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John Ritter, star of "Three's Company," dies of heart problem John Ritter, whose portrayal of the bumbling but lovable Jack Tripper helped make the madcap comedy series "Three's Company" a smash hit in the 1970s, has died of a heart problem, his publicist said today. He was 54.
Ritter fell ill Thursday on the set of his ABC sitcom "8 Simple Rules ... For Dating My Teenage Daughter," said Susan Wilcox, his assistant of 22 years.
This is not turning out to be a good day...
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Yanno, talk about a guy who lived a life, though. His father was a famous movie cowboy, but John himself went on to become a household name/face in his own right.
While Three's Company was his big hit (for TV), I really liked his show in the '90s, Hearts Afire.
When you look at his work, he borrowed a lot from early TV comedians like Dick van Dyke, but added his own flair and managed to stay current through what, three decades? Not too shabby.
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I thought that was a dream... Damn you, radio! Being on while I'm asleep. ;_; Poor guy. What a way to go...
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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You know, I had THE BIGGEST crush on John Ritter as a kid when he was on Three's Company. He was cute and had great comedic timing. What's not to love?
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I was really surprised by this one, and quite saddened at the same time. I have quite fond memories of syndicated reruns of "Three's Company" and always thought he had great comedic delivery. And while it is always hard to tell, he really seemed like a very genuine and kind person, one of those "celebrities" you feel like you can actually like.
I also enjoyed "8 Simple Rules" both because of its family frienly wit, and as the father of 2 daughters who I am sure will be at that stage before I know it.
He will be missed in our house. (Wonders what will happen to Clifford)
Posts: 240 | Registered: Jun 2003
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Actually, he did a really good movie called, I think, The Man Who Loved Women. There is a take-off in it of the light saber bit in Star Wars that is hilarious.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Man, I have absolutely no recollection of what that movie was even about, but I remember that scene. Screening night was hoot for that. We literally had people rolling of the floor.
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Man. He was just at Disneyland the same day we were for the ABC Prime Time Weekend thingy. Freaky.
quote:And while it is always hard to tell, he really seemed like a very genuine and kind person, one of those "celebrities" you feel like you can actually like.
Absolutely. We will mourn Clifford the Dog as well.
I actually didn't think he was a brilliant comic, but he came off as a very warm and nice person. It's actually a compliment, in a very backhanded way: I don't think he was a good enough actor to possibly have been faking. I think he was genuine.
He also had a movie, with Michal McKeon (sp?) as the devil, kind of like a kid-friendly Amazon Women on the Moon. That was a very cute movie. Wish I could remember what it was called.
This year has been something else.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Oh man. This is just too sad. So many great entertainment people lost this year so far.
He was just restarting his TV career... again. How many people in TV have had those opportunities. Despite the fact that I didn't catch his new show often, when I did watch it I found it amusing and clever. His character's relationship with his growing teenage daughters was hilarious and heart-warming.
He will definitely be missed.
Posts: 822 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I heard he was also the voice of Clifford on PBS (the big red dog). A whole other generation of people that will miss him.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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He was also in the movie version of the play,"Noises Off". Has anyone ever seen it? I think it's hilarious. I've seen the play several times and never seen an actor play the part of Garry as well as Ritter did in the movie. What a sad day.
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I have to give my condolences to Clifford here. I liked Ritter in many of his other roles, but my first thought was that our boy will miss Clifford if he goes.
By the way, a spin-off of "Clifford", called "Clifford's Puppy Days" comes on PBS on Wednesdays. My guess is that they will just make that their prime show and let "Clifford" go.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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I doubt it. Clifford was a book series before it was a cartoon, IIRC. The books are way too popular to drop in favor of a spinoff. They seem to be at the height of their popularity, actually.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I mean the show. I think they'll make more "Clifford's Puppy Days" episodes and keep going with that. Remember, the book series had just as many "little red puppy" stories as it did "big red dog" stories. We have several.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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