Like most boys, John Ritter and his brother Tom used to fight sometimes. “[There were] lots of arguments in the backyard over the Wiffle ball that ended up in fits of laughter,” Tom tells Closer.
Tom remembers their childhood as a “fairly typical suburban Los Angeles upbringing,” but the Ritter family had ties to show business. Dad Tex Ritter was a popular singing cowboy who made movies in the 1930s and 1940s, while mom Dorothy Fay had acted in The Philadelphia Story with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. From a very early age, John knew he wanted to continue in the family business. “I remember he was mesmerized when we went to see our cousin Jamie in a play,” says Tom, 77. “John was about 8 years old, and he was determined to be an actor.”
Young John studied the comic routines of idols like Dick Van Dyke and Jerry Lewis. “He practiced their moves and came up with plenty of his own,” recalls Tom. “There was a lot of joy and laughter in the house. And a lot of play.”
During the summer, the family traveled together when Tex went on a concert tour. He and Dorothy used the opportunity to instill good values in their sons. “We learned to be patient and cordial with people by watching Mom and Dad,” says Tom, adding, “My mom was the most positive and upbeat person on the earth.” Above all, Tex and Dorothy taught the boys that kindness really mattered.
John took that to heart, especially when it came to his brother, who was born with cerebral palsy. “Growing up, John supported me like a big brother would, even though I was a bit older,” Tom confides. “He stuck up for me and protected me against bullying.”
How John Ritter Found a Passion for Acting
John initially majored in psychology at the University of Southern California but switched his concentration to theater and enrolled in the USC School of Dramatic Arts. His father, who understood firsthand the difficulties of show business, wasn’t thrilled about John’s desire to act. “My dad was the last of the three of us to come around,” recalls Tom. “He saw one of John’s college performances, and he turned to my mother and said, ‘I guess we lost him.’ In other words, he’s got talent and there’s no stopping him.”
However, even Tom had doubts when John was cast as Jack Tripper on Three’s Company in 1976. “The taboo of unmarried people living together seemed passé by the end of the ’70s,” he explains. “But John and the cast made it so much fun that America tuned in week after week.”
Tom particularly enjoyed attending tapings with his mom. “She had a special gleam in her eye when she was at the show,” he recalls. “She was proud of John, of course, but I think it was also just a mother watching her kid doing what he loved and doing it so well.”
John Ritter Was All About Giving Back
Being of service was another lesson that Tex and Dorothy instilled in their sons. “My mom was an officer of the United Cerebral Palsy national organization, and she was quite active with the Commission on Disability,” Tom says. “John hosted the annual United Cerebral Palsy Telethon for years and years.”
Fame only made John more eager to help others. “He believed that all of us are in the same boat and no one is really the captain,” explains Tom. “Everyone needs to do their part.”
It’s a lesson that the comedian passed down to his four children, too. “It was so evident to him that they had kind and loving hearts,” says Tom, who often catches glimpses of his brother in his niece and nephews. “They all have a piece of him, of his spirit. And they definitely have his unique sense of humor and comedic timing.”
Today, the whole family are keeping John’s legacy alive through the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health, which helps fund research and raise awareness about the preventable heart ailment that ended John’s life in 2003. “John’s legacy is the butterfly effect he set in motion when he was here,” Tom says. “The love and the laughter are still moving through the world on that golden thread.”
