John Ritter Died in 2003 After Collapsing on Set. What to Know About His Fatal Misdiagnosis

John Ritter died in 2003 from an aortic dissection, a tear in the body’s main artery

John Ritter’s shocking death on Sept.11, 2003, at the age of 54 broke the hearts of his loved ones and costars alike.

The comedian became a household name in the 1970s playing Jack Tripper on the sitcom Three’s Company, a role that brought him fame, an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Following the show’s end in 1984, Ritter consistently appeared on both the big and small screen, starring in more than 25 television shows and movies, including the 1990 film Problem Child, where he met his second wife, Amy Yasbeck.

Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Ritter made appearances on TV shows such as Felicity, Scrubs and Ally McBeal before landing the starring role on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules… for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2002.

Starring alongside Katey Sagal, Kaley Cuoco, Amy Davidson and Martin Spanjers, Ritter portrayed Paul Hennessy, a married sports columnist raising two daughters and a son. In its first season, 8 Simple Rules became a solid hit for ABC, but shortly after filming began for season 2, tragedy struck when Ritter became ill on set, and died hours later from a heart condition.

From the beloved comedian’s last hours to the legacy he left behind, here is everything to know about John Ritter’s devastating death.

How did John Ritter die?

The day of Ritter’s death began like any typical work day for the actor. After arriving on the set of his ABC sitcom, 8 Simple Rules… for Dating My Teenage Daughter, he worked out with his trainer, took a customary afternoon nap and rehearsed lines with his longtime friend Henry Winkler, who was guest starring on the show.  As the day wore on, though, Ritter started to feel ill, telling director James Widdoes that he felt sick to his stomach.

“He was sweating and didn’t look right,” Sagal told PEOPLE.

Ritter went to lie down in his dressing room, where his condition continued to go downhill. He was sweating profusely (despite stripping down to his underwear and T-shirt), vomiting and having chest pains. Ritter thought he had contracted food poisoning, as he told his wife, but a studio doctor was concerned something more serious was going on and convinced him to go straight to the hospital.

Upon his arrival at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, doctors initially presumed Ritter was having a heart attack based on his symptoms. But four hours after arriving in the emergency room, the actor was dead from an aortic dissection, a rare but life-threatening condition where a tear occurs in the inner lining of the aorta, the body’s main artery that delivers blood away from the heart, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

When did John Ritter die?

Ritter was pronounced dead at 10:48 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2003, after arriving at the hospital around 6 p.m.

He died on his son Noah’s 5th birthday, and the day before Yasbeck’s 41st birthday.

Where did John Ritter die?

Ritter died at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., the same hospital where he had been born on Sept. 17, 1948.

The hospital is located across the street from Walt Disney Studios, The New York Times reported, where Ritter was taping his show 8 Simple Rules.

How was John Ritter’s condition misdiagnosed?

Ritter’s symptoms upon arriving at the emergency room appeared to indicate that he was suffering from a heart attack. An initial EKG, a test that measures the electrical signals traveling through the heart, was inconclusive, according to the Los Angeles Times. Doctors treated him with aspirin and anti-nausea meds, but Ritter’s symptoms continued to worsen over the next hour, with his chest tightness increasing, his blood pressure dropping and his heart rate skyrocketing.

A second EKG seemed to confirm that the actor was having a heart attack, and doctors proceeded with a standard line of treatment: blood thinners and a cardiac catheterization, a procedure where a balloon pump is inserted into the aorta to try to open up the artery. However, during the cardiac catheterization, Ritter’s condition continued to deteriorate and a large aortic dissection was discovered.

Both anticoagulants and cardiac catheterizations can exacerbate an aortic dissection and were the “exact opposite” of the treatment Ritter really needed, which was surgery to repair the tear, according to claims later made in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Ritter’s family, per 9News. The lawsuit argued that, had a chest X-ray been performed, it would have shown Ritter’s enlarged aorta and indicated that he needed the potentially life-saving operation.

According to lawyers for Ritter’s emergency room doctor, however, the actor’s declining vital signs left them no time to perform more tests before taking him in for the catheterization procedure. Additionally, they cited that patients with chest pain are 100 times more likely to be suffering a heart attack than an aortic dissection, per the Los Angeles Times.

Ritter also did not experience sudden, severe, catastrophic chest pain, which is another hallmark symptom of an aortic dissection.

How was John Ritter’s wrongful death lawsuit resolved?

In September 2004, Yasbeck and Ritter’s kids filed a suit against Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, the Burbank Emergency Medical Group and several doctors, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. The wrongful death suit accused the medical professionals and facilities of negligence in the diagnosis and treatment of Ritter, leading to his death.

By early 2008, Ritter’s children and Yasbeck had received $14 million in settlements, including $9.4 million from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reported. However, they were seeking another $67 million in damages from Dr. Joseph Lee, the cardiologist who treated Ritter in the emergency room, and Dr. Matthew Lotysch, a radiologist who gave Ritter a body scan in 2001.

Lawyers and experts for Ritter’s family argued that Dr. Lee failed to order a chest X-ray, which would have shown Ritter’s enlarged aorta and indicated that he was not suffering from a heart attack. With that information, Ritter could have had a surgery to potentially repair the tear in his aorta and save his life, they claimed. However, Dr. Lee’s lawyer argued that his client had to make a “judgement call” given Ritter’s declining vital signs, the Los Angeles Times reported, and opted to order a catheterization for Ritter to remove possible blockages rather than request more tests.

The lawyers for Ritter’s family also pointed the finger at Dr. Lotysch, who read the results of a full body scan the actor had done two years earlier at a different facility. The lawyers alleged that Lotysch should have noted Ritter’s aorta was enlarged then; but defense experts argued it was not and alleged that Ritter had failed to follow Lotysch’s advice to follow up with a physician after his scan.

Both doctors were ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing.

What were John Ritter’s last words?

Yasbeck recounted her last interaction with Ritter in the emergency room while testifying at the trial for his wrongful death lawsuit.

As the actor was being wheeled away for a procedure, he reportedly used sign language to say “I love you” to Yasbeck, who mouthed the same words back to him, per The Hollywood Reporter.

“He went around the corner and that’s the last time I saw him,” Yasbeck said in her testimony.

What was the public reaction to John Ritter’s death?

Ritter’s sudden death left those in Hollywood, and beyond, devastated.

“It’s just stunning, unbelievable,” Susan Wilcox, his assistant of 22 years, said at the time. “Everybody loved John Ritter. Everybody loved working with him. … Whatever set he was working on, he made it a very fun place.”

“It’s like there is a big tear in the world’s heart,” Henry Winkler, who was with Ritter on the day of his death, echoed to Entertainment Tonight. “He was extraordinary in every aspect of his life, especially as a father. His children were there at every moment of his life.”

The day after Ritter’s shocking death, an impromptu memorial was held for the actor on the set of 8 Simple Rules. More than 100 cast and crew members gathered to remember Ritter and process the devastating loss.

“We lost the head of our family today,” executive producer Tom Shadyac said at the gathering. “We will somehow go on.”

Ritter was officially laid to rest on Sept. 15, 2003, at L.A.’s Forest Lawn cemetery, in a private ceremony attended by close family and friends. The following day, Sept. 16, ABC aired an hour-long primetime tribute special titled A Life of Laughter: Remembering John Ritter.

What happened to 8 Simple Rules… for Dating My Teenager Daughter after John Ritter’s death?

At the time of his death, Ritter was in the midst of filming the second season of 8 Simple Rules… for Dating My Teenage Daughter. ABC had ordered 22 episodes for season 2 of the sitcom, which was slated to debut on Sept. 23, 2003, as the network’s Tuesday night lead-off series. But Ritter only completed three episodes prior to his death, leaving the future of the show uncertain.

Network executives initially thought they would have to scrap the show entirely, The New York Times reported. But after more discussion, and meeting with Yasbeck, they ultimately decided to continue the show with her blessing. In a statement, Yasbeck shared that Ritter “believed in this show and its message that a strong family can get through anything.”

The series was renamed 8 Simple Rules, and the death of Ritter’s character was incorporated into the storyline. The first three episodes that Ritter completed were aired as scheduled, on Sept. 23, Sept. 30 and Oct. 7. The show then took a month-long hiatus and returned with an hour-long episode titled “Goodbye,” in which the Hennessy family learns that their patriarch Paul has died of a heart attack while at the grocery store.

“It was so heartbreaking,” Sagal, who played Ritter’s on-screen wife, told Today about continuing on without her costar. “But I was super proud that we handled it the way we did. We got through it the way we did that.”

8 Simple Rules aired for three seasons and 76 total episodes, 51 of which were without Ritter. It was canceled in May 2005.

What legacy did John Ritter leave behind?

Ritter’s family has worked to keep his memory alive in the years since his unexpected death. Just weeks after Ritter died in 2003, Yasbeck founded the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health to raise awareness about the rare condition and, hopefully, prevent others from suffering the same fate as Ritter.

“The legacy is keeping his family alive,” Yasbeck told PEOPLE at the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health’s 20th Anniversary Evening in May 2023.

“And he thought everyone was connected and everyone is everyone’s family, which I believe, but he believed it very deeply,” she continued. “So in my heartfelt effort to understand what aortic dissection is, understand the genetic component, which is extremely high, and trying to protect John’s kids and his brother.”

Ritter’s family also honors the late comedian in a more personal way through their family group chat, Yasbeck revealed to PEOPLE in 2024.

“All we do is we send each other videos of physical comedy or people falling down, or having a bird poop on them, or something. We say, ‘John would’ve’ or ‘Dad would’ve loved this,’ ” Yasbeck said.

She added, “And you don’t even have to say it, because we all share that appreciation of physical comedy like he did.”

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