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Stars Johnny Cash, John Ritter Die
ABC

Posted on 09/12/2003 9:10:37 AM PDT by Sir Gawain

Stars Johnny Cash, John Ritter Die
September 12, 2003

The entertainment world received a double shock today, with the deaths of country music giant Johnny Cash and comic actor John Ritter.

Cash, a singer and songwriter, whose work sparked a revival of American country and western music, died early today of complications from diabetes, according to officials at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn. He was 71.

Cash, who suffered the loss of his beloved wife June Carter Cash in May, had been hospitalized for two weeks with an unspecified stomach ailment, but had been released from Baptist Hospital in Nashville on Wednesday.

Ritter was an Emmy Award-winning actor who gained fame playing bumbling and lovable characters in a pair of television comedies decades apart.

He died suddenly due to a previously undetected arterial problem, his representatives said today. He was 54.

The Man in Black

With his deep, resonant voice and his songs about life's troubles and society's outcasts, Cash, known as "The Man in Black," had an appeal that reached traditional country music fans.

An 11-time Grammy winner and six-time winner of Country Music Association awards, the talented artist had success as a solo artist, as part of a duet, as the leader of a trio, and as a part of the award-winning Highwaymen quartet.

He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

His most recent Grammy came this year, when he received the award for best male country vocal performance for "Give My Love To Rose."

Even at 71 he was still connecting with young music fans. He was nominated for awards in seven categories for last month's MTV Video Music Awards, and received the award for best cinematography for the video of his cover of "Hurt," a Nine Inch Nails song.

Missed Company

Ritter, the son of country music legend Tex Ritter, came to fame in the 1970s comedy Three's Company , and found himself a new hit with 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, an ABC television comedy.

He collapsed Thursday night, while filming an episode of the comedy, and was taken to Providence St. Joseph hospital in Burbank, Calif., across the street from the studio.

Ritter's publicist, Lisa Kasteler, said the cause of death was a dissection of the aorta, the result of an unrecognized flaw in his heart.

Though he is most associated with the two sitcom roles, he also appeared in films and more than 25 TV movies and was a prolific stage actor, having appeared in more than 50 plays nationwide. His recent nine-month role in the Broadway premiere of Neil Simon's The Dinner Party brought him critical acclaim.

To see more on this story, go to http://www.ABCNews.go.com


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: johnnycash; johnritter

1 posted on 09/12/2003 9:10:38 AM PDT by Sir Gawain
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To: Sir Gawain
Prayers for their families.
2 posted on 09/12/2003 9:13:06 AM PDT by Between the Lines ("What Goes Into the Mind Comes Out in a Life")
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To: Sir Gawain
Paging Sherman Helmsley.....
3 posted on 09/12/2003 9:14:49 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: Sir Gawain
Larry Hovis (aka Sgt. Carter) from Hogan's Heroes died of cancer also.
4 posted on 09/12/2003 9:14:51 AM PDT by LetsRok
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To: Sir Gawain
Chris Rock said once that John Ritter was the greatest actor ever simply because he made a show with horrible writing one of the biggest hits ever.

That, and he was great in 'Slingblade'.

5 posted on 09/12/2003 9:15:40 AM PDT by Pahuanui (When a foolish man hears of the Tao, he laughs out loud)
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To: LetsRok
I hadn't heard about Hovis until it mentioned on the Johnny Cash thread. A sad thing; he was a talented actor.
6 posted on 09/12/2003 9:18:48 AM PDT by Tax-chick (RIP Johnny Cash ... will the circle be unbroken!)
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To: Sir Gawain
At my door the leaves are falling
A cold wild wind has come
Sweethearts walk by together
And I still miss someone

I go out on a party
And look for a little fun
But I find a darkened corner
because I still miss someone

Oh, no I never got over those blues eyes
I see them every where
I miss those arms that held me
When all the love was there

I wonder if she's sorry
For leavin' what we'd begun
There's someone for me somewhere
And I still miss someone
7 posted on 09/12/2003 9:19:08 AM PDT by oyez
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To: oyez
"I Still Miss Someone" is a lovely song.
8 posted on 09/12/2003 9:20:32 AM PDT by Huck
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To: Sir Gawain


9 posted on 09/12/2003 9:22:02 AM PDT by van_erwin
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To: Sir Gawain
Ritter was one of the more famous Phi Gams.
10 posted on 09/12/2003 9:23:09 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator (This space for rent)
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To: Sir Gawain
Does anyone remember how Tex Ritter died? As I remember, he was fairly young too.
11 posted on 09/12/2003 9:23:37 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: van_erwin
There is supposed to be a DVD collection coming out by Xmas on Johnny. They apparently started looking around and realized that Johnny did tons of studio projects with big-name stars...but it was simply fooling around and never put out to the public. I bet we see over 50 songs coming out in the next two years by Johnny...and most will likely make it near the top. That says alot for Johnny Cash.
12 posted on 09/12/2003 9:30:53 AM PDT by pepsionice
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To: KC_Conspirator
John Ritter was a Delta Chi.
13 posted on 09/12/2003 9:35:17 AM PDT by LetsRok
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To: van_erwin
Somehow, I had a feeling that after June Carter Cash died, Johnny wasn't going to stay here too much longer.

"I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die..."

}:-)4
14 posted on 09/12/2003 9:50:21 AM PDT by Moose4 (I'm Southern. We've been refighting the Civil War for 138 years, you think we'll forget 9/11?)
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To: LetsRok
Then why was his signed photo hanging on our wall at my fraternity "Hall of Fame"?

http://www.psufiji.org/famous.html

He's a Fiji.

15 posted on 09/12/2003 10:17:18 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator (This space for rent)
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To: afraidfortherepublic
Heart attack
16 posted on 09/12/2003 10:31:49 AM PDT by bjs1779
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To: afraidfortherepublic
65 years old.
17 posted on 09/12/2003 10:34:55 AM PDT by John W
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To: LetsRok
In typical Hollywood fashion John Ritter was no doubt under strict "medical" control to "clean up" & quickly look his best for the new series.

Ala Rodney Dangerfield;

.."my doctor told me, if, from know on, I take very good care of myself, I could get very sick and die."

Truth in comedy.

18 posted on 09/12/2003 10:45:09 AM PDT by norraad
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To: norraad
Passin' Thru
-Words & Music by Randy Scruggs & Johnny Cash

I have stood upon the mountain
  I have seen the other side
I have wrestled with the devil
  I have wrestled with my pride
I have been down in the valley
  I have stood out in the rain
I have seen my love forsaken
  Felt the pleasure and the pain
There's one thing that's for certain
  One chord that rings true
It's a mighty world we live in
  But the truth is, we're only passin' thru

I have cried in tears of sadness
  I have cried in tears of joy
I have found a life worth livin'
  From the peace within the noise
I have turned by back on hatred
  Lyin', prejudice and greed
Found the future in the present
  Found hope within a seed
There's one thing that's for certain
  One chord that rings true
It's a mighty world we live in
  But the truth is, we're only passin' thru

Passin' thru, passin' thru
  It's a mighty world we live in
but the truth is
  We're only passin' thru

I have seen my bucket empty
  I have seen my well run dry
But there's water down the road
  And I'm only goin' by
If I'm settin' on dead ready
  When my chances come and knock
I'll make it where I'm going
  I'll be tall just like a rock

There's one thing that's for certain
  One chord that rings true
It's a wicked world we live in
  But the truth is, we're only passin' thru
Passin' thru, passin' thru

It's a mighty world we live in
  but the truth is
We're only passin' thru

Yea, it's a mighty world we live in
  but the truth is
We're only passin' thru


19 posted on 09/12/2003 12:31:04 PM PDT by 50sDad ("There are FOUR LIGHTS! FOUR LIGHTS!")
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