When did John Ritter die? Jason Ritter says he was surprised by his father's voice from a character in 'King of the Hill'

Jason Ritter is continually surprised by his late father's work ethic.

Speaking with reporters from People Magazine at the Poker Face Hollywood premiere on May 1, Jason Ritter, 45, reflected on how he still feels his dad's presence thanks to his career that spanned decades. “There have been a couple of times” when he was watching TV when all of a sudden he would get caught off-guard to see or hear his father on-screen, he said.

The Matlock actor told the outlet,

“There was a time where I was in a trailer and I was trying to get this TV to work, and it was all kind of fuzzy, and the only channel that worked was playing a King of the Hill episode, and it was my dad’s voice, and I hadn’t known that he had done that. And all of a sudden, it was weird to hear his voice coming from this character. So I watched it."

John Ritter died on September 11, 2003, just six days shy of celebrating his 55th birthday. The comedian cum actor starred in his final film, Santa, which came out that same year and was dedicated to his memory. He is credited with lending his voice to Eugene Grandy, a music teacher at Tom Landry Middle School in the animated sitcom.

Jason Ritter reflects on how his dad got him his first acting gig: Read more

Speaking with People Magazine, Jason Ritter said of his late father:

“From The Waltons to Mary Tyler Moore, he was bouncing all over. Hawaii Five-O. M.A.S.H. — he has a great episode on that. It’s fun to see."

John Ritter first became a household name for his work as Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom Three's Company in the '70s. During his career, he nabbed several awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

According to People Magazine, his unexpected demise was due to a “dissection of the aorta,” his publicists revealed at the time. The flaw went preciously unchecked in the main artery from the heart, prompting the actor's family to sue his surgeons for over $67 million in damages. The wrongful death trial kicked off in 2008, though the doctors were later acquitted.

Back in 2023, during his interview with SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show, Jason Ritter acknowledged that he managed to get his first acting gig due to his dad's status:

"As a little kid, when I was maybe 6 or something like that, my dad was doing this cartoon called The Real Story of O Christmas Tree," he said. "I will say, without any hesitation, this was like a full-on nepotism hire. I will admit that. He for sure got me the job. I did try to stay away from that later."

He added,

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"I got to play Little Acorn in The Real Story of O Christmas Tree, and he played my Uncle Piney. It was funny because, as I grew up and I found that recording again, I went, 'Oh, they must have sped up my voice to make it that high.' Both my mom and dad were like, 'No, no. That was, yeah... It was pretty high. Jason, that was your voice."

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