Some charities come and go, but Amy Yasbeck (Wings), the widow of comic genius John Ritter, continues to keep her late husband’s memory alive with the John Ritter Foundation, which raises awareness of thoracic aortic disease through research, education, and advocacy.
This year’s “Evening From the Heart” Los Angeles benefit, held at the Sunset Room in Hollywood, featured a table read of a 1983 Three’s Company episode titled “Going to Pot.”
Ritter was starring on 8 Simple Rules (for Dating My Teenager Daughter) at the time of his death (from aortic dissection) as Paul Hennessy, father to Bridget (Kaley Cuoco), Kerry (Amy Davidson), and Rory (Martin Spanjers). TV Insider spoke to the trio of actors prior to the table read to chat about what Ritter meant to them both personally and professionally.
Cuoco took part in the reading as Janet Wood, the Three’s Company part made famous by Joyce DeWitt. While some might have cast Cuoco as Chrissy (Suzanne Somer), this episode was produced after Chrissy was written out of the series. Priscilla Barnes reprised her role as Terri Alden, Jack and Janet’s post-Chrissy roomie, for the benefit reading.
“I’m willing to take a stab at anything,” Cuoco told TV Insider about taking on the part of Janet for the reading, which is set to stream on Pluto TV at some point. “It’s been super-fun. We rehearsed today. It’s sweet and brings joy. It’s been fun to re-enact the show and see it come to life.”
8 Simple Rules cast
Everett Collection
Cuoco said that she has carried with her lessons she learned about comedy from Ritter during the year and a half they spent together filming 8 Simple Rules. “The most important thing I learned from John was to do anything for the laugh,” she shared. “I live by that today. [Working with John] changed the course of my life and my career. It feels like yesterday.”
“At one point, John and the casting director of 8 Simple Rules encouraged me to trust my instincts,” Davidson recalled. “When I read a script, I might see something different. I learned from John to trust myself.”
Producers made the call to write Ritter’s death into the series in the fourth episode of the second season. The cast was challenged to relive their loss all over again — this time on-screen. “It was so painful and cathartic at the same time,” Davidson said. “We didn’t ‘want’ to do it. The way it was written, we had to relive it, which was painful. It was very hard to do. We did it without a studio audience. We actually did the show without an audience for a while. He left such a void. This event is so bittersweet because the one person I want to see…isn’t here.”
“I was 15 when I booked the show,” Spanjers said. “My memories of John were that he was never not doing a bit. He was always on and, if he wasn’t, he was just present and totally kind, generous with his time, listening to you. He was always fun. He had planned to come out for my 16th birthday party, which was a paintballing party.”
Unfortunately, Ritter never made it to the adrenaline boosting experience. “There was no [cell phone] reception out there,” Spanjers recalled. “He got totally lost, but he felt totally bad. He ended up taking me out for dinner and a movie. We went to Bob’s Big Boy diner in Burbank, and he took me on a tour of Toluca Lake, where he used to live. He was sweet and personable. He talked about growing up in Los Angeles, his dad [Tex Ritter], and going to Hollywood High School.”
“John’s comedy was so sharp and punchy, but subtle at the same time,” Spanjers continued. “You can’t really teach that kind of timing. One of my favorite things about John was how dynamic he is — from Three’s Company to Sling Blade and everything in between. He was so brilliant, a once in a generation talent — and person, too.”
Unlike some foundations, which may come and go, Yasbeck and her team have kept the John Ritter Foundation going strong for over two decades. “Amy Yasbeck has been a warrior for this foundation,” Cuoco praised. “I will speak on behalf of it for as long as I live. It’s very special to me and has changed a lot of lies.”
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