Amy Yasbeck on the Sweet Way Her Family Honors John Ritter in Their Group Text: He 'Would've Loved This' (Exclusive)
John Ritter suddenly died on Sept. 11, 2003, at age 54 after suffering an aortic dissection
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John Ritter and Amy YasbeckJohn Ritter’s widow Amy Yasbeck is revealing the unique way her family honors the late comedian.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health on Thursday, May 9, Yasbeck, 61, describes the content the family shares in a group thread when they want to honor the man they loved.
"All we do is we send each other videos of physical comedy or people falling down, or having a bird poop on them, or something. We say, 'John would've' or 'Dad would've loved this,'" she says, referring to John's four children.
"And you don't even have to say it, because we all share that appreciation of physical comedy like he did," she adds.
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Amy Yasbeck at An Evening from the Heart annual gala to benefit The John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health held at Sunset Room on May 9, 2024 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaRelated: How John Ritter's Widow Helped Reunite Him with Suzanne Somers Before His Death
Amy's comments more than two decades after the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor suddenly died on Sept. 11, 2003, at age 54 after suffering an aortic dissection.
Yasbeck founded her organization the same year her husband suddenly died, to raise awareness about the condition in terms people can understand.
"The science can sometimes be very dense. But to be able to tell it as a story, that's what actors do, they tell stories. Be able to tell everybody's stories, people get it much better than sitting in a classroom," she says about how events like the gala make a difference.
While speaking to PEOPLE at last year’s gala for the foundation created in honor of her late husband, Yasbeck said after being asked about the joy she gets in keeping Ritter's legacy alive, "It's a trade-off. Because the legacy is keeping his family alive."
"And he thought everyone was connected and everyone is everyone's family, which I believe, but he believed it very deeply," the actress added, in part. "So in my heartfelt effort to understand what aortic dissection is, understand the genetic component, which is extremely high, and trying to protect John's kids and his brother."
Ritter and Yasbeck met in 1990 during a table read for Problem Child at the house of director Dennis Dugan. They quickly connected over their love of the arts and tied the knot nine years later in September 1999.
"John and I bonded over comedy, where we'd watch old comedies," told PEOPLE in October 2022. "He would do moves and he would teach me how to trip or take a fake punch or spit take. I was learning that kind of stuff, physical comedy from the master, which John was."
And although Yasbeck has done her best to keep his late husband's memory alive and move forward, the thought of opening her heart to someone new seemed daunting.
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"I don't date," she said at the time. "I mean, it could happen. I'm not in the mood. I think I would miss John more if I was dating, as weird as that sounds."
"But because I always feel like he's with me, and that would be weird because in that case, three is not company," she added.
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