Actor Henry Winkler testifies for John Ritter’s widow

In a cameo courtroom appearance this morning, actor Henry Winkler told jurors that his friend John Ritter seemed in top form on the set of his hit television show on Sept. 11, 2003, the day he died.

By that afternoon, however, Winkler said he had noticed Ritter “was sweating. He said, ‘You know, I really need to get some water.’ ”

“That was the last time I saw him.”

Winkler – who testified today in a Glendale civil court on behalf of Ritter’s widow and children – provided a stiff dose of celebrity in a trial that is grounded in medicine.

Ritter’s family is suing two doctors in a wrongful-death case that will turn largely on dueling medical experts who disagree over whether an emergency room physician mistreated Ritter on the day he died.

The defense contends Ritter exhibited the classic signs of a heart attack, and his treatment was appropriate. He died of a tear in the aortic artery.

Attorneys for actress Amy Yasbeck, Ritter’s widow, and his four children said in court this week that the actor might have lived had he gone home from the set of his show, “8 Simple Rules,” without seeking medical intervention. Ritter died at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank about four hours after walking into the hospital’s emergency room.

In court today, Winkler, an author and director as well as an actor, said he got to know Ritter 30 years ago and they became close friends. Winkler, who played the iconic role of Fonzie in the television series “Happy Days,” recalled his friend’s “excitement for life.”

On the day Ritter died, Winkler was making a guest appearance on Ritter’s show. Ritter’s family contends that the actor could have earned more than $67 million over the course of the show, which had just begun a second season.

In addition to testifying about what he witnessed on Ritter’s last day, Winkler also spoke about his interactions with his longtime friend and how great a loss his death was to his family. Winkler shared memories of performances he had done with Ritter over their careers. He said that he came to know Ritter as a great colleague and a loving father and family man.

“Every thought that John had included his children, all four children,” Winkler said. “Every conversation we had somehow wrapped around his children. His pride, his love, his worry, his making sure that every one of them was fine.”

Ritter and Yasbeck were “an unbelievable team,” he said. “They were like a perfect whole,” both with an extremely sharp comedic sense.

“I couldn’t keep up with him when he went on a comic tear. The only one who could was Amy,” Winkler said.

Winkler told jurors about his close friendship with Ritter, a man who he said he loved and admired. He said the actor was thrilled that he had found new success on television so many years after he first rose to fame in the 1970s as Jack Tripper on “Three’s Company.”

“He was every day grateful that lightning had struck again,” Winkler said of “8 Simple Rules.” “He loved that cast. They loved him like a second family. He watched over everybody.”

Ritter dominated the show, Winkler said.

“John was the leader of the set. Everything starts with the man at the top. He was an extraordinary inspiration to everybody. He kept everyone laughing. He was unbelievably professional.”

Yasbeck has already received $14 million in settlements from other defendants in the case.

john.spano@latimes.com