What To Know
- Henry Winkler revealed that he kept a memento from the set of 8 Simple Rules from the day John Ritter died suddenly in 2003.
- Winkler also recounted his final interaction with Ritter.
- John Ritter starred as Paul Hennessy in 8 Simple Rules, and his character’s sudden death was written into the show after Ritter’s passing.
Henry Winkler kept a surprising memento from the set of 8 Simple Rules on the day John Ritter died.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly published on September 14, Winkler, 80, opened up about that fateful day Ritter collapsed on set. He died later that day at 54, during an emergency surgery following an aortic dissection.
Winkler, who was slated to guest star on 8 Simple Rules, was on set on September 13, 2003, when Ritter suddenly fell ill. And he still has a water bottle as a reminder.
“That water bottle was on the set, when I was asked by John Ritter to participate in his 8 Simple Rules,” Winkler explained. “And I took the water bottle and never quite opened it, so I have had it in its weird state since.”
The Happy Days alum continued, “He passed away that day. You know, I left the set, and 11:00 at night I got called, and they said, ‘We lost John.’ I went, ‘What do you mean you lost John?’ And he passed away. I saw him at about 4 or 5:00 that afternoon for the last time. Terrible.”
Additionally, Winkler recalled his final interaction with Ritter before his death.
“We were reminiscing,” he recounted. “He was sweating (and said), ‘I really need to get some water.’ I said, ‘I really need to memorize my lines.’ And he went one way, and I went the other. And that was the last time I saw him.”
8 Simple Rules aired for three seasons from 2002 to 2005. In addition to Ritter as Paul Hennessy, the sitcom starred Katey Sagal as his wife, Cate; Kaley Cuoco, Amy Davidson, and Martin Spanjers as their children, Bridget, Kerry, and Rory, respectively; as well as James Garner, David Spade, and Billy Aaron Brown.
In the ABC series, Ritter’s character, Paul, also died suddenly, but from a heart attack while at a grocery store buying milk. Ritter had filmed all of Season 1 and just three episodes of Season 2 before his death.
8 Simple Rules, streaming on Disney+