The Class

Background:

“I don’t use my father for parts. It would be embarrassing for me to get hired not for my ability.” Jason Ritter

American actor of film, television and stage Jason Ritter, son of the late actor John Ritter and Nancy Morgan and grandson of Hollywood matinee star Tex Ritter, was immediately raised to teen-star position with his roles as Allan in MTV’s series MTV’s “Undressed” (2000) and Amber Tamblyn’s disillusioned, paralyzed brother on the critically commended series “Joan of Arcadia” (2003-2005), from which he earned a 2004 Teen Choice nomination. He resurfaced on the small screen as a series regular on the award-winning show “The Class” (CBS, 2006-current), playing uptight, 27-year-old Ethan. Ritter, who consistently has made a name for himself as an actor evenly adept at drama and his father’s specialty, sitcom, is probably most famous to moviegoers for playing Will Rollins in the slasher hit Freddy vs. Jason (2003) and Tom Arnold’s son on Happy Endings (2005). Other films in which he has acted in include Raise Your Voice (2004), Our Very Own (2005), The Wicker Man (2006), The Education of Charlie Banks (2007) and the forthcoming Good Dick (2007) and The Deal (2008).

A stage trained performer, Ritter picked up two honors for his brilliant acting in Wendy Wasserstein’s play “Third” (2005). He also has starred in “The Beginning of August” (2000) and “The Distance from Here” (2002).

Outside the spotlight, Ritter is now dating actress-writer-director Marianna Palka. They co-founded Morning Knight, Inc.

Jace the Ace from Outer Space

Childhood and Family:

In Los Angeles, California, Jason Morgan Ritter was born on February 17, 1980. He comes from a show business family. His father, John Ritter (born in 1948, died in 2003), was popular for playing Jack Tripper on the TV series “Three’s Company.” His mother, Nancy Morgan (died in 2003), daughter of actor Samuel Morgan, and his grandmother, Dorothy Fay, were both actresses, and his grandfather, Tex Ritter, was a well-known country singer and Western film star. His parents divorced when he was 16, after which he was raised under the guidance of his mother. He has two younger siblings, Carly (born in 1982) and Tyler (born in 1985), and a half-sister, Stella Ritter (born in 1998), from his stepmother, actress Amy Yasbeck.

As a child, Jason, whose nickname is Jace the Ace from Outer Space, wanted to an actor, but turned to music when he was a little older, playing bass guitar and guitar. He returned to his first love, acting, when he completed high school and went to New York to study at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He continued to hone in on his crafts at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Joan of Arcadia

Career:

10-year-old Jason Ritter made his television debut with a small role as Harry Neil Baum in the TV movie The Dreamer of Oz (1990), which starred both of his parents. Although he disappeared from the screen for much of the 1990s, the young player went on to train as an actor at both the prestigious New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts as well as London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and later founded the Irreputable Theater Company in New York. Upon returning from London, he had his first taste in front of the big screen camera as the son of Ted Danson and Mary McDonnell in Mumford (1999). The little-seen romantic comedy was directed and written by Lawrence Kasdan. The same year, he also could be seen joining the cast of the long-running soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” playing Todd.

Ritter went on to play Allan on the season three of MTV’s comedy series “Undressed” (2000), a role that launched him as a teen star, and guest starred as Nick Simms, a teen who eyewitnesses his friend kill a delivery man, on an episode of the NBC legal drama “Law & Order” the following year. He returned to the big screen in 2002 with a supporting role in the thriller Swimfan, starring Jesse Bradford and Erika Christensen. In the meantime, on the stage, he shared top billing with Mary Steenburgen in the Off-Broadway production of “The Beginning of August” (2000) and starred as Tim in the world premiere of Neil LaBute’s play “The Distance from Here” (2002) at the Almeida Theatre in London.

After a guest spot as the interrogation subject for Ice-T’s character in a 2003 episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Ritter got his big breakthrough when he was listed as part of an applauded ensemble in the television series “Joan of Arcadia” (2003-2005). As Kevin Girardi, an ex-athlete adjusting to his new life as a paraplegic, he bolstered his teen-icon status and was nominated for a Teen Choice for Choice Breakout TV Star – Male in 2004. Ritter gained additional popularity as one of the stars of the horror hit Freddy vs. Jason (2003) opposite Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger and Monica Keena.

A tragedy struck in the actor’s life when on September 11, 2003, his father became ill during preparations for his hit ABC sitcom “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter” and died hours later after being taken to a nearby hospital. John died at age 55 from an undiagnosed congenital heart condition. The tragedy apparently shocked the younger Ritter and after taking time off to cope with his loss, he returned to work and was seen as Hillary Duff’s brother in Sean McNamara’s musical Raise Your Voice (2004). He went on to act in the movies Perceptions (2005), Our Very Own (2005, opposite Allison Janney and Keith Carradine), Placebo (2005) and director Don Roos’ ensemble comedy drama Happy Endings (2005), alongside Steve Coogan, Tom Arnold, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow and Laura Dern. Also in 2005, he starred in Wendy Wasserstein’s “Third” (2005), which debuted at New York’s Lincoln Center, and was handed a Clarence Derwent for Most Promising Male and a Martin E. Segal for his work in the play.

In 2006, Ritter made a successful comeback to series television when he starred as a bothered twenty-something named Ethan on the CBS comedy “The Class” (2006-current), which won a 2007 People’s Choice for Favorite New TV Comedy. The actor also appeared in such movies as The Wicker Man (2006), and more recently, The Education of Charlie Banks, helmed by Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst. He made his producing debut with the made-for-TV film This Is My Friend (2007).

Currently, Ritter has two films in post-production, Good Dick (2007), directed and written by girlfriend Marianna Palka, and director Steven Schachter’s The Deal (2008). He will reunite with Happy Endings costar Tom Arnold in the first movie where he also serves as producer, and play Lionel Travitz in the latter production, scripted by actor William H. Macy from a novel by Peter Lefcourt.

Awards:

• Clarence Derwent: Most Promising Male, “Third,” 2006

• Martin E. Segal: “Third,” 2006