[Deathwatch] John Ritter, actor, 54

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Sitcom Star John Ritter Collapses on Set, Dies
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.