Kaley Cuoco Bought John Ritter’s ‘Three’s Company’ Cast Jacket at Foundation Auction

Kaley Cuoco continues to pay tribute to her late TV father, John Ritter.

On Sunday, Sept. 21, the Big Bang Theory actress posted an Instagram carousel commemorating a John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health event. The late actor died in 2003 at the age of 54 of a “misdiagnosed acute aortic dissection,” according to the foundation’s website.

Cuoco, 39, attended the Evening From The Heart gala in Los Angeles on Friday, Sept. 12, where she, Adam Devine and Jason Alexander performed a read-through of Three’s Company, alongside original cast members Priscilla Barnes and Richard Kline.

At the event, the foundation auctioned off a few of Ritter’s items, including one of his episode scripts and his original Three’s Company cast jacket, the latter of which Cuoco was able to take home. 

Cuoco celebrated the foundation in her Instagram caption, remarking on the “fantastic and successful” John Ritter Foundation event.”

“This foundation has saved many lives and kept John Ritter’s memory alive. I’m always thrilled to be part of it,” she wrote.

Adding, “PS- the last pic…. I bid on John’s original Three’s Company cast jacket and won. I was so thrilled and will cherish forever!💜.”

The snap showed Cuoco wearing the satin gold and orange jacket, which Ritter famously donned in the 100th episode of the sitcom, per a previous Instagram post from the foundation. Cuoco made it clear she had her eyes set on the number as she commented, “Ok I’m definitely bidding on this !”

In addition to Cuoco, Devine, and Alexander participating in the Friday, Sept. 12 event. They also selected Three’s Company episodes for a marathon on Pluto TV. The curated reruns were chosen by Ritter’s family, friends and professional admirers to remind fans just what talent the late actor brought to his breakout role.

The marathon aired on Sept. 11, the 22nd anniversary of Ritter’s death.

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Cuoco and Ritter starred as father and daughter, Paul and Bridget Hennessy, on 8 Simple Rules for two seasons from 2002 to 2003 before his unexpected death. The show also starred Katey Sagal as matriarch Cate Hennessy, Amy Davidson as Bridget’s sister Kerry and Martin Spanjers as her brother Rory. The show concluded one season after Ritter’s death.

Cuoco has previously told PEOPLE the impact Ritter had on her. “He touched a lot of lives,” she said at a May 2024 event hosted by the foundation. 

At the time, she explained that since his death, she had become very close to Ritter’s family — including his wife, Amy Yasbeck Ritter, and his four children, Jason, 45, Tyler, 40, Carly, 43, and Noah, 27.

“I will do anything for his wife and his kids,” Cuoco said. “And I’m so really very proud to be here and honoring him.”

“He was so funny, and he loved his fans,” Cuoco told PEOPLE. “He was so good. I remember when we were shooting 8 Simple Rules, [he] used to tell me that he would mess up in front of the audience on purpose to make them laugh.”

“And I was like, ‘No way!'” she recalled. “And then I would watch him mess up over and over when I knew he knew the scenes, and I took that with me for a long time.” Adding, “He didn’t take himself seriously. And I feel like we need to get back to what that is not taking ourselves so seriously.”