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Kaley Cuoco stepped out Saturday night to pay tribute to her TV dad, John Ritter.
She was starring as the television sitcom icon’s daughter on “8 Simple Rules” in 2003 when Ritter suffered a fatal thoracic aortic dissection
– a tearing of the heart’s main artery — while on set. “I always cry when I talk about him,” Cuoco said, choking up.
Speaking at the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health’s annual Evening From the Heart Gala, Cuoco, who is pregnant with her and fiancé Tom Pelphrey’s second child, recalled meeting Ritter for the first time at a table read for “8 Simple Rules.” She was 16 and playing the “hot girl before I was knocked up,” Cuoco cracked while pointing to her belly. “Young and cool and hot, so I wore like the hottest outfit I could ever find for this table read, like nothing. It had these little spaghetti straps, just ridiculous.”
When the Emmy-winning Ritter walked over to her at the table, Cuoco introduced herself. “He gives me a big hug, and he looks at me, and he takes off his jacket, and he puts it on me and says, ‘Don’t ever wear that again,’” Cuoco said, smiling. “It was the best.”
Ritter appeared in the first season of “8 Simple Rules” and three episodes of the second before his untimely passing at age 54.
“When he passed away, I don’t want to get dramatic, but I can truly say that was one of the worst days of my life,” Cuoco said. “I remember having to remind myself that I wasn’t his kid. I remember for weeks after, I was like, ‘Gosh, I feel like I lost my dad.’”
Cuoco said Ritter’s talent and on-set leadership continue to inspire.
“He was so funny,” she said. “I took all that with me in life and the jobs I had after. He always has been the north star in my career and somebody who I adore.”
The gala was hosted by Ritter’s widow, Amy Yasbeck, and his son, Tyson Ritter. Yasbeck reunited with her co-stars from the sitcom “Wings” – Tim Daly, Steve Webber and Tony Shalhoub – for a Q&A moderated by Variety’s Marc Malkin. Writer and producer Steve Levitan also joined the panel and recalled how “Wings” was his first writing job in Hollywood.
Ritter’s “Three’s Company” co-star Joyce DeWitt made a surprise appearance to announce a nationwide tour of “Three’s Company” table reads to benefit the foundation. Tyson said that the organization is also hosting a fundraising dinner in October at the original Brady Bunch house in Los Angeles with the show’s Maureen McCormick as host.
According to JRF, 20,000 people suffer an aortic dissection every year in the U.S., with up to 50% of those people losing their lives. With prompt diagnosis and treatment, 80% of people could survive.
For more information, go to johnritterfoundation.org.
See more photos from the gala below.
