Alex Carson
John Ritter is an actor until his untimely death in 2003 at 54. His father is a country music singer by the name of Tex Ritter. Although both Tex and John find careers in the entertainment industry. Tex considers him acting beneath him and discourages his son from pursuing a career in the field. John persisted anyways and eventually managed to win his father’s respect before the latter’s death. They both died of the same type of heart failure. John’s widow spends years dedicating her life to finding out more about the genetic anomaly that causes their deaths. Join Facts Verse as we explore how John Ritter lost his father’s respect but managed to earn it back.
Tex Ritter was born in Texas on January 12, 1905. He becomes a famous country singer, most memorably lending his singing voice to the title of the film High Noon. Despite Tex’s high-profile in Hollywood because of his singing of the title to High Noon, he never respects actors. He appears on the Academy Awards broadcast following his High Noon gig to perform the hit song. The country singer likely thought he is better than everyone in the room.
Tex’s wife during his lifetime, and they marry-until the singer’s death in 1974. Her time is Dorothy Fay, and the two marry in June of 1941. Together, Tex and Dorothy had two children, brothers John and Tom Ritter. Of course, John Ritter is the one who went on to become the more famous of the two. John’s fame even surpassed that of his father, though John carved out his pathway in a different niche. John followed in his father’s footsteps by pursuing a career in the entertainment industry but preferred acting to singing.
According to the late John Ritter, his father thinks that acting isn’t a worthwhile pursuit for any man. However, that didn’t stop John from switching courses in his college years from psychology to dramatic arts. This switch occurred in the late 1960s, and John would slowly rise to prominence throughout the 1970s.
Some might wonder why Tex thinks the acting is so much worse than singing, and this discrepancy is never explain! It appears that Tex prefers for John to pursue a career outside of the entertainment industry, as his brother did. John’s brother, Tom, went on to become a lawyer and found much success in the field. Perhaps Tex opposes the entertainment industry and didn’t want to see John follow in his footsteps to any degree.
While we cannot deny that pursuing a career in law is a safer choice than becoming a famous Hollywood actor. Things end up turning out okay for John Ritter! John’s passion for acting, claiming that it is the second-oldest profession to man. Although John never became a highly respected dramatic actor during his lifetime, he found consistent success on dramatic television. He even appeared in a few notable films before his death in 2003 from heart failure.
During the early 1970s, John Ritter can on such notable television series as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and M*A*S*H. He receives a recurring role as the character Reverend Matthew Fordwick on the hit series The Waltons. It was this role that allowed John to win over his father’s respect before the latter’s death in 1974. Tex Ritter died of heart failure and the exact same kind that would later claim John. The specific type of heart failure will also affect John’s brother, though John’s brother will save from death by surgery.
As a religious man, Tex Ritter favors John’s performance as the character of Reverend Matthew Fordwick on The Waltons. Whether Tex moves by the performance or wants to find common ground with his son, the results are the same. John confides while his father is dying that acting is the only thing that he knows and his father accepts. John’s fame increases in the years after his father’s 1974 death, though his death from the same affliction decades later. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Several years after his father’s passing in 1974, John Ritter would receive his big break. John’s big break came in the form of his iconic role in the 1977 comedy television series Three’s Company, which cast the actor alongside fellow burgeoning star Suzanne Somers. The two would rise to immense prominence on the program, which aired on ABC. After the program’s end, the two would maintain success in the entertainment industry in one form or another. In addition to trying his hand in a few other television series during the 1980s, John also broke out into film during the 1990s with roles in such notable hits as Problem Child and Sling Blade.
John Ritter became a parent himself in 1980, having his first child with his wife, Nancy Morgan. Nancy is a fellow television actress, and she and John marry from 1977 to 1996. During their nearly two-decade marriage, the two had three children together. John made a pact to be more supportive to his children than his father had been to him, no matter what his children wanted to be when they grew up!
John and Nancy’s first child is Jason. Jason follows by sister Carly in 1982, and my brother Tyler in 1985. After John and Nancy’s divorce in 1996, John would go on to remarry. John’s second wife was a woman by the name of Amy Yasbeck, and she and John had a daughter together named Stella. John and Amy got marry in 1999, and John stepped into the new millennium optimistic about the future. This optimism would pay off, as the actor was given a role in 2002 that would rocket him back into the spotlight. Sadly, he would die only a year later.
Stella was born on September 11, 1998, and her parents didn’t officially tie the knot until the following year. In 2002, John’s career was given an incredible boost when he was given the lead role on the show 8 Simple Rules. After decades of being in the background, John was once again at the forefront as a major television star. Sadly, John wouldn’t make it through the show’s second season. On Stella’s fifth birthday, John began feeling nauseous during the filming of 8 Simple Rules and had to be rushed to the hospital. He died that day.
As Amy remembers it, John felt terrible that he was ruining his last daughter’s fifth birthday. However, something much worse ended up happening than the mere spoiling of a birthday party. Amy and John used sign language to express their love to one another as John was being brought into his hospital room. At the time, it didn’t seem like anything too urgent was occurring. However, Amy has recalled that she later noticed doctors appearing increasingly tense and heard an emergency code called over the speaker.
Their sign language expressions of love to one another ended up being the last moment that John Ritter and his second wife ever shared. John ended up dying of the same type of heart failure as his father, which apparently caught the doctors by surprise before they could do anything. John’s brother, Tom, had also suffered the same type of heart failure but had been saved by emergency surgery. This led John’s family to believe that the doctors had failed the late actor, and they subsequently formed a suit against them.
The wrongful death suit that John’s family formed against the doctors that presided over him at the time of his death alleged that they failed to perform a scan that could’ve resulted in emergency surgery that would’ve saved his life. In addition to monetary compensations for emotional damages, the suit also asked for compensation for the money that John would’ve made from the continued success of 8 Simple Rules. The suit didn’t end up going anywhere, with the cause of John’s death being attributed more to the genetic anomaly that had afflicted him and his brother and father than any malpractice of the doctors presiding over him.
Since her late husband’s death, Amy Yasbeck has advocated for more research into the genetic anomaly that led to his passing. Perhaps she is worried that the same genetic anomaly will also affect daughter Stella, who has now undergone gender affirmation surgery and is now known as Noah. All four of John Ritter’s children are still with us, and Tom Ritter is still around, as well! Amy truly believes that if the doctors had managed to perform the right test on her late husband, he would still be with us today.
Although country singer Tex Ritter never fully approved of his son John getting into acting, they ended up finding common ground in more ways than one! Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that John Ritter’s father was a country singer by the name of Tex Ritter, and did you know that they both died from the same type of heart failure? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
