LOS ANGELES – John Ritter, whose portrayal of the bumbling but lovable Jack Tripper helped make the madcap comedy series “Three’s Company” a smash hit in the 1970s, died of a heart problem after falling ill on the set of his new television sit-com. He was 54.
Ritter became ill Thursday while working on ABC’s “8 Simple Rules … For Dating My Teenage Daughter,” the hit show that became the actor’s big television comeback, said Susan Wilcox, his assistant of 22 years.
