John Ritter

Johnathan Southworth "John" Ritter (September 17, 1948 - September 11, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for his television roles as Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom  from 1977 to 1984 and as Paul Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter from 2002 until his death the following year during production in 2003. He is also best known for his voice role as the titular protagonist of the animated children's series  from 2000 to 2003. Additionally, he appeared in the horror miniseries  as the adult of Ben Hanscom.

For Disney, he portrayed Roger in the 1971 film The Barefoot Executive (his film debut) and voiced Great Uncle Stew in the Playhouse Disney film Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up. The latter was his final film and it was dedicated to his memory. He also appeared on some television specials in the 1980s, including guest-starring on Donald Duck's 50th Birthday in 1984, playing Dudley Goode in Mickey's 60th Birthday, and hosting Disney's Living Seas in 1986. Additionally, he played Bob Chipeska in Bad Santa.

He is also the son of actor and musician , and the father of actor Jason Ritter.