8 Simple Rules on ABC

[2002, TV Show]

8 Simple Rules: TV Guide News

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Widowed mom Cate Hennessy raises three teens in this sitcom, which shifted focus in 2003 following the sudden death of its star, John Ritter, just before the start of its second season. Cate's father Jim (James Garner) joined the show and helped the family adjust to the loss.

John Ritter's Family Loses Wrongful-death Lawsuit | Today's News: Our Take | 3/14/2008
John Ritter's family lost their wrongful-death lawsuit against the late actor's doctors on Friday, and the jury cleared the radiologist and cardiologist of negligence charges. Ritter died unexpectedly in 2003 from a torn aorta. Jurors on the case, which was worth $67 million to the Ritter family, believed that Ritter did not follow the advice of his radiologist, Dr. Matthew Lotysch, to seek the advice of a physician following a 2001 body scan. Dr. Joseph Lee, who treated Ritter the night before his death, was the other defendant in the case.The case was brought by Ritter's widow, Amy Yasbeck, and his four children. The family has collected $14 million in previous settlements regarding Ritter's death. Ritter was starring in ABC's 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter when he died.What's your view on the ruling? Should the doctors have been found negligent, or were they unfairly accused? — Anna DimondUse our Online Video Guide to see clips of John... read more
John Ritter's Widow Testifies at Wrongful Death Trial | Today's News: Our Take | 3/4/2008
Amy Yasbeck sobbed through much of her testimony as she told jurors about husband John Ritter's last moments before he was wheeled into surgery for what they thought was a heart attack, but what turned out to be a shredded aorta. The AP notes that Yasbeck's words were the final testimony heard for the plaintiff's side in the $67 mil wrongful-death suit Ritter's family filed against Dr. Joseph Lee and radiologist Dr. Matthew Lotysch. Dr. Lee was the physician at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center who told the family that Ritter was in the middle of a heart attack and as such needed an angiogram. Dr. Lotysch had performed a body scan on the actor two years prior to his death and concluded that his aorta was normal. Along with Yasbeck, Ritter's first wife of 19 years, Nancy, also testified. Ritter had told her his body scan had gone well, but she then offered, "Maybe he was trying to protect me."Yasbeck's testimony concluded with her account of the unthinkable moment of having to... read more
Henry Winkler Testifies in John Ritter Lawsuit | Today's News: Our Take | 2/14/2008
Henry Winkler, longtime friend and colleague of John Ritter, testified on Wednesday at the late actor's wrongful-death trial. Winkler told the jurors that he had just spoken with Ritter shortly before he was rushed to the hospital. The AP reported Winkler's last encounter with Ritter: "'We were reminiscing,' Winkler said. 'He was sweating [and said], 'I really need to get some water.' I said, 'I really need to memorize my lines.' And he went one way and I went the other. And that was the last time I saw him."It was clear that Winkler's testimony was trying to strike an emotional chord with the jurors, as he explained Ritter's love for his work and his family. When Winkler was asked about what he thought Ritter's kids would miss most about their dad, he said, "His passion for life. His excitement for being on the Earth. Any conversation we had wrapped around his children, the pride and the love."The lawsuit for $67 million is against a radiologist who had given Ritter a body scan... read more
Kyle XY, 300, L Word and More Short Cuts | Today's News: Our Take | 7/10/2007
ABC has pulled its Friday-night rebroadcasts of ABC Family's Kyle XY after four low-rated outings, TV Week reports.... TNT has ponied up $17 mil for the cable rights to 300, to premiere in September 2009. Per Variety, TNT believes it can edit out the blood and gore while maintaining the film's integrity.... OurChart.com and FanLib.com have announced a writing contest inviting fans of The L Word to rewrite any scene from Season 1 or 2. The winning submission will air as part of a future episode. Go here for deets.... On DVD August 7: 8 Simple Rules: The Complete First Season and Home Improvement, Season 7.... A survey commissioned by Arm & Hammer Advanced White Toothpaste finds that women most covet the smiles of Halle Berry and Julia Roberts. As for which Hollyhunk they'd like to "share their toothpaste" with, George Clooney edged out Matthew McConaughey. read more
Casting About: TV's Terminator Finds Its Sarah Connor | Today's News: Our Take | 11/8/2006
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lena Headey (The Brothers Grimm, The Cave) will pick up where Linda Hamilton left off and play the title character in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a Fox pilot set between the second and third Terminator films, and following 15-year-old John's tough-gal mom.... 8 Simple Rules' Kaley Cuoco, who, when she first auditioned for the role last spring, was deemed too young, fought the good fight and has landed the female lead in The Big Bang Theory, CBS' comedy pilot about genius physicists (Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons) whose lives are turned upside down by a woman (Cuoco). read more

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How the cast of <i>8 Simple Rules</i> is coping with its devastating loss

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Premiered: September 17, 2002, on ABC

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Premise: Widowed mom Cate Hennessy raises three teens in this sitcom, which shifted focus in 2003 following the sudden death of its star, John Ritter, just before the start of its second season. Cate's father Jim (James Garner) joined the show and helped the family adjust to the loss.

Cast