Before Three's Company, I never knew who John Ritter was. When the show debuted in 1977, I was 6 years old and I was only interested in watching cartoons on TV. Bugs Bunny, especially. But one night, I ventured out and saw that my mom was watching this show about a guy living with two girls. It took me several episodes before I wondered why Mr. Roper kept acting so weird around Jack. "Jack pretends to be gay to live with the two girls," my mom said. Whatever that meant. I really didn't care. It was about a goofy guy who fell down a lot and made me laugh. Everything he said, everything he did made me laugh. Voice inflections, facial expressions, wild body motions, silly grins, dancing with a lamp, falling off a ladder... Everything he did was a riot. A lot like Bugs Bunny.
Like so many other fans of the show, I imagined myself being there in that apartment with the "kids." I could be the idolizing little brother to Jack, just like in real life! That would give me a reoccurring role and I could visit them any time. Silly, I knew. But I was a kid, and I had dreams. I didn't care what anyone thought. When the show ended in 1984, I was heartbroken. Saddened that the family I had seen grow for eight years would be splitting up. To this day, when I see the final episode of Three's Company, I weep uncontrollably. It was more than a show. I truly felt as if Jack, Janet, Chrissy, Cindy, Terri, Larry, Mrs. Roper, and Mr. Furley were my friends. (Mr. Roper was funny, but I never felt like he was a "friend.") I had high hopes for the new show, Three's A Crowd, wishing it would last a long time so I could spend time with my friend Jack. But it was not to be.
It took me many years, but I've grown up and, and like so many others, learned to separate TV from the real world. I knew that Three's Company was only a TV show. That Jack Tripper wasn't real. But that fact wouldn't make me love him, or the person behind the character, any less. In a very special way Jack Tripper, or should I say, John Ritter, was my friend. I followed his career after Three's Company always hoping he'd hit it big again so that I could visit with my friend again. I had hoped his shows Hooperman and Hearts Afire would be big hits, but they never interested me. His movies got more risqué, especially the infamous Skin Deep. He played so many different roles with varying degrees of humor. But it was the Problem Child movies that restored John Ritter to his comic genius. Some time after that, a new show on ABC (his former Three's Company network) finally returned John Ritter to form. 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter was silly and formulaic, but the John Ritter of old was back. Jack Tripper was back. Then, in an instant, he was gone and sadness overwhelmed me. It's not fair that my friend is not here. But there is nothing anyone can do to bring him back. There's just something not right about losing a friend. Especially losing one who was so young, so talented, and so good. I never got to meet John Ritter in person. But you learn things about people. You could see it in his character. John Ritter was a good person. Whenever Jack Tripper was doing the right thing on Three's Company, you know that John Ritter would have done the same in real life. John Ritter was loved by all who knew him. Personally and from afar. He was admired, mimicked, and looked up to. He was a great and incalculable talent. One who's likes will never be seen again. The world of entertainment owes a lot to such a great individual. If given the chance to meet John, I would have said, "Thank you so much. Thank you for the friendship." We love you and miss you, John. Farewell, dear friend.
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