John Ritter

Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American comedian and actor. He was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is best known for playing Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom ''Three's Company'' (1977–1984), and received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the role in 1984. Ritter briefly reprised the role on the spin-off ''Three's a Crowd'', which aired for one season, producing 22 episodes before its cancellation in 1985.

He appeared in over 100 films and television series combined and performed on Broadway, with roles including adult Ben Hanscom in ''It'' (1990), ''Problem Child'' (1990), ''Problem Child 2'' (1991), a dramatic turn in ''Sling Blade'' (1996), and ''Bad Santa'' in 2003 (his final live action film, which was dedicated to his memory). In 2002, Don Knotts called Ritter the "greatest physical comedian on the planet". His final roles include voicing the title character on the PBS children's program ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' (2000–2003), for which he received four Daytime Emmy Award nominations, and as Paul Hennessy on the ABC sitcom ''8 Simple Rules'' (2002–2003). His style of comedy is based on musical and character comedy. Provided by Wikipedia