In mid-June in 1992, I was still working at Walt Disney World in Orlando. One of the fun things about that job was that occasionally they would film some TV special or commercial, and use some of the employees as 'extras'. Of course, one of the problematic things about shooting for television in a theme park was that there are always so many tourists there, so if they wanted to have a tourist-free or tourist-controlled shoot, they would do it at one or two or three in the morning. So there would be flyers posted around the dressing rooms and little notes in our paycheck envelopes that anybody who wanted to come and work at one or two or three in the morning could come and get paid overtime to be an 'extra' in one of these shoots. So in mid-June in 1992 my girlfriend and I signed up for one of these over-night shifts, to basically stand around in the background and act like 'tourists having a great time' while they filmed a little segment of "Celebrate the Spirit! Disney's All-Star 4th of July Spectacular." It was at the Disney-MGM Studios, right as you come in the main entrance where there is a pseudo old-time service station (Oscar's - get it?) that actually serves as a stroller-rental facility for the park. We were all dancing goofily around the gas pumps and such to some upbeat 50's music, as the host pulled up in a classic 50's red and white automobile (I don't remember the make) to do his spiel introducing the next segment.

That was the day that I met John Ritter.

Granted, I'm sure he wouldn't remember me, as I was only one of about 50 WDW employee 'extras' there that night (that morning - whatever) but I certainly remember him. He was as amiable and as down-to-earth as you could ever hope for. He didn't disappear into some trailer or behind some agent or bodyguards between takes - he hung out with us, joking and laughing, but also conversing and listening. He talked about being from Canada, and formed an immediate bond with those 'extras' there that were Canadian also. He asked us about what it was like to work at Walt Disney World, and seemed genuinely interested in our answers (we told him that it was great, except for having to come out and work these dumb TV specials in the middle of the night). Then when it was time to shoot again, he'd get all excited about doing another take, and his enthusiasm was contagious, and we'd all get excited - and this was just for a two minute intro to another segment of the show.

An hour and five or six takes later it was all said and done, we all went home and John Ritter went on to film another segment in another area of the resort. We thanked him for being there, and he thanked us for coming out in the middle of the night to be on the 'extras' on the show. All in all it was reasonably uneventful, except for getting to meet and spend time with one of the funniest men on earth.

I have had the rare privilege to perform some comedy myself, albeit on a much, much smaller scale - from the corny pun-filled spiel on the WDW Jungle Cruise to improv comedy in Atlanta. And I can tell you, comedy is not easy (but it's a heck of a lot of fun). And I can tell you that if only once out of all the times I've gotten up in front of a group of people I was one thousandth of one percent as funny as John Ritter, I would consider myself a success. His physical comedy - the funny facial expression, the perfectly executed pratfall, the silly noises - well, I could go on and on. He made it look easy, and I know he had fun. Everybody did.

My wife commented to me last night as we watched ABC's tribute, "Of all the people God could have taken - why John Ritter?" I told her my theory: "Well, think of it this way. With the way things sometimes seem to go down here lately, God Himself could probably use a good laugh."

And if that is the reason, well, He certainly called up an expert.