John Ritter Thought the Original ‘It’ Was Going to Be Either ‘Really Scary…Or Really Stupid’
What To Know
- John Ritter initially doubted whether the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s “It” would be genuinely scary.
- Ritter praised the miniseries for its faithful adaptation of the lengthy novel.
- He remarked that Curry’s terrifying performance as Pennywise would have a lasting impact.
Before audiences were terrified by Bill Skarsgård‘s big screen Pennywise in 2017 and long before they were welcomed to Derry in the HBO prequel, fans of Stephen King‘s original novel were first traumatized by the 1990 miniseries that introduced the world to the very first live-action version of “the Dancing Clown,” played with unforgettable menace by Tim Curry.
Years before Georgie met a fanged, CG-sewer clown, the original It miniseries was scaring and scarring audiences in living rooms across the country when it aired on ABC in November 1990. The television event became a defining piece of ’90s horror television, blending camp with genuine creepiness. It is still remembered for its iconic performances, not only from Curry, but from the entire Losers Club in both their child and adult incarnations.
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
Among the adults who made up the Losers Club was the late John Ritter, who stepped out of his comedy comfort zone into horror, which was not his usual go-to. Best known as Jack Tripper in Three’s Company, his casting as adult Ben Hanscom was considered a departure from his usual roles and part of why the miniseries stood out, as it allowed him to play vulnerability and heroism in a way he didn’t often get to show in comedy.
However, he didn’t always have faith in the project.
In a clip from Into the Night Starring Rick Dees, Ritter discussed his work on It, embracing the full scope of the talk show’s early nineties charm, complete with exaggerated sound effects and playful presentation. After Ritter spent some time joking around with the soundboard, Dees shifted the conversation to It, which Ritter starred in alongside Richard Thomas, best known for playing John-Boy Walton on The Waltons. Thomas portrayed Bill Denbrough in the miniseries.
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
“You’ve gone real serious with this It?,” asked Dees.
“It is real scary. It’s a real good film,” said Ritter. “[I was with] Richard Thomas, and we were doing these things and going, ‘This could be really scary…or real stupid.’ And it turns out, they know what they were doing. It’s a real faithful adaptation of Stephen King.”
“Which is the longest book in the world,” commented Dees.
“So, that’s why they had to do it in a TV miniseries thing, otherwise a regular film would be too short to contain all this stuff,” said Ritter.
True enough. Almost three decades later, when adapted again for the screen, it was released as a two-part film.
“This guy, Tim Curry, you guys might know him from The Rocky Horror [Picture] Show, he is unbelievable. He plays Pennywise, the dancing, deranged clown, and he’s gonna do for circuses what Jaws did for the beaches,” predicted Ritter. “Just when you thought it was safe to go into the big top. Oh, man, he is so scary.”
Remind