John Ritter

Actor. A figure in television and motion pictures, he is fondly remembered for his role in the television comedy series “Three’s Company” and “8 Simple Rules for Dating my Daughter.” He received an Emmy and a Golden Globe award for his work on “Three’s Company.” The youngest son of movie and television singing cowboy actor Tex Ritter, it was natural that he would follow his father’s footsteps into show business. He graduated from Hollywood High School and studied Psychology and Architecture at the University of Southern California, when he was urged to take an acting class. He quickly changed his major to Dramatic Arts and graduated with a BA degree in Drama in 1971. During the late 1960s, he joined his father while he was entertaining United States troops in Germany. His first steady job was playing the minister in the television series “The Waltons.” He also appeared in several movies, including “Sling Blade” (1996), “It” (1990), “Noises Off” (1992), “Tadpole” (2002) and “Bad Santa” (2003).