Ritter (right) was in 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter

Ritter, who was 54, starred in sitcoms like Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter.

He collapsed on the set of 8 Simple Rules - the ABC show that revived his career - on 11 September.

The one-hour tribute, John Ritter: Life of Laughter, beat Whoopi Goldberg's new sitcom into second in the ratings.

Ritter found fame in the 1970s as Jack in Three's Company, about two women and a man sharing an apartment.

He was nominated for a total of 13 Emmy TV awards and Golden Globes during his career - winning one of each.

Ritter appeared with Jane Curtin (left) and Tyne Daly at 1984's Emmys

He suffered a tear in his aorta, in his heart, and was buried at a private funeral on Monday, with a public memorial service planned.

Fans have laid flowers and photographs at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

8 Simple Rules was ABC's most successful comedy of 2002, and won the prize for best new comedy series at the recent People's Choice Awards.

The TV network has already said the show - which starred Ritter as the father of unruly adolescent children - will continue without him.

It will be rewritten to make the other characters deal with the death of their father in the show, which was "uncharted waters", ABC said.

The first three episodes of the new series, which Ritter filmed before his death, will be screened as planned from Tuesday.