Southward Ritter, son of country singer Tex and actress Dorthy Fay, and he was destined to follow in his parent’s footsteps. In high school he was a student body president and became the most popular student. After high school, he attended the University of Southern California. His first appearance on television was as a contestant on “The Dating Game.” He enrolled in an acting class and graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drama. Ritter picked up various acting roles during his career but one of the popular hits, “Threes Company” made it big. Ritter’s popularity rose and he won a Golden Globe in 1983 for Best Performance and a year later he won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Ritter not only did sit-coms but appeared in movies as well. He landed his last television role as Paul Hennessey in the book based show, “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.” The show won a People’s Choice Award for Best New Comedy and also won for Favorite Comedy Series. Unfortunately, during rehearsal Ritter felt ill and was immediately rushed to the hospital. He was diagnosed with an aorta dissection, a flaw of the heart. Ritter underwent surgery but died on September 11, 2003. John Ritter was an amazing comedian and actor, always dedicated to make people laugh. Rest in peace John