Comic star John Ritter dies

Posted Friday, September 12, 2003 at 7:15 AM Central

by John Couture

Movie and TV star John Ritter collapsed Thursday on the set of his new sitcom "8 Simple Rules... For Dating My Teenage Daughter" and later died at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. The comic actor best known for his portrayal of Jack Tripper on the TV hit show "Three's Company" was 54.

The cause of death was an undiagnosed genetic abnormality in his aorta which grew into a tear. John is survived by his wife Amy Yasbeck and children Jason, Carly, Tyler and Stella.

After enjoying immediate success with "Three's Company," John stepped away from TV and tried his hand at live theater and enjoyed successful runs on Broadway for a number of plays. Eventually, John came back to TV and movies. After a few TV shows underperformed in the early to mid '90s, John turned to independent film, where he made a huge splash.

His turn in 1996's Sling Blade earned him rave reviews with critics and fans alike. John continued to appear in independent films such as Montana, Panic and Tadpole, but his real love was TV and he yearned for another hit show.

He seemed to find it with "8 Simple Rules" which debuted last season to critical and rating success and was being counted on heavily to help lead ABC out of the ratings cellar. John also reteamed with Billy Bob Thornton on the upcoming movie Bad Santa, due out this holiday season and it seemed that his career was about to take off once more.