He became a household name embodying all that is zany in a hit sitcom best remembered as prurient and frivolous 1970s camp, yet by the time of his sudden, untimely death in 2003, John Ritter enjoyed nearly industry-wide veneration as a beloved elder statesmen of American comedy. As Jack Tripper on the ABC smash “Three’s Company” (1977-1984), Ritter vaulted to literal poster-boy status on the strength of his expertly wielded arsenal of old school comic devices – goofy faces, double-takes and pratfalls – not to mention working to maximum flamboyance the act of playing a straight guy acting gay
