"Three's Company" Exposed

Nick at Nite admitting old rerun reveals John Ritter's private parts

By Josh Grossberg Mar 10, 2001 6:00 PMTags
Jack Tripper, a porn star?

Sure it sounds nuts, but apparently an eagle-eyed viewer watching an old rerun of Three's Company spotted something that no one's noticed in the thousand or so times the classic '70s sitcom's been shown on the boob tube--John Ritter's little john.

Whether Ritter was having too much fun in the company of costars Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt, we'll leave up to the next True Hollywood Story to discern; nonetheless, during a scene in a recent rerun on Nick at Nite, the actor unwittingly (we hope) pulled a full monty.

"[His character] Jack was dressed in blue boxers and plopped down on the bed [and] exposed some things that probably shouldn't be seen on television," the unidentified viewer tells MSNBC.

The viewer then says he notified the cable network. "They were shocked and said, 'Gosh, you were right.' They were taken off-guard because this has probably aired hundreds of times since the '80s."

"Yes, his scrotum falls out of his shorts," confirms a spokesman for Nickelodeon. The rep adds that it's a wonder no one saw the blooper in the first place.

Nick says it will neuter the rogue Jack in future broadcasts, but the careful snips should not affect the continuity of the episode. (Sorry fans, Nickelodeon refuses to identify the specific episode showing off the Ritter family jewels.)

Ritter, who played the charming but bumbling would-be chef for seven years on the ABC sticom, tells the New York Observer he's not upset by his fleshcapade.

"I've requested that [Nickelodeon] air both versions, edited and unedited, because sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don't."