Director Dennis Dugan will lead the production. In a fitting twist, Dugan played an unexpected role in John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck’s real-life love story—he cast Yasbeck as Ritter’s wife in the 1990 comedy Problem Child. “They met in our living room for the first read-through and that was the first time they ever met,” Dugan recalls. “They fell in love and got married, so I’ve always felt a deep connection with both Ritter and Amy.”
Kaley Cuoco, who played Ritter’s daughter on 8 Simple Rules, shared her enthusiasm for participating: “John was one of my favorite people on Earth, so I’ll spend any moment I can to honor and remember him.”
Jason Alexander expressed similar admiration. “John was an absolutely brilliant comedian. Frankly, he was a brilliant actor… and Knotts was a great example of ‘Use what you’ve got.’ Knotts took that wide-eyed, wiry, fidgety frame and used it to create the great underdogs and pretenders. Ritter and Knotts were both singular performers and it’s a joy to celebrate them.”
Reflecting on the show’s longevity nearly 50 years after its premiere, Richard Kline offered his own explanation: “I think the reason is that the writers never tried to do anything topical, political or, in essence, really thought-provoking. It has endured because it is an existential farce. The show has been marked as the show about misunderstandings, but basically that is the essence of farce.”
Amy Yasbeck believes Ritter would be delighted by the show’s continued success: “He would be thrilled by it! He would light up anytime people came up to him to profess their love of the show and how much it meant to them.”
Comedian Ron Funches summed up the series’ appeal more simply: “It is timeless. It has a profound rhythm and easy-to-understand stories. It also has the best sitcom theme song of all time.”
You can watch the reading live from Los Angeles on Friday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. via livestream on the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health website.
After the event, Pluto TV—home to a 24/7 Three’s Company channel—will make the performance available on demand.
