Jack Tripper is such a phony name to me.....

Obviously the last name is based on the MATH character, Robin Tripp.

However it's clear Tripper is similar to Ritter. I'm sure the producers made the name Jack Tripper similar to John Ritter on purpose since they knew from the get go when they took over control of the show he was going to be the lead.

Also, the Tripper name is appropriate since John Ritter was the master of the pratfall. But although the name is appropriate in many ways it just seems so unrealistic.

Originally the three finalists for the lead in Three's Company were Ritter, some guy named Lembeck, and Barry Van Dyke. I wonder if Barry Van Dyke was chosen would Nicholl Ross West have named his character Benny Van Tripp.

Apparently 118 people in the U.S. have the last name Tripper and at least 1 is named Jack.

http://howmanyofme.com/search/


Obviously the last name is based on the MATH character, Robin Tripp.

How so? I've never seen or heard any indication that his named was based on Robin Tripp.

Apparently 118 people in the U.S. have the last name Tripper and at least 1 is named Jack.

http://howmanyofme.com/search/




How so? I've never seen or heard any indication that his named was based on Robin Tripp.
Thanks for pointing out the Trippers.

You don't see the similarity between Tripp and Tripper?

I never thought about it before, but yeah Jack Tripper does sound like a made up (TV character) name ! And doing his physical slapstick comedy, the name Tripper as in tripping a lot!

I think Chrissy Snow sounds like a fictional name too.

You don't see the similarity between Tripp and Tripper?

I'm not talking about the similarity between the names. You said the name Tripper was obviously based on Robin Tripp. Just because the last names are similar is no indication of that. Using the term 'obviously' means that you're sure about what you're saying so if you are then please provide a link to back-up your statement. If you're not sure then 'probably' might be a better choice.

I'm pretty sure that quite a few people in ENGLAND have the surname Tripper. Not an uncommon name.

Also, the Tripper name is appropriate since John Ritter was the master of the pratfall.

That never occurred to me before! :eek: Now it seems so obvious.

I'm not talking about the similarity between the names. You said the name Tripper was obviously based on Robin Tripp. Just because the last names are similar is no indication of that. Using the term 'obviously' means that you're sure about what you're saying so if you are then please provide a link to back-up your statement. If you're not sure then 'probably' might be a better choice.

In the Chris Mann book about TC, the character's name was Jack Tripp until 2 days before they shot the third pilot. Apparently someone in Santa Monica with the same name came forward and complained so they added the "-er" to the last name.

So the origins are connected with Robin Tripp. The producers changed "Robin" to "Jack" because they felt Robin was too feminine for an American audience.