01:39 AM EDT 10/08/2008

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John Ritter

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Doctors Cleared in John Ritter Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Doctors Cleared in John Ritter Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Originally posted 03/14/2008 03:10PM

The family of John Ritter has lost its $67-million wrongful death lawsuit against a cardiologist and a radiologist, after a California jury on Friday cleared the doctors of negligence in the diagnosis and treatment of the late actor.

The jurors found that Ritter failed to follow radiologist Dr. Matthew Lotysch's advice to see a physician once Lotysch had done a body scan on him in 2001, the Associated Press and L.A. City News Service report.

Ritter died of a torn aorta in 2003.

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Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage; Chad Buchanan/Getty
John Ritter's Widow Testifies in Wrongful Death Trial

John Ritter's Widow Testifies in Wrongful Death Trial

Originally posted 02/29/2008 12:25PM

John Ritter's voice was heard from beyond the grave Thursday, when lawyers played a tape of the final phone message he left his wife, Amy Yasbeck, on the day he died.

"Hi honey, this is John," he said in the message dated Sept. 11, 2003. "I'm in my dressing room and not feeling very well. I think I have food poisoning."

His widow – who brought the $67-million wrongful death lawsuit against two of the actor's doctors – also described their final conversation, the Associated Press reports.

"He called back and said, 'Now I'm having chest pains and the nurse is coming and they're going to take me across the street,'" Yasbeck testified through tears. (The actress is expected to continue recounting Ritter's final hours on Monday, when court resumes.)

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Credit: Everett Collection
Katey Sagal Testifies in John Ritter's Wrongful Death Trial | John Ritter, Katey Sagal

Katey Sagal Testifies in John Ritter's Wrongful Death Trial

Originally posted 02/27/2008 01:00PM

John Ritter was a committed family man who was "funny like nobody's business," the late actor's costar Katey Sagal testified Tuesday at the $67-million wrongful death trial brought by Ritter's family against two doctors.

Besides Sagal, Ritter's agent, personal assistant and son took the stand in Glendale, California's Superior Court and paid tribute to the actor, the Associated Press reports

Sagal, 54, testified briefly and fought back tears as she told the jury, "I loved John." She had played Ritter's wife on ABC's 8 Simple Rules ... for Dating My Teenage Daughter, the sitcom in which he was starring when he died from an undiagnosed heart condition on Sept. 11, 2003.

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Credit: CRAIG SJODIN/ABC
John Ritter's Wrongful Death Trial to Begin

John Ritter's Wrongful Death Trial to Begin

Originally posted 01/24/2008 12:00PM

Come February, a Los Angeles County jury will consider actor John Ritter's 2003 death from a heart condition.

On one side is his widow, actress Amy Yasbeck, and Ritter's four children, who contend in their wrongful-death lawsuit that the actor's life could have been saved – and who collectively seek more than $67 million in damages, because of sitcom star Ritter's potential high earning power.

Already, the family has received more than $14 million in settlements, according to court records, reports the Los Angeles Times.

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Credit: CRAIG SJODIN/ABC
Ritter's Family Near Wrongful Death Settlement

John Ritter's Family Near Wrongful Death Settlement

Originally posted 03/17/2006 08:00AM

The family of late actor John Ritter has reportedly reached a tentative settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., where the actor died in 2003.

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Credit: CRAIG SJODIN/ABC
John Ritter's Family Blames, Sues Hospital

John Ritter's Family Blames, Sues Hospital

Originally posted 09/10/2004 08:00AM

The family of 8 Simple Rules star John Ritter, who died suddenly of heart problems exactly a year ago this Saturday, Sept. 11, have sued the Burbank, Calif., Providence St. Joseph Medical Center where he was treated.

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NEWS BRIEFS: J.Lo to Fight with Fonda

Originally posted 01/16/2004 01:00PM

CAST: "Coming Home" and "Klute" Oscar winner Jane Fonda, 66, absent from the silver screen for the past 14 years (since 1990's "Stanley & Iris," with Robert De Niro), will make her comeback in a movie comedy with Jennifer Lopez, 34, to be called "Monster-in-Law," reports Variety, which calls the actresses J.Fo and J.Lo. The latter will play the fiancee of a man she finds perfect, until she meets his awful mother (Fonda). The film is slated for release in 2005.

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WEEK IN REVIEW: ABC to Keep Ritter Show

Originally posted 09/19/2003 10:40AM

RITTER RULES: ABC announced that it will reshape its hit comedy show "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" after last week's sudden death of its star, John Ritter. The TV family will contend with the loss of Ritter's character. Executives at the network said that all those associated with the show, including Ritter's widow Amy Yasbeck, encouraged the show to go on. "He believed in this show and its message that a strong family can get through anything," said Yasbeck, 40.

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TV Star John Ritter Dies Suddenly

Originally posted 09/12/2003 11:00AM

John Ritter, the Emmy-award winning star who became a household name playing bumbling wannabe-Casanova Jack Tripper on '70s TV hit Three's Company, died suddenly from an arterial problem, according to published reports. He was 54.

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John Ritter: Father Doesn't Know Best

Originally posted 08/28/2002 11:50AM

The former "Three's Company" bachelor says real-life fatherhood has prepared him for the role of a nervous dad on ABC's "8 Rules for Dating My Teenaged Daughter."

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