I remembered that it was eight years ago yesterday that we lost John Ritter. I have never been shy about my love for him, and I was truly saddened by his passing. I was flipping through an old TV Guide (the June 20 - 26, 1987 issue to be exact) and I saw a short piece on a tribute concert Ritter helped to organize for the Vietnam veterans. The event was called Welcome Home, and it aired on July 4th, 1987 on HBO. TV Guide quoted Ritter as saying, "I feel something like this on a national level can be almost a catharsis. There's something bigger than being a hawk or dove. The one thing we can all do is embrace the Vietnam veterans. This is an opportunity for real healing."
That article pretty much sums up everything I have loved about Mr. Ritter... well, except for his wonderful sense of humor (and pratfalls)! I miss him every day.
Here is John Fogerty doing a pretty kickass performance of Born on the Bayou at the Welcome Home concert:
And here's John doing what he did best, making us laugh:
I was just thinking about him too Amanda as I read in the paper that it was the anniversary of his passing. I don't know of any girl growing up in the 70s and 80s who didn't have a crush on Jack Tripper. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteThe Saturday after Ritter's death, during an L.A. screening of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, just after the bedroom seduction scenes of Brad & Janet, a certain wily projectionist spliced in footage from SKIN DEEP with Ritter in his own nervous bedroom moment with bodybuilder Raye Hollitt. The audience cheered and applauded.
ReplyDeleteReally, who could not love John Ritter? His son Jason is quite a fine fellow too: his romantic drama with Marianna Palka GOOD DICK is a small gem.
He was one of the greats, that's for sure. Loved him on Three's Company, he always gave that show his all.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's so funny how things carry on. My son is a big Jason Ritter fan!
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great loss indeed, especially when such an actor still had so much to give. The good thing about eternal life is not just a concept about beliefs, but so many people who keep him in their minds and hearts. A legacy like that never dies.
I'm from Costa Rica and I grew up watching John Ritter (dubbed in spanish of course) in shows such as "Three's company" (Adapated for latin america as "Tres son multitud")I thought how lucky Jack was living with 2 beautiful girls :-) Even I remember him playing a bad guy in one episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Not to mention his memorable work with "Eight simple rules",and many things he did I cannot remember at this moment.
He was a gifted person who will always be remembered with love and admiration.
Keep up the good work with your blog!
Blessings!
I really miss John. He was amazing.
ReplyDeleteHey all, sorry for such a delayed response. I just wanted to thank everyone for stopping by and sharing the Ritter love. It's somewhat comforting to know he's never far from our minds.
ReplyDeleteTake care!