John Ritter was a sitcom legend, but his final words to Kaley Cuoco didn't make her laugh — instead, they left a mark on her heart forever.
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00:00John Ritter was a sitcom legend, but his final words to Kaley Cuoco didn't make her laugh.
00:05Instead, they left a mark on her heart forever.
00:09Before Kaley Cuoco was the outgoing neighbor Penny on The Big Bang Theory,
00:12or the foul-mouthed baseball bat-swinging anti-heroine in Harlequin,
00:16she was the bubbly eldest daughter on 8 Simple Rules. Cuoco starred alongside John Ritter,
00:22Katie Seagal, Amy Davidson, and Martin Spanjers in the family-orientated sitcom.
00:278 Simple Rules follows the Hennessy family as Ritter's Paul faces the perils and hilarity
00:32of fatherhood. The lively comedy balances portrayals of patronizing male stereotypes,
00:37with Ritter's multifaceted performance as the protective Paul. Throughout the series,
00:42Paul's patriarchal instincts are checked and corrected, with his daughters portrayed as
00:47expressive individuals rather than oppressed prizes. Cuoco was an exceptional vessel of this
00:52thematic element during her time on the series, which she again channeled as Penny in The Big
00:57Bang Theory. In 2003, Ritter tragically died suddenly during production of the beloved family
01:03sitcom. He was nominated posthumously by the Emmys for his nuanced performance in 8 Simple Rules.
01:09Upon the 15th anniversary of Ritter's death, Cuoco shared the special relationship she had
01:14with her fatherly co-star. Their supportive closeness was evident in their on-screen
01:18chemistry, which made Ritter's passing all the more devastating. With Entertainment Tonight,
01:23she revealed the lasting and emotional last words gifted to her by Ritter.
01:27When he isn't scaring off boys or setting curfews, Paul is mentoring his young daughters with a
01:32strong but loving hand. John Ritter continued this off-screen by creating a family atmosphere
01:38behind the scenes, as well as in front of the camera. This gave his untimely death even more
01:43weight as he made his rounds to say goodbye to his fellow cast members, particularly his TV
01:48daughter Kaylee Cuoco. She iterated just how much she loved Ritter by recalling their final
01:53moment in a tearful and extraordinary retelling with Entertainment Tonight. In her words,
01:58after hearing that he was sick, Cuoco made a point to check in on how he was doing.
02:03Ritter, in response, took her aside for a moment and they had a conversation she would never forget.
02:09Cuoco explained how he sat her down on the couch and told her that he loves her,
02:13to which she responded in the same way.
02:15He goes, no, I want you to know I love you. I said, I love you too. He goes, that's it.
02:20And he gave me a hug. And that was the last I saw of him."
02:23His final interaction with Cuoco is extremely telling of his exceptionally caring nature,
02:27by protecting the ones he truly loved and letting them know how much he cared.
02:32This lasting image is fitting of the endearing actor,
02:35who inhabited the best traits of fatherhood on 8 Simple Rules. As the years have gone on,
02:40Kaley Cuoco has made it abundantly clear that the memory of Ritter hasn't disappeared from her mind.
02:45Eighteen years after his death, she spoke with USA Today
02:49about who he was as a person, as well as a co-star.
02:52She mentioned a specific incident that took place at their first table read of 8 Simple Rules.
02:57She said,
02:58"'In comes John, and I go, hi, I'm playing your daughter. He goes, hold on, and he takes his
03:03jacket and puts it over me. He goes, never dress like that again. And right then, he was my dad.'"
03:09Cuoco notes that he treated all of his on-screen children as his own,
03:13which made it especially difficult to process his death.
03:16Speaking of the day of Ritter's passing, she said,
03:19"'I just heard screaming, and I looked over, and I see all these people,
03:23and everyone is just hysterical.'"
03:25According to her recollection of the day Ritter passed, everyone from actor Henry Winkler to the
03:30Warner Bros. mailman took it hard and felt devastated by the event. Winkler added,
03:35"'It was so sudden, so shocking, so sad.'"
03:38September 11th, 2023 marks 20 years since John Ritter's unexpected death.
03:43Yet thanks to his impact on pop culture, as well as Kaley Cuoco,
03:47the 8 Simple Rules staple has yet to fade from the public consciousness.