Joyce DeWitt Remembers Her Final Night With Costar John Ritter

More than two decades after losing John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt is still grateful for one ordinary night in New York City.

The Three's Company star, 77, opened up to Page Six in an interview published on Sunday, Nov. 1, about the last time she and her former costar spent time together, just weeks before his sudden death in September 2003.

"Not knowing that it would be the last time we would hang out together, it was extraordinarily special," DeWitt said.

A chance meeting in New York

The night almost did not happen.

DeWitt was in New York City in August 2003 when she found out from paparazzi that Ritter happened to be in town at the same time. She called to see if he wanted to get together. Hours later, as she was seconds away from leaving her hotel room, Ritter called her back and they made plans for that evening.

"If he had called one minute later, I would have been out walking to Lincoln Center on my way to a movie," she said.

"I mean, it's like there was divine assistance in allowing us that time together," DeWitt said.

Dinner in the Village

Instead of a movie, DeWitt ended up at an Italian restaurant in the Village with Ritter and actor Jim Belushi.

"We had such a good time," she said. "It was dear, and it was precious."

There was nothing dramatic about the evening. It was a meal with Ritter and Belushi, and DeWitt had no idea it would be the last one.

John Ritter's sudden death

A few weeks later, on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2003, Ritter died in Burbank, California, at age 54. The cause was an aortic dissection, a sudden tear in the body's main artery.

At the time, he was starring as Paul Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules. The show continued after his death and ran until 2005, and Ritter received a posthumous Emmy nomination in 2004 for the role.

Jack and Janet on Three's Company

For millions of viewers, Ritter and DeWitt will always be Jack Tripper and Janet Wood.

Three's Company aired on ABC from March 1977 to September 1984. The sitcom followed Jack, Janet and Chrissy Snow, played by Suzanne Somers until she left the show in 1981, as roommates sharing an apartment in Santa Monica, California.

Ritter played Jack throughout the series, and the role earned him both a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1984. DeWitt played Janet across the show's run from 1977 to 1984.

What Three's Company meant to her

DeWitt has spoken before about why the show still matters to her. Parade reported that when she appeared on Somers' talk show, Suzanne Somers Breaking Through, she spoke about how fondly she looks back on that era. Whenever the series comes up, she has said, she always comes back to the same point.

In her view, the only reason Three's Company is worth remembering is that "it created an opportunity for all of us to laugh together, to celebrate joy."

Her bond with Somers had its ups and downs. The two had a falling out that ended their friendship for decades, People reported, but they later reconciled and became friends again. When Somers died in 2023 at 76, DeWitt shared a statement with People. "My heart goes out to Suzanne's family," she said. "They are a very close family, deeply connected and caring one to the other. I can only imagine how difficult this time is for all of them."

Her final memory of Ritter is not a set or a red carpet. It is a good dinner, with good company, on a night that almost slipped away.

In her own words, it was "dear" and "precious."