[ << Back ]

Naked Photos of John Ritter are available at MaleStars.com. They currently feature over 65,000 Nude Pics, Biographies, Video Clips, Articles, and Movie Reviews of famous stars.

 

Related Links:
Chixinflix.com
MenInMovies.com
StarsOfHollywood.com
MaleStars.com

 

Actresses who appeared with John Ritter on screen:

Scarlett Johansson
Christina Ricci
Tara Reid
Denise Richards
Heather Graham
Katherine Heigl
Jaime Pressly
Audrey Hepburn
Traci Lords
Christina Applegate
Mena Suvari
Shannen Doherty
Neve Campbell
Jennifer Tilly
Rose McGowan
Sigourney Weaver


John Ritter
Birthday: September 17, 1948

Birth Place: Burbank, California, USA
Height: 6' 1"

Below is a complete filmography (list of movies he's appeared in) for John Ritter. If you have any corrections or additions, please email us at corrections@actorsofhollywood.com. We'd also be interested in any trivia or other information you have.

 

Biography

Best known as the loose-limbed klutz Jack Tripper from the hit ABC sitcom Three's Company, John Ritter has also had a long (if undistinguished) film career, dating back to the early '70s. Perhaps taking a cue from Robin Williams, Ritter fashioned a full beard when he put his slapstick days behind him, remaking himself as a serious dramatic actor both on television and in the movies in the 1990s. Ritter was born in Burbank, CA, on September 17, 1948, the second son of Western singing stars Tex Ritter and Dorothy Fay, whose talent for song he admits he did not inherit. Ritter was class body president at Hollywood High School before enrolling at the University of Southern California, where he majored in psychology and minored in architecture. In his third year, he decided to take a drama class taught by Nina Foch, and quickly changed his major, graduating in 1971. (He later studied with Stella Adler and the Harvey Lembeck Comedy Workshop.) His first film role was in the 1971 film The Barefoot Executive. Minor roles during the 1970s finally gave way to major success in 1977, when Ritter was cast as the pratfalling roommate of two beautiful Southern Californian women on Three's Company. The program became one of the most popular on the air, known for its farcical scenarios based on wild misunderstandings, some of which were fueled by Ritter's Jack Tripper pretending to be gay to throw off the landlord. Ritter was praised for his sharp timing and rubbery ability to bounce around the set through all variety of physical comedy. His work earned him an Emmy. Having become a major television star, Ritter enjoyed the program's success through 1985, when its spin-off (Three's a Crowd) went off the air. He worked on TV movies during the show's run, and found more TV work awaiting him upon its conclusion (the dramedy Hooperman in 1988, the comedy Hearts Afire in 1992). His familiar mug and goofball shtick earned him leads in a handful of lesser film comedies in the late '80s and early '90s, including Real Men (1987), Skin Deep (1988), Stay Tuned (1992), and two Problem Child films (1990 and 1991), on the set of which he met future wife Amy Yasbeck. Not satisfied with his comic pigeonholing, Ritter took well-received strides toward drama in the 1990s. He made a lasting impression on critics as a gay dollar-store owner in Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade (1996), as well as a psychiatrist treating a hitman in Henry Bromell's Panic (2000). Ritter has also made recurring guest appearances on the hit television programs Ally McBeal and Felicity, the latter of which cast him in the agonizing role of a frequently relapsing alcoholic father. In 2002 Ritter returned to television in his own new comedy series, 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter. Though the show proved a modest success, Ritter's sudden death due to aortic dissection in early September of 2003 left castmates and fans alike shocked and deeply saddened.

Movie Credits
Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up (2006)
[ Charles Shaughnessy ][ Shawn Pyfrom ]
Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004)
[ John Goodman ][ Wilmer Valderrama ][ Judge Reinhold ][ Ernie Hudson ][ Kel Mitchell ]
Witches of East Arlen (2003)
Bad Santa (2003)
[ Billy Bob Thornton ][ Lauren Graham ][ Bing Crosby ][ Ajay Naidu ][ Ryan Pinkston ]
Sex Ed (2003)
The Doyle Wedding (2003)
[ John Ratzenberger ][ Thad Luckinbill ]
Bake Sale (2003)
Queen Bees and King Bees (2003)
[ Patrick Warburton ][ Larry Miller ]
Manhood (2003)
[ Anthony Lapaglia ][ Thomas Gibson ][ Tracey Walter ][ Nestor Carbonell ][ Chris Mulkey ]
Tadpole (2002)
[ David Bowie ][ Robert Davi ][ Aaron Stanford ][ Ron Rifkin ][ Robert Iler ]
My Old Man (2002)
Man of the Year (2002)
[ James Wilder ]
Oops... Noel Did It Again (2001)
[ Erick Avari ]
Nuncrackers (2001)
A Perfect Match (2001)
The Storm (2001)
Kissing Mr. Covington (2000)
What Makes Bobby Run? (2000)
Terror Tract (2000)
[ Will Estes ][ Bryan Cranston ][ Carmine Giovinazzo ][ David DeLuise ][ Wade Williams ]
TripFall (2000)
[ Eric Roberts ]
Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel (2000)
Panic (2000)
[ Donald Sutherland ][ William H Macy ][ William H. Macy ][ Nick Cassavetes ][ David Dorfman ]
Lethal Vows (1999)
[ Miko Hughes ]
It Came from the Sky (1999)
[ Christopher Lloyd ][ Kevin Zegers ]
Holy Joe (1999)
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998)
[ Ron Perlman ][ Billy Zane ][ Jonathan Taylor Thomas ][ Andrew McCarthy ][ Will Patton ]
Shadow of Doubt (1998)
[ Tom Berenger ][ Craig Sheffer ][ Jeff Conaway ][ Courtney Gains ][ James Morrison ]
Chance of a Lifetime (1998)
[ David Naughton ]
Montana (1998)
[ Philip Seymour Hoffman ][ Robbie Coltrane ][ Ethan Embry ][ Stanley Tucci ][ Liam Aiken ]
Dead Husbands (1998)
The World's Greatest Magic 5 (1998)
It's My Party (1998)
Bride of Chucky (1998)
[ Brad Dourif ][ Alexis Arquette ][ Rob Zombie ][ Willie Nelson ][ Ronny Yu ]
The Son That Got Away (1997)
Hacks (1997)
[ Jason Priestley ][ Robert Patrick ][ Dave Foley ][ Scott Foley ][ Ryan O'Neal ]
A Gun, a Car, a Blonde (1997)
[ Billy Bob Thornton ]
Nowhere (1997)
[ Ryan Phillippe ][ Scott Caan ][ Marilyn Manson ][ James Duval ][ Christopher Knight ]
Dead Man's Gun (1997)
[ Kris Kristofferson ][ John Glover ][ Frank Whaley ][ Matt Frewer ]
A Child's Wish (1997)
[ Fred Henderson ]
Mercenary (1997)
[ Robert Culp ][ Martin Kove ][ Olivier Gruner ]
The Joy of Natural Childbirth (1997)
[ Lorenzo Lamas ]
Loss of Faith (1997)
[ Roddy McDowall ]
Random Acts (1996)
The World's Greatest Magic 3 (1996)
For Hope (1996)
[ Xander Berkeley ][ Henry Czerny ][ Harold Gould ]
Sling Blade (1996)
[ Billy Bob Thornton ][ Robert Duvall ][ Lucas Black ][ J.T. Walsh ][ Dwight Yoakam ]
Unforgivable (1996)
The Colony (1995)
Gramps (1995)
[ Andy Griffith ]
North (1994)
[ Bruce Willis ][ Elijah Wood ][ Dan Aykroyd ][ Julia Louis-Dreyfus ][ Jason Alexander ]
The Only Way Out (1993)
Heartbeat (1993)
Stay Tuned (1992)
[ Eugene Levy ][ Jeffrey Jones ][ Ken Kirzinger ]
Noises Off... (1992)
[ Michael Caine ][ Christopher Reeve ][ Denholm Elliott ]
Stop Me Before I... Again: Part 1 (1991)
Hello... Mali (1991)
Martus Interruptus (1991)
Say It Again, Han (1991)
Problem Child 2 (1991)
[ Jack Warden ][ Gilbert Gottfried ][ Iggy Pop ][ James Tolkan ][ Zach Grenier ]
The Summer My Father Grew Up (1991)
[ Matthew Lawrence ]
The Real Story of O Christmas Tree (1991)
[ Jason Ritter ]
Problem Child (1990)
[ Michael Richards ][ Jack Warden ][ Gilbert Gottfried ][ Dennis Dugan ]
The Dreamer of Oz (1990)
[ Jason Ritter ][ John Cameron Mitchell ]
It (1990)
[ Seth Green ][ Tim Curry ][ Stephen King ][ Jonathan Brandis ][ Tim Reid ]
My Brother's Wife (1989)
Skin Deep (1989)
[ Blake Edwards ]
Tricks of the Trade (1988)
[ Peter North ][ Armin Shimerman ][ Chris Mulkey ]
Mickey's 60th Birthday (1988)
[ Michael J. Fox ][ Cheech Marin ][ Carl Reiner ][ Peter Cullen ][ Charles Fleischer ]
Real Men (1987)
[ James Belushi ][ James LeGros ][ David R. Ellis ]
Prison for Children (1987)
[ Josh Brolin ]
The Last Fling (1987)
[ Scott Bakula ][ John Bennett Perry ]
A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986)
[ Lee Majors ][ Rene Auberjonois ][ Dan Hedaya ][ Danny Cooksey ]
Unnatural Causes (1986)
[ Mark Margolis ]
Living Seas (1986)
Letting Go (1985)
[ Keanu Reeves ]
Love Thy Neighbor (1984)
[ Lukas Haas ]
Friends and Lovers: Part 2 (1984)
[ Don Knotts ]
Cupid Works Overtime (1984)
Japan Cruise: When Worlds Collide/The Captain and the Geisha/The Lottery Winners/The Emperor's Fortune: Part 2 (1983)
[ Tony Danza ][ Ted Knight ]
Sunset Limousine (1983)
[ Martin Short ][ Paul Reiser ][ Martin Mull ]
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not (1983)
In Love with an Older Woman (1982)
[ Jeff Altman ]
Pray TV (1982)
[ Ned Beatty ]
The Flight of Dragons (1982)
[ James Earl Jones ][ Harry Morgan ]
Paradise Lost (1982)
They All Laughed (1981)
[ Frank Sinatra ][ Johnny Cash ][ Peter Bogdanovich ][ Ben Gazzara ]
Wholly Moses! (1980)
[ Richard Pryor ][ Dom DeLuise ][ Dudley Moore ][ Brion James ]
Hero at Large (1980)
[ Kevin Bacon ]
The Comeback Kid (1980)
[ Patrick Swayze ][ Doug McKeon ]
Americathon (1979)
[ George Carlin ][ Fred Willard ][ Peter Riegert ][ Harvey Korman ][ Howard Hesseman ]
Leave Yesterday Behind (1978)
[ Buddy Ebsen ]
Breakfast in Bed (1978)
Ringo (1978)
[ Vincent Price ][ Ringo Starr ]
A Oh Dale/Main Event, The/Tasteful Affair (1977)
[ Sherman Hemsley ][ Dennis Cole ]
The Best Christmas (1976)
The Cloudburst (1976)
The Wedding: Part 1 (1976)
The Wedding: Part 2 (1976)
Nickelodeon (1976)
[ Burt Reynolds ][ Ryan O'Neal ][ M. Emmet Walsh ][ Brian Keith ][ Brion James ]
Chest Pains (1975)
[ Norman Fell ]
The Night That Panicked America (1975)
[ Vic Morrow ][ Ron Rifkin ][ Tom Bosley ][ Casey Kasem ]
The Barefoot Executive: Part 1 (1973)
The Stone Killer (1973)
[ Charles Bronson ][ Martin Balsam ][ Norman Fell ]
Bachelor-at-Law (1973)
[ Craig T Nelson ][ Craig T. Nelson ][ Ron Rifkin ][ Harold Gould ]
The Other (1972)
Evil Roy Slade (1972)
[ Pat Morita ][ Mickey Rooney ][ John Astin ][ Dom DeLuise ][ Ed Begley Jr. ]
Scandalous John (1971)
[ Harry Morgan ][ Brian Keith ][ Bruce Glover ]
The Barefoot Executive (1971)
[ Kurt Russell ][ Harry Morgan ]
Two Doves and Mr. Heron (1971)
Strangers in Our Own Land (1968)
Crazy World, Crazy People (1968)

Trivia

  • Attended Hollywood High, graduating in 1966.
  • Married Amy Yasbeck in Wilmington, Ohio. The two had lived together for a couple of years. [18 September 1999]
  • Son of Tex Ritter and actress Dorothy Fay.
  • During an interview on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", Ritter claimed that he chose the name "Vaughan Cunningham" for his character in "Sling Blade" based on an in-joke with the cast of Happy Days.
  • He appeared as a contestant on The Dating Game in 1967.
  • He was a scout (but not an Eagle).
  • Studied acting with Stella Adler and Nina Foch.
  • Studied four years at the Harvey Lembeck Comedy Workshop.
  • Attended the University of Southern California, where he graduated with bachelor of fine arts in theater arts in 1971.
  • Starred with wife Amy in an episode of The Cosby Show 10 years prior to their marriage. Coincidently they played a husband and wife expecting their first child.
  • Member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
  • His talent for physical schtick was heralded by TV's top comedy icon Lucille Ball, who hosted a tribute to John's talent on "Three's Company." John later appeared in an episode of Lucille's last comedy series "Life with Lucy." In that episode, Lucy claims that during the shooting of a scene, it was the third time in her entire career that she had to yell "cut" because he broke her up laughing.
  • His father, cowboy star Tex Ritter, tried to steer him away from an acting career but lived long enough to rejoice in seeing him in a recurring role on "The Waltons," which was Tex's favorite TV program.
  • Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to that of his father.
  • Was rehearsing lines with fellow actor Henry Winkler when he collapsed and died soon afterwards.
  • One of John's last public appearances was at Disney's Prime Time Weekend at Disney's California Adventure Park, 4 days before his death.
  • Was the first guest of the Wayne Brady Show
  • Ended 20 year rift with Suzanne Somers shortly before his death.
  • Died in the same hospital he was born in.
  • His older brother, Tom, has Cerebral Palsy. He helped with the telethon in aid of the disease.
  • 4 children: Jason Ritter (born February 17, 1980), Carly Ritter (born March 1, 1982), Tyler Ritter (born 1984) and Stella Ritter (born September 11, 1998).
  • At the same time he entered Hollywood High School, he fell in love with The Beatles.
  • He beat out 50 actors, including Billy Crystal to star in "Three's Company."
  • His favorite musical group was The Beatles and he even appeared on Ringo Starr's TV special Ringo in 1978!
  • Paul Hennessy, Ritter's character on "8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (2002), was ranked #48 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].
  • Buried at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California (actually borders Glendale and Griffith Park). Lot 1622 Court of Liberty near Stan Laurel's gravesite.
  • Was nominated for an Emmy, for best actor in a comedy, for "8 Simple Rules" one year after his death, after only appearing in 3 episodes.
  • Died one day before the death of country music legend Johnny Cash. Incidentally, his father, Tex, had written several songs for Johnny during the 50s and 60s.
  • Brother of Tom Ritter
  • Ended 20 year rift with his "Three's Company" (1977) co-star Suzanne Somers shortly before his death.
  • On an episode of _"8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (2002)_ , he and the cast did a spoof of his classic TV Series, "Three's Company" (1977). In the spoof, he played Mr. Roper, Katey Sagal played Helen Roper, Kaley Cuoco and Amy Davidson played Janet and Chrissy respectively, Billy Aaron Brown played Jack and Martin Spanjers played Larry. At the end of the episode, Don Knotts who played Mr. Furley in "Three's Company," reprised his role in one short scene. It was, not surprisingly, Ritter's favorite episode.
  • In "Three's Company" (1977) and "Three's a Crowd" (1984), he played a straight man pretending to be gay. In Perceptions (2005), his son, Jason Ritter, played a gay man pretending to be straight.
  • His final film, Bad Santa (2003), was dedicated to his memory.
  • After his death, the Sept 29 issue of People Magazine featured 2 different covers - issues distributed to the central and southwest US (except Florida) showed Johnny Cash who had also recently passed away, the rest displayed a photo of John Ritter taken by veteran photojournalist Michael Germana. Appropriately, he was waving goodbye.

Naked Photos of John Ritter are available at MaleStars.com. They currently feature over 65,000 Nude Pics, Biographies, Video Clips, Articles, and Movie Reviews of famous stars.

Copyright © 2011 actorsofhollywood.com, Inc. All rights reserved.