Joyce DeWitt is the only remaining original ‘Three’s Company’ cast member still living
Joyce DeWitt, who played Janet Wood on Three’s Company, is the last living original cast member. DeWitt appeared in 171 episodes of the iconic series, working with both Ritter and Somers as a main cast member from the pilot onward.
While DeWitt is the only original main cast member still alive, several other actors who appeared in the series are doing well. Both Jenilee Harrison and Priscilla Barnes appeared as Three’s Company cast members during the show’s later seasons. Both are still living. Barnes, who has openly criticized her time on Three’s Company, appeared in Jane The Virgin fairly recently. Jenilee Harrison, who played Cindy Snow for 40 episodes, is no longer acting. Richard Kline, who played Larry Dallas, Jack’s pal, is another surviving Three’s Company cast member.
John Ritter died in 2003
John Ritter had a long and storied career despite dying young. Ritter might be best known for playing the lead male role in Three’s Company. As Jack Tripper, Ritter impressed viewers with his natural propensity toward physical comedy and his chemistry with Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers.
Ritter remained on Three’s Company for its entire eight-season run. After the series, he enjoyed a great deal of movie and television success. In 2003, he fell ill on the set of his show, 8 Simple Rules. While Ritter received quick care, as the soundstage was directly across from a hospital, his condition was initially misdiagnosed as a heart attack. He had actually suffered an aortic dissection. Ritter died after being rushed into surgery at the same hospital he was born in. His death on Sept. 11, 2003, came just six days before his 55th birthday.
Don Knotts, who appeared as a guest star on the series, along with Norman Fell and Audra Lindley, have also died. Knotts, who played Mr. Furley in the latter seasons of the series, died in 2006. Fell and Lindley, who played Mr. and Mrs. Roper, joined the cast for the early seasons of Three’s Company. Lindley died in 1997; Fell died the following year.
Suzanne Somers is the latest ‘Three’s Company’ cast member to die
Ritter’s sudden 2003 death shocked the world, and Suzanne Somer’s 2023 passing garnered the same reaction. The loss of Somers to breast cancer just a day shy of her 77th birthday leaves Joyce DeWitt as the last remaining original cast member.
Somers had battled serious health issues for much of her life, with several health problems emerging during her time as a member of the Three’s Company cast. In a 2020 interview with CBS, Somers revealed that she was diagnosed with melanoma in her 30s. She was 31 when she was cast in the role. Somers died at her home surrounded by family.
