BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Actor John Ritter died of a heart problem Thursday after falling ill on the set of his ABC sitcom, his publicist and longtime assistant said.
Ritter, who starred in the 1970s sitcom "Three's Company" and revived his TV career with the popular ABC show "8 Simple Rules ... For Dating My Teenage Daughter," died at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday, said his assistant of 22 years, Susan Wilcox.
The cause of death was a dissection of the aorta, the result of an unrecognized flaw in his aorta, said his publicist, Lisa Kasteler.