John Ritter Bio, Son, Net Worth, Daughters, Was He Gay, How Did He Die?

Quick Facts

Some celebrity deaths have been known to trigger a lot of controversies followed by bitter lawsuits with hefty amounts of money charged as settlements. The death of actor and comedian John Ritter was not an exception. After his death, his widow Amy Yasbeck slammed the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center with a wrongful death lawsuit worth the sum of $67 million. Even though the physicians were acquitted of all charges, the Ritter family still received a portion of the lawsuit money from the hospital.

John was one of the greatest comic actors of Hollywood who was honored with several awards and nominations for his contributions to the entertainment industry. In 1984, he bagged an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in Comedy Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in the category of Musical/Comedy; both awards were granted for his role in Three’s Company. The year before that, he earned a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at Hollywood Boulevard. In 1988, he won the People’s Choice Awards in the category of Favorite Male Performer for his role in Hooper man.

Biography

Jonathan Southworth Ritter was born on the 17^th of September 1948 in Burbank, California. His father, Tex Ritter, was a popular country singer and his mother, Dorothy Fay, was an actress. He was raised in California alongside his older brother, Tom Ritter, who overcame cerebral palsy in his childhood.

John attended Hollywood High School where he was the president of the student body. After his high school graduation, he proceeded to the University of Southern California where he majored in Psychology with a minor in architecture. John Ritter chose his course of study with the plans of pursuing a career in politics; however, he later changed his major and graduated with a degree in theatre arts in 1971. He then joined the USC School of Dramatic Arts to fine tune his acting skills. After joining his acting class, he toured England, Scotland, Holland, and Germany taking part in plays while he was still a student.

John Ritter’s Net Worth

John Ritter’s net worth is believed to have been a whopping $20 million at the time of his death. His wealth is believed to have come from his acting career in the entertainment industry where he made a name for himself as a talented comedian.

Was He Gay?

John Ritter was not a gay man; with his record of two fruitful marriages and four offsprings from both marriages, it is safe to say that John was undoubtedly straight.

Wife, Son, Daughters

John Ritter was married twice in his life and both marriages were fruitful. He had a child from his union with Amy Yasbeck which lasted from 1999 to 2003, when he passed away. Nancy Morgan, who was his wife from 1977 to 1996, gave him three children.

Tyler and Jason followed their father’s footsteps and have built successful careers as actors in Hollywood. His daughter, Carly is also an actress and a singer-songwriter but she hasn’t achieved the same level of fame her brothers have. Stella Ritter, John’s youngest child, transitioned from female to male and took up a new identity as Noah Ritter.

How Hid He Die?

While he was having rehearsals for 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, the famed actor started experiencing pains in the heart region. He was copiously sweating and vomiting when they took him to The Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center on the other side of the street which was coincidentally the same place he was born. The doctors who attended to him diagnosed his condition as a heart attack but instead of getting better, he got worse. He was later diagnosed with an aortic dissection which in a lay man’s terms means a tear in the aorta that continues to increase. Six days to his 55^th birthday, John died during corrective surgery.

The family held a private funeral for him in Los Angeles on the 15^th of September 2003 with his internment at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery.

The cardiologist, Joseph Lee, and radiologist, Matthew Lotysch, who attended to John received a $67 million wrongful-death lawsuit from his wife Amy Yasbeck who accused Lee of misdiagnosis, she accused Lotysch for the full-bodied scan he carried out on John which failed to rightfully detect his medical condition. Subsequently, the doctors were found innocent of the charges and according to LA County Superior Court Jury, the physicians were not negligent and so cannot be held responsible for John’s death. However, the family of the deceased got over $14 million as compensation which included the sum of $9.4 million from the hospital where he died.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.