‘Matlock’ Star Jason Ritter Talks Late Dad John & Legacy He Hopes to Leave for His Daughter

Matlock star Jason Ritter recently opened up about his dad John Ritter‘s legacy — and how that spills over into what he hopes to leave behind for his daughter.

In 2003, John, who starred in Three’s Company and 8 Simple Rules, died at 54 following an aortic dissection. Twenty-three years later, Jason, 46, is married to Melanie Lynskey, 49, and they share a daughter, 7.

During an interview with People published on September 20, Jason reflected on fans approaching him to share “the laughter and joy” that John “spread while he was here.”

“The idea that that is still reverberating in people’s hearts and souls 23 years after his passing is so beautiful to me,” Jason pointed out. “It reminds me of the lasting power of kindness and love and humor. It’s a really nice thing.”

He added, “I feel very lucky that I can walk around and someone can come up to me and give me a little story of how my dad affected their life in a positive way,” he continued. “I know other people who have people come up to them and been like, ‘I met your dad. He was the worst.’ So, I feel very lucky that [my dad] was like a little Johnny Appleseed of kindness, and I don’t have to apologize for him.”

In fact, the way fans still treasure John today has Jason thinking ahead to what he will leave behind for his daughter.

“I mean, anytime I do an interview or a podcast or anything like that, I am imagining hopefully years down the road, my daughter doing what I do sometimes and searching up and just getting to know what I said that particular night,” he explained. “It’s mainly just for her.”

Jason continued, “Sometimes, I find some new thing that I’ve never seen, and so it’s like a little Easter egg of getting to know him a little bit better and hearing him answer some questions that I never asked him or things like that. There’s a part of me that thinks about what I’m leaving behind, years from now.”

Three’s Company aired for eight seasons from 1977 to 1984. Meanwhile, 8 Simple Rules aired for three seasons from 2002 to 2005; John died after filming just three episodes of Season 2.

8 Simple Rules, streaming on Disney+; Three’s Company, streaming on Pluto TV, Peacock, and Philo