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MEETING JOHN!
(by Shimon Baum from Ireland)

Shimon Baum meets Veanne Cox	Damian Gallagher meets our main man!	John goofs around with Shimon!

I have been a fan of John Ritter since I was a kid. I remember watching "Three's Company" every day on televison. It was and still is, the funniest comedy ever made. I have followed his career over the years and I'm thrilled to see that he's still on top form and in great demand. John Ritter is a great actor who brings to the characters he plays a very special Ritter touch! There is so much I could say about this actor but instead I'll tell you about the day I met the man in question, the day one of my true ambitions in life came true. When I found out John Ritter was appearing on Broadway in "The Dinner Party", I said to myself that this is my opportunity to meet the man himself, and so I set about organising to go to New York City. I departed on the Saturday 9th December with my friend Damian. It was great to be back there and to be honest I never thought that I would be there so soon after my last trip, but the chance of meeting Mr Ritter wouldn't be ignored! When we got there it was very cold and we were both overwhelmed at being back in the "Big Apple".

Well, now it's time to get to all the John Ritter related stories that happened on the way to the theatre, and believe me there are a few. Firstly on the Sunday 10th December I was passing Barnes & Noble (a well known shop in the USA) where they had a huge display in the window of "The Dinner Party". There were posters, stills, playbills and a huge stand. There was another smaller stand that said "Barnes & Noble Welcome John Ritter, Henry Winkler & Len Cariou". The three male actors in the play had been at the store on Friday 8th December at 6pm giving a discussion and doing signings. I couldn't believe I missed this by one day! Anyway I went inside the store and found out as much as I could about what went on only 2 days previously. I spoke to a number of people and explained that I was over from Ireland and had come over to see John Ritter on Broadway, but none of the people had too much information as they hadn't been there themselves. I did, however, ask if I could get some of the great stuff in the window display when they where finished with it. The people I spoke with said they didn't have the authority to give away anything but I was given the name of a person who was their event co-ordinator who may be able to help me. I was told I could either call back during the week or try a number I was given. I decided I would call back. While I was there, however, I did see a book called "People Weekly Celebrates the 70's" which had an introduction by Henry Winkler and was signed by him; it also contained an article on "Three's Company". Naturally I bought the book, it's very good and great for anyone who likes all things 1970's. He had signed a lot of copies of the book while he was there, but there wasn't anything for sale signed by John Ritter. One of the employees had shown me a still signed by the three men and then quickly put it back in the drawer while I was still standing there thinking please please can I have that! So I wasted no time and returned to the book shop the next day, Monday 11th December. I asked if the person whose name I was given was there. She could not be located so another person was sent down to see me. I spoke to a man who was there on the Friday. I told him that I was over from Ireland to see John Ritter in "The Dinner Party" and asked if I could get anything from the display when they were finished with it. He was very nice and told me that the three men were talking about the play and that John Ritter had arrived last as he was away somewhere shooting for a movie. *(Editor's note: The movie was "Tadpole") He said that John Ritter was particularly funny, clowning around 'a la Jack Tripper'. The man very kindly said, "give me a minute and I'll see what I can get". He went upstairs and came back after a few minutes with a large poster of "The Dinner Party" and two stills taken from the play, both the same. One of them was signed by Henry Winkler and the other one wasn't signed at all. I thanked him very much and he wished me good luck in meeting John and Henry. I took the poster and stills back to where I was staying a couple of blocks away and safely locked them in the suitcase. During that week I saw quite a few shows, but left "The Dinner Party" till near the end of the week as then it would be fresh in the mind. There were one or two shows that were on 50% off in T.K.T.S. that Damian wanted to see. I thought I wasn't going to be able to wait the week. As each day went so fast the day finally arrived. We had agreed that we would see it on Friday 15th December However when we went up to the T.K.T.S. we got an unpleasant surprise, "The Dinner Party" wasn't on the list. We had been previously told that the play was on the board every day, but then on the Friday it wasn't. We asked this guy who hands out flyers and tells people about the shows and he said "oh yeah The Dinner Party is sometimes not up on the board on Fridays and the weekends". I had, however, come all the way from Ireland to see the play and see the play I would. We went over to 45th on Broadway and to the Music Box Theater where we asked about getting tickets for the play. There was no problem in getting the tickets and getting good seats. The price was full price however, but we had to pay, we were on holidays anyway and everyone spends more when they are on holidays! The price was $70 for the 5th row back, so while we were deciding whether to go on the Friday or Saturday night, I heard my friend saying "oh my God". I had my back to the entrance of the foyer, as I turn around I hear and see Henry Winkler saying "Hi Guys"! We were totally stunned, we couldn't believe our luck. After saying "hello" back, we told him that we had come all the way from Ireland to see "The Dinner Party" and see himself and John in the play. He was very impressed and started telling us that he likes listening to the Three Irish Tenors. I asked him if he likes The Corrs and he said he likes looking at them! I told him that I had found out about the play on a web site dedicated to John Ritter designed by a woman called Avril Bowles. Then I asked him if we could we get some pictures with him and he said "sure". I took a picture of Damian with Henry and then Damian took a picture of Henry and me. I said to Henry can I get another photo of him and me, this time could we get a bit of "The Fonz", he straight away obliged and we both did the Thumb and "Hey!!"......... pose. It was fantastic. Henry went up to the counter to pay for some tickets for some people (yeah even the big guys have to pay!) and I said to Damian "let's get this on camera". Damian asked Henry if he would mind if we filmed him and he said sure. He then did a piece to the camera and asked us our names. He was very, very nice. He asked us when we were coming to see the show, we said we weren't sure and he said to let him know what day we were coming, we were a bit bemused as to why he wanted to know. Then we said "we'll come tonight" and then he picked up a leaflet on Broadway shows and said "what's your surname?" I thought he was going to sign it for me and so I thought he meant my first name, so I said "Shimon", he said "no your surname". I said "Baum" and he wrote it down. Then he told us that we were to come to the stage door and say Henry is expecting us. We couldn't believe it, my friend double-checked, "so we go to the stage door and they will have our name?", he said "sure, you guys have come all the way from Ireland so you guys will come back stage after the show". We couldn't believe our luck at being in the foyer of The Music Box Theater just as Henry Winkler walked in off the street and for him to ask us back-stage...wow! He said he'll see us tonight and he left and we then turned to the man behind the counter and said, well, I think we'll have two of your best seats for tonight's performance. The man smiled and said, "yeah well you better go now!" So, suffice to say the next few hours I was very excited and so was Damian. I didn't even care that I hadn't had any dinner, we were thinking how great it was going to be to go back stage and how great it was to have met Henry Winkler. I went out and got a really good pen for all the signing on the poster, playbills and the still. We also called in to a shop to see if they had anything John Ritter related that I could buy. We found this cool shop; they have lots of film, television and music-related merchandise. However all they did have was a Chrissy doll which I had a look at, out of curiosity, but had no intention of buying as it was over $100 or something like that. It was nothing special, nice for the collection, but I can live without it. We went back to the hotel and I made sure the video camera was fully charged and that we had loads of spare film. That night we got dressed up and prepared ourselves for an evening to remember. The show started at 8pm. We arrived at the theatre at about 7.45pm and got our playbills and were shown to our seats very near the stage. It was quite a small theatre and was fully packed. I read through the biography of John Ritter and Henry Winkler. Naturally I knew everything in the biography about John already except for the part about him now living in New York. I didn't know he is now permanently living there, I thought it's only while the play is on Broadway but I could be wrong. I was very excited as it neared 8pm and I remembered that Avril Bowles who designed a web site dedicated to Mr. Ritter had said it started with John Ritter on stage with his back to the audience. The curtain went up and there was John Ritter standing on the stage by himself. As he turned around to face the audience and spoke, everyone started clapping very loudly. Then Henry Winkler came through the door on the set and onto the stage, and again the audience went wild with clapping. I probably clapped the loudest for both these stars. It was great to see these two television icons on stage together. Henry was really good, his character was very funny, sometimes, even stupidly funny which works well against the character played by John. He was always on top of things until of course his ex-wife tells the rest of the characters about his affair with her sister, strange part was she didn't exist! Also in the cast were Len Cariou who played Andre, Jan Maxwell who played Mariette and Penny Fuller who played Gabrielle. Veanne Cox played Yvonne; she was very, very funny and it was a great character for an actress to play. She was just full of energy. The cast work as a great team together. The play was really good and very funny. All of the actors in the play were terrific. Anyone who likes a good laugh will enjoy this play. There are a few tender moments which work well in the play. I thoroughly enjoyed watching all of the cast on stage. The play lasts approximately 1 hour 40 minutes and there was no intermission. It's not that long but seems even shorter when you're thinking to yourself wow I'm finally seeing John Ritter and I'm going back-stage to meet him and Henry. When the play finished, all of the cast took their bows, I stood up and started clapping and then Damian followed. Other people started to stand up also and clap. Then the curtain came down and went back up again with each actor holding or ravishing one of the actresses, while laughing. John was acknowledging people a few rows in front of me who were giving a standing ovation. He didn't see me but Henry looked over at the two of us and I gave him a wave which he acknowledged by smiling back at me. It really was only an intermission for Damian and I, as the most exciting part of the evening was about to occur, even more exciting than seeing John Ritter live for the first time! Damian and I headed out of the theatre and towards the stage door which is right beside the main entrance in. When we got to the stage door there were already a few people beginning to gather around. I knocked on the door and I said, "the name is Baum, Henry Winkler is expecting us". The man replied very jolly; "it's the Baum's, come on in". Then he told us to go on through and sit down on the couch at the back of the stage and that Henry will be with us in a minute. We went through and began to work out where we could put the camcorder while pictures where being taken. We decided to put it on a table and prop it up slightly in the hope that it would pick up what was about to occur. I take my camcorder everywhere when I'm on holiday and it was certainly paying for itself that night. I laid out all my stuff that I wanted signed, on the table. While we were waiting excitedly I took a peek at the stage itself and at the script, which was out for the prompter to use; it was very interesting. Henry was the first one to come down. He said John was on his way. We told him that we really enjoyed the show and that he was great. He thanked us and asked what we have for him to sign. He signed the poster and the playbill. We chatted to him for about 1 or 2 minutes and then another member of the cast, Len Cariou, appeared. I got a picture with him and Henry also. Penny Fuller also came in briefly introducing some friend to Henry Winkler and saying to him "what's your last name again?" Then after another minute or two I heard John's voice as he came down the stairs. He appeared to be coming down quite slowly. I was standing there with the camcorder getting it all on tape. Henry says to him: "these two guys have come all the way form Ireland to see you in the show". He was genuinely happy and interested to hear that. Looking back at that one incident it just shows how amazing the event was, Henry Winkler was introducing Damian and I, no one else just The Fonz! I said to John what a pleasure it was to finally meet him and we shook hands. Damian also shook hands and he asked us our names. Henry took over with the ordinary camera to take some extraordinary photos. Firstly Damian got his picture taken with John and then as I was standing there with a big grin on my face, Henry looked over to me and winked at me to get in there for the photo. Then John asked what we did, he said are we actors? Damian went first and told him he plays music and was in New York to get lessons at which John was very interested. Then I told him that I worked in television as camera operator and that I hoped to work in New York one day. Again John was very interested to hear what we had to say. I asked him if he had ad-libbed a bit in the play where Jan Maxwell is laughing when he says which part of the dog did he get in the divorce, the front or back. The audience all started laughing with her. He said he hadn't, and John said she just always laughs at that part and gets the audience going. He proceeded to go over to the signing desk where he wrote a lovely message on the poster and signed the playbill and still for me. He also signed the playbill for Damian. I asked him if he had hurt his knee which he said he did, but he was writing a little message for me at the same time so he didn't expand anymore. Then when he had signed everything which took a couple of minutes, Henry and John started to say their goodbyes and wished us a good trip back. I asked John could I get another picture with him to which he literally grabbed me by the neck as Damian took the photo, it's a classic (*see above). Then they really did go as John told us that we were good ambassadors for our country. We thanked them and said goodbye. I then gathered up all of my stuff and carefully put it away and took the camera and we headed outside where John and Henry were literally entertaining the rest of the people who were waiting outside the stage door; there was a good crowd. As we went out of the stage door, I laughed to those waiting, saying "we are not famous yet!" People were getting loads of autographs and some were getting photos also. John started writing on his face with someone's eye-liner pencil and generally joking about. I took lots more photos of him and Henry and I got lots of video footage. At one point John did this mad face and went right up to the lens of the camera, great stuff! I even had the nerve to ask for another photo as he was finished with the crowd and was about to get into his car that was waiting. He made another mad face and snap, I had another great photo. I then remembered a question that I said to myself I would ask if I ever met John Ritter. I had forgotten all about it before in all the excitement but somehow managed to remember it. I asked him about the scene in "Stay Tuned" where he jumps into "Three's Company". I wanted to know was that his original idea, which I thought it probably was, or did someone else suggest it. He told me that he had written it and that the two girls in that scene had actually won competitions for looking like Chrissy and Janet. We shook hands again and he was away into his car and off to Ritter Land! Wow, what an evening; it was truly amazing, one I'll never forget and neither will Damian. I had finally met the man himself. So I decided later on that evening that I wanted to go back again one more time before I returned home on the Monday. It would also give me an opportunity to get the rest of the cast to sign the poster and get more pictures of John and Henry and the other members of the cast and also to get John and Henry to sign a playbill for my Dad who was very excited when I told him I met them, as were my whole family.

So on the Sunday, 17th December I went to the matinee showing, the only showing on a Sunday. It worked out well as I went to see "The Dinner Party" again and Damian who didn't want to really see it again, even though he really enjoyed it, as he really wanted to see "Rent" again and he managed to get a ticket. "Rent" started at 2pm and "The Dinner Party" began at 3pm. So Damian would be finished before me. We arranged that he would meet me outside The Music Box Theater at 4.40pm which he did. This was so Damian could get me and John on video even more as there wasn't that much of John and I together on the video before when I reviewed the tape on the Friday night. It was great seeing the play again, I noticed lots of different things the second time. There were lines I had missed the first time, probably too busy thinking about everything that was happening that evening! After the play I went outside to the stage door (with a much smaller crowd than previously) to wait for the cast to emerge. Damian was also there and took on the part of camera operator. First out was Henry Winkler who seemed a lot quieter, more tired than on the Friday. Then Jan Maxwell came out and was slipping away quietly as no one noticed her as they were all looking at Henry. I spoke to her for a moment and she signed my poster. I spoke to Henry again when he was finished with the crowd and he was very nice and happy to see me again, I asked for his autograph, this time made out to my Dad. He obliged and then got into his waiting car. As he moved off slowly, he rolled down the window and wished us a safe journey back to Ireland. We thanked him and he was off. Then back to the stage door and out came Len Cariou who also obliged in signing my poster, it was really looking good now! Next up, Penny Fuller pops her head out of the door and she posed for pictures and I got her signature on the poster, only Veanne Cox's signature to get. Then after another few minutes Veanne Cox came out of the stage door. She seems a lovely person, very bubbly. She said to the waiting crowd, "I know you guys are only waiting for John Ritter!" Damian and I told her that we thought she was really funny and I told her I loved the part in the play where she says - totally out of character - "just ask the fucking question", to a huge laugh form the audience. She said, "yeah the audience like that part, don't know why"! She posed for some great pictures and signed the poster. Now the poster was complete, all had signed, mission accomplished! But hey, John Ritter I hear you shout, did I miss the part where he came out of the stage door? No is the answer! John took a long time to come out, the crowd where beginning to wonder if he had gone out another way. While the small crowd persisted in the very cold weather, one guy remarked how he had met Joyce DeWitt in the street the previous week, I was saying to him, really how exciting, but unfortunately he didn't expand, ah well! A car was waiting with its engine running, the crowd waiting were wondering whether it was waiting for him, so I went over to him and asked, it's the only way you'll find out. He said he was, so we now knew we weren't waiting for nothing. At about 5.40pm John emerged, slowly and looking very tired. I would say his knee must have been causing him some pain. I went over to him and said I had to see him one last time before I went back. He looked up at me and smiled and said "oh!" I then asked him if he would sign the playbill and make it out to my Dad, which he did. I got John and myself on video, courtesy of Damian's handywork. As he headed to his car after the crowd had been satisfied with photos and autographs, I said goodbye to him one last time and he wished Damian and I a safe trip home. We shook hands and he got into his waiting car and drove off. Finally the next morning I saw John Ritter on ABC on "Live with Regis", which was about 19 blocks away from where I was staying. He was looking very well and joking around. He spoke about the play and his family, to Regis. It was nice to finish my holiday by watching John Ritter live on television giving an interview.

Well that was really it, no more encounters with Mr. Ritter, well for the moment anyway...never say never! This holiday was definitely a dream come true for me. I won't forget the memories I brought home with me. It was terrific, really amazing and I've enjoyed writing this report on my adventures. I hope you have all been able to get through it, I know it's quite long, but I hope you have enjoyed reading it.

THE END