Post by Laura on Sept 13, 2003 13:27:29 GMT -5
Sitcom Star John Ritter Collapses on Set, Dies
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030912/us_nm/people_ritter_dc_9
By Peter Henderson
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Emmy award-winning actor John
Ritter, who gained fame playing bumbling and lovable characters
in a pair of television comedies decades apart, has died
suddenly due to a previously undetected arterial problem, his
representatives said on Friday.
Ritter, who was 54, collapsed on Thursday evening while
filming "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," the
ABC television comedy which had reinvigorated his career and
was a centerpiece of the network's upcoming fall season.
The former star of "Three's Company" was taken to
Providence St. Joseph hospital in Burbank, California, across from
the studio where he had been working.
Surgeons at the hospital were unable to save him, and he
died from a "dissection of the aorta," which results from an
unrecognized flaw in a main artery from the heart, his
publicists, Wolf-Kasteler & Associates Public Relations, said.
Ritter was best known for his portrayal of Jack Tripper in
the 1970s situation comedy "Three's Company," which won him
Emmy, Golden Globe and People's Choice awards.
A prolific actor, Ritter recently reconnected with
television audiences as the star of "8 Simple Rules."
Ritter played Paul Hennessy in the family comedy about a
father dealing with his precocious daughters which was one of
the Walt Disney Co.-owned network's hits in the 2002
season.
"All of us at ABC, Touchstone Television and The Walt
Disney Company are shocked and heartbroken at the terrible news
of John's passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with his
wife and children at this very difficult time," ABC said in a
statement.
Born into a Hollywood family, John Ritter was the son of
country singer and actor Tex Ritter and graduated from
Hollywood High School, where he was student body president.
He graduated from the University of Southern California
with a degree in drama and went on to act in film, television and on the stage.
He is survived by his wife, Amy Yasbeck and their daughter, Stella and three children, Carly, Tyler and Jason, from his first marriage to Nancy Morgan.
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030912/us_nm/people_ritter_dc_9
By Peter Henderson
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Emmy award-winning actor John
Ritter, who gained fame playing bumbling and lovable characters
in a pair of television comedies decades apart, has died
suddenly due to a previously undetected arterial problem, his
representatives said on Friday.
Ritter, who was 54, collapsed on Thursday evening while
filming "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," the
ABC television comedy which had reinvigorated his career and
was a centerpiece of the network's upcoming fall season.
The former star of "Three's Company" was taken to
Providence St. Joseph hospital in Burbank, California, across from
the studio where he had been working.
Surgeons at the hospital were unable to save him, and he
died from a "dissection of the aorta," which results from an
unrecognized flaw in a main artery from the heart, his
publicists, Wolf-Kasteler & Associates Public Relations, said.
Ritter was best known for his portrayal of Jack Tripper in
the 1970s situation comedy "Three's Company," which won him
Emmy, Golden Globe and People's Choice awards.
A prolific actor, Ritter recently reconnected with
television audiences as the star of "8 Simple Rules."
Ritter played Paul Hennessy in the family comedy about a
father dealing with his precocious daughters which was one of
the Walt Disney Co.-owned network's hits in the 2002
season.
"All of us at ABC, Touchstone Television and The Walt
Disney Company are shocked and heartbroken at the terrible news
of John's passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with his
wife and children at this very difficult time," ABC said in a
statement.
Born into a Hollywood family, John Ritter was the son of
country singer and actor Tex Ritter and graduated from
Hollywood High School, where he was student body president.
He graduated from the University of Southern California
with a degree in drama and went on to act in film, television and on the stage.
He is survived by his wife, Amy Yasbeck and their daughter, Stella and three children, Carly, Tyler and Jason, from his first marriage to Nancy Morgan.