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In May, Kaley Cuoco co-chaired and co-hosted An Evening From The Heart gala to benefit the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health. Cuoco paid tribute to her former TV dad Ritter, who passed away during the run of the show, 8 Simple Rules. Cuoco shared that she still held on to one great piece of advice from the sitcom legend that made her a successful star in The Big Bang Theory.

Kaley Cuoco as Penny in The Big Bang Theory | Credits: CBS

Ritter died at the age of 54 due to an undetected thoracic aortic dissection. The John Ritter Foundation works to raise awareness regarding this health issue through research, education, and advocacy. The gala was also attended by Ritter’s family and his Three’s Company sitcom co-stars Joyce DeWitt and Priscilla Barnes.

Kaley Cuoco Took Advice From John Ritter To Make Her Tbbt Audience Love Her John Ritter and Kaley...

Benedict Fitzgerald, the co-writer of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, has died. He was 74.

Fitzgerald died Jan. 17 after a long illness at his home in Marsala, Sicily, his cousin Nancy Morgan Ritter told The Hollywood Reporter.

Best known for his work on Gibson’s 2004 Biblical epic, the highest-grossing Christian film, as well as the highest-grossing independent film of all time, Fitzgerald’s other credits include co-writing the screenplay for John Huston’s Wise Blood (1979), the adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s novel.

Born on March 9, 1949, in New York, Fitzgerald was born into a literary household. His deeply Catholic mother, Sally, was a writer and editor and his father, Robert, was a poet, United States Poet Laureate (1984-1985), critic, and famed translator of classic ancient Greek and Latin texts, who was responsible for perhaps the most well-known translation of Homer’s The Odyssey.

In the late 1950s, Fitzgerald’s family...

Jason Ritter is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his roles in Joan of Arcadia and Gravity Falls.

Jason Ritter Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education

Jason Ritter was born on February 17, 1980 (Jason Ritter: age 42) in Los Angeles, California. His parents are actors Nancy Morgan and comic actor John Ritter, who was the star of hit 70s sitcom Three’s Company. He has three siblings.

Ritter went to high school at the Crossroads School in California. He graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ritter also attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Jason Ritter Biography: Career

Ritter started his career in 1990 as Harry Neal Baum in the television movie The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story. He co-starred as Frank Baum’s son alongside his own father, John Ritter.

Some of Ritter’s other roles include the movies...

Sometimes it feels like Ron Howard has been around forever. Although the actor/director is in his 60’s, he’s been a star in TV and movies for over 55 years. From his early days playing Andy Griffith‘s son Opie on “The Andy Griffith Show” to his directing of the latest “Star Wars” story, “Solo,” the unassuming Howard still finds himself the center of attention.

Now primarily known as a director, Howard has won two Academy Awards — for producing and directing 2001’s Best Picture winner “A Beautiful Mind” starring Russell Crowe — and has two more nominations to his credit for producing and directing 2008 nominee “Frost/Nixon” starring Michael Sheen and Frank Langella.

With “Solo” in theaters, let’s take a photo gallery tour of his 15 greatest feature films, ranked from worst to best. Keep in mind that our gallery strictly focuses on his directing career and leaves out his terrific work as an actor in movies.

Tyler Ritter is a father!

The actor, 32, and wife, Leila Parma, welcomed their first child — a boy — and shared the happy news Sunday on Instagram. “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life. He’s Benjamin Parma Ritter. And we’re feeling good,” Ritter captioned a father-son photo.

Benjamin is the first grandson of the late comedian and actor John Ritter.

Tyler’s brother Jason Ritter, who starred in Girls, tweeted about the joy of becoming an uncle: “I couldn’t be happier today!”

Tyler and Jason’s mother Nancy, who was married...

Ah, cockroaches. They just don’t get much love in the Horror genre. One would think that these lowly creatures, clicking and flitting, scurrying and shuttling from dark to light would be prime fodder for terror terrain. However, up until 1988’s The Nest, there are only a handful of critter flicks starring these grotesque end- of- the- worlders. Concorde Pictures (Roger Corman’s latest company at the time) unleashed this gloriously gruesome roach-a-rama on an unsuspecting public and watched them squirm with delight.

Actually, The Nest only received a limited release by Concorde, but made its coin when it was released on video by MGM later that same year. Reviews were generally positive, with critics seeing it as a good natured update of 1950’s monster movies, of course with new, improved and gnarly special effects. The Nest is, shall we say, a great deal moister than its bug strewn brethren of yore.

Cry Danger

Written by William Bowers

Directed by Robert Parish

USA, 1951

The road that ultimately leads creative people in the filmmaking business to the highly coveted director’s chair is rarely the same from one candidate to the next. Some are fortunate enough to direct a feature from the get-go. The number of directorial debuts from stunningly young men and women premiering at festivals is a testament to that journey. Others take the long road, filling in a great many roles on movie sets, learning the ropes of many trades before they finally helm a project. Robert Parish’s journey began at age 11, when he appeared in the 1927 short Olympic Games. After years of acting and editing, his directorial debut finally came in 1951 with the mobster film Cry Danger.

Unexpectedly released from prison after 5 years courtesy of an alibi from someone he has never met, infamous hoodlum Rocky Mulloy (Dick Powell...

Joan of Arcadia and Parenthood star Jason Ritter has been cast as the lead in a Us remake of British sitcom Gavin & Stacey.

The 32-year-old actor will play Gavin in the series, which has had a name change in America to Friends & Family.

The reinvention of the smash-hit BBC sitcom, which has creators James Corden and Ruth Jones on board as Executive Producers, will focus on Gavin's first meeting with Stacey - a co-worker from Pennsylvania who he's got to know through Skype and Facebook.

The Us version of Gavin & Stacey is being produced by Fox and the script will be written by David Rosen. It is not thought that Corden or Jones will star in the show.

Speaking last year, Head of BBC Worldwide Jane Tranter said: "There is the right time and the right place for a project like this. The stars needed to align. After the show didn't make it at ABC,...

When Emmy nominations are announced, the conversation tends to turn immediately to those who were snubbed. This year, though, on Thursday morning when the Academy released its nominees list, there was a refreshing reason to celebrate: Jason Ritter snagged a first-time nomination for his guest-starring role as Mark Cyr on the criminally underrated "Parenthood."

Ritter tells Zap2it that, as a longtime part of the television community, he tends to be aware of Emmy nomination morning, mostly, he says, so that he can check on his friends and send congratulatory texts. Today, hough, he'd completely forgotten about the announcements -- which made for a rather unnerving morning.

"This is the first time that I've completely forgotten that it was this morning. There was no part of my brain that was like, 'Oh, someone's calling me at 6 a.m.! It might be that!' My first thought was that it was...

On Thursday, November 3, John Stamos joined the classic rock band America to present Helping Change Happen: An Evening of Music, Merriment, and Making a Difference.

Held at West Hollywood’s acclaimed Red O restaurant, the red carpet drew a star-studded, standing-room only crowd to learn about mothers2mothers (m2m), a non-profit organization working to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. America culminated the night with a musical performance including their classic hits “A Horse with No Name,” “Ventura Highway,” and “Sister Golden Hair.”

On hand to lend support for the evening were Stamos’ former Full House cast-mates Lori Loughlin, Candace Cameron Bure, and Jodie Sweetin, along with Full House creator Jeff Franklin. Also in attendance were Jerry Ferrara, Nia Vardalos, Ian Gomez, Nancy Ritter, Peri Gilpin, Annabeth Gish, and Linda Cardellini. VIP Patrons included Robert and Catherine Beyer, Marvin and Sondra Smalley, and Miles and Angie Rogers.

This week’s DVD and Blu-Ray Releases include a couple of films from the After Dark Horrorfest as well as two of Ron Howard’s earlier films and a Blu-Ray edition of Solaris. Check beyond the break for the full list.

All Descriptions of the following titles are provided by Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. If you plan on buying a flick from this list, please click on the links provided or click on the cover as it helps us pay the bills around here. Also, unlike most sites, we provide the Netflix widget which we think is pretty convenient to add these films to your queue. If you don’t have Netflix, feel free to click on “Free Trial” and try it out!

Death Hunter: Werewolves vs. Vampires

Format: DVD

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In a forgotten region of the desert, an unspeakable evil exists. By no choice of his own, John Croix...

I hear you, pappy. But I can’t quite reach you.

When you hear the name Ron Howard, I would assume most would think either Opie, Richie Cunningham or one of the top directors in Hollywood today. But if one was to say action star, badass or driver extraordinaire, most would either scoff or think I was a bit nutty. But at one time, Ron Howard was making a splash on the big screen, behind the wheels of a race car in one film (Eat My Dust) and his future father-in-law’s Rolls Royce in the other (Grand Theft Auto). Both films are car centric, with a constant car chase going on throughout the running time of the film. Something the Fast and the Furious films wouldn’t dare today because of attention spans going the way of the Dodo, which is why I’ve held these films in such...

Jason Ritter got his first taste of acting when he was a hyperactive toddler with a predilection for set-crashing. The overalls-clad youngster was observing the filming of a credits sequence for dad John's hit show "Three's Company" when he got bored, wriggled free from his mother's grasp, and inserted himself into the shot."They were at the zoo filming all of these little vignettes, and they were shooting Joyce DeWitt with a goat," he recalls. "I just wrenched myself out of my mom's grip and went over to pet the goat and essentially ruined what they were trying to do. But I guess Joyce DeWitt laughed so hard at that, and there was, like, a really sweet moment, so they just kept it in there."Ritter bemusedly notes that he apparently developed quite the diva complex about his initial brush with fame. He says with a laugh, "I just saw...

Another pair of offerings from In2Film’s Roger Corman Collection and this time we venture forward into the 70’s, to two movies that span the spectrum of Corman’s career as a film producer. From the good: Grand Theft Auto, which marked the directorial debut of Happy Days actor Ron Howard; to the not so good: Deathsport.

Grand Theft Auto

Stars: Ron Howard, Nancy Morgan, Elizabeth Rogers, Barry Cahill, Rance Howard, Paul Linke, Marion Ross | Written and Directed by Ron Howard

This amiable screwball comedy is part road movie, part chase movie and part destruction derby, and concerns one young man’s elopement with his heiress girlfriend from La to Vegas while her father, her fiancé and various others are in hot pursuit hoping to prevent the forthcoming nuptials. However, the car crashes are the real stars of a film that marked the directorial debut of one of Hollywood’s most successful filmmakers.