Lucille Ball And John Ritter: Two Comedic Icons
Ball, Ritter Blessed With Unique Ability To Make People Laugh
Feb 28, 2009
There are very few shows that are laugh-out-loud funny. I Love Lucy and Three's Company were two of those shows. Both I Love Lucy and Three's Company were blessed with great casts, but it was Lucille Ball and John Ritter who were the centerpieces that made their shows work. They both had great comedic timing. They were both outstanding physical comedians. They both knew how to make an audience laugh.
Lucille Ball Biography
Lucille Ball started her Hollywood career as one of the "Goldwyn Girls" and in the 1940's, she was known as "The queen of the B movies." In 1951, though, she landed the role that would make her a household name. She played "Lucy Ricardo" on I Love Lucy a housewife who had show business aspirations. She was always cooking up a scheme to try to get into her husband's show at the club.
Whether she was making goofy facial expressions or putting her own spin on a performance at the club, she knew how to make the audience laugh. She was a rarity - a beautiful woman who did a great job acting silly and goofy. She wasn't afraid to make a fool out of herself and that helped produce great comedy.
Much of the comedy on I Love Lucy was also derived from comedic misunderstandings. Lucy would often hear one thing and interpret something else and comedy would ensue. The art of the comedic misunderstanding would be taken to the next level by John Ritter on Three's Company.
John Ritter Biography
John Ritter's acting career began on an episode of Hawaii Five-O but he received his first prominent role as "Reverend Matthew Fordwick"on The Waltons. It was his role as "Jack Tripper" on Three's Company though, that won him the hearts of millions. Jack was a bumbling, girl-crazy bachelor who happened to live with two beautiful girls.
Whether he was falling off the hammock, running into that famous swinging door, or dancing up a storm at a party, he knew how to make people laugh. He was arguably the greatest physical comedian of all time, along with the aformentioned Lucille Ball.
Three's Company was the master of the comedic misunderstanding. Although, their misunderstandings were usually a little more on the sexy, risque side. These misunderstandings led to great comedy and John was usually the focal point.
The Connection
John Ritter was a big admirer of Lucile Ball and lists her as one of his biggest inspirations. Lucille Ball was also a huge fan of John Ritter and even hosted a special called "The Best of Three's Company." In it she states, "You Know what I like about this show? It doesn't try to change the world or solve any major problems, all it does is make us laugh and forget our own cares. That's my kind of comedy." (Lucille Ball 1982). The same could be said about her show. Even though many critics didn't like the show, that was perhaps the greatest validation that Three's Company could receive. Even though both Lucille and John have passed on, through re-runs they will continue to make millions laugh for generations to come.
