Nominated -- Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for: "Clifford the Big Red Dog" (voice of "Clifford")
- Daytime Emmy Awards 2001 -- Nominated -- Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for: "Clifford the Big Red Dog" (voice of "Clifford")
- Emmy Awards 1999 -- Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for: "Ally McBeal" (1997) For playing "George Madison"; episodes "It's My Party" and "Story Of Love".
- Screen Actors Guild Awards -- 1997 -- Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast for: Sling Blade (1996) Shared with: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, & Robert Duvall
- Emmy Awards 1988 -- Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for: "Hooperman"
- Golden Globes, USA 1988 -- Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical for: "Hooperman"
- Golden Globes, USA 1987 -- Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for: Unnatural Causes (1986) (TV)
- Emmy Awards 1984 -- Won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for: "Three's Company"
- Golden Globes, USA 1984 -- Won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical for: "Three's Company"
- Walk of Fame - 1983 -- Received a Star on the Walk of Fame (it's right next to his father's star)
- Emmy Awards 1981 -- Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for: "Three's Company"
- Golden Globes, USA 1980 -- Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best TV Actor - Musical/Comedy for: "Three's Company"
- Golden Globes, USA 1979 -- Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best TV Actor - Musical/Comedy for: "Three's Company"
- Emmy Awards 1978 -- Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for: "Three's Company"
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