Mandatory Credit: Photo by ABC/Shutterstock (14503004a)
Suzanne Somers, John Ritter, Norman Fell, Joyce DeWitt, “Three’s Company” circa (1977). Photo credit: ABC
Suzanne Somers, John Ritter, Norman Fell, Joyce DeWitt
For eight seasons, Three’s Company was one of the top-rated comedies on American television, and John Ritter was its beating heart. Almost five decades later, the man who played his best friend on the show has shared what he believes could have saved him.
In short
- Three’s Company premiered on ABC on March 15, 1977, and ran for 172 episodes until 1984.
- At an anniversary reading in New York on November 2, Richard Kline, 82, said Ritter “would still be with us” with today’s knowledge.
- Ritter died in September 2003, at 54, of a thoracic aortic dissection.
The show that made him a star
Three’s Company premiered on ABC on March 15, 1977, and ran for eight seasons and 172 episodes, until September 1984, according to Wikipedia. Ritter played Jack Tripper, the culinary student sharing an apartment with two women, and he appeared in every single episode. The sitcom reached No. 1 in the ratings for the first time with an episode that aired on February 14, 1978, and spent two seasons ranked second among all shows. Kline played Larry Dallas, Jack’s neighbor and best friend, first as a recurring character and then as a main cast member.
‘My dear departed friend John’
On Monday, November 2, fans gathered in New York City for a staged reading celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary, presented by The John Ritter Foundation, as Yahoo Entertainment reports. Speaking there, Kline did not hide his emotion.
“Had we had this kind of knowledge in 2003, my dear departed friend John would still be with us,” he said.
What happened in 2003
Ritter died in September 2003 at 54 from a thoracic aortic dissection, a tear in the wall of the body’s main artery. His widow, actress Amy Yasbeck, has said the condition went undiagnosed and was then misdiagnosed in the emergency room. Since then, she has turned the loss into a cause through The John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health, dedicated to raising awareness of aortic disease.
That is the knowledge Kline was talking about: a better understanding of a condition that can be mistaken for something less serious.
More than two decades after his death, Ritter’s name still fills a room. The New York reading was organized by the foundation that carries his name, a sign of how closely his legacy and his family’s health message are now linked.
A cast that never stopped honoring him
Nostalgia for the great TV families of the ’70s and ’80s is clearly alive, from the Hart to Hart stars to the original Charlie’s Angels. For Three’s Company, every reunion carries the same absence, and the same affection for the actor who made Jack Tripper unforgettable.
The limit
Kline’s words are a personal belief shared by a grieving friend, not a medical finding. Anyone with concerns about aortic health should talk to a doctor.
The bottom line
Almost 50 years after Three’s Company first aired, John Ritter is still the friend his co-stars talk about first, and his story is still helping others.
