Tributes to Clint
Carry On Clint Ritchie . . .
by Catherine Hickland
“Lindsay” on “One Life to Live”
February 3, 2009
“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold this world together.” (Woodrow Wilson)
I just heard about Clint Ritchie going on ahead, and I thought this would be an appropriate place to pay my respect.
I adored Clint. When I came to One Life to Live 11 years ago, he was one of the actors whom I worked with the most. He became Lindsay Rappaport’s first on-screen husband.
Working with Clint was always interesting. He was a complicated man, and his playful wickedness always made for a fun day. He was someone I loved playing practical jokes on, and I was relentless on the poor man. For this very reason, over the course of the next few years, his nickname for me became “The Little Dickins.”
My favorite day with Clint was when I ordered Chinese food for lunch. I am known there as the breakfast/lunch/dinner orderer – NO ONE loves to eat more than I do. Even though we have dressing rooms, the hair and make-up room is where all of the actors eat together (and for that reason, fish is strictly off-limits). This day would be no different. Oh yes, I wanted an audience for THIS one!
I waited for the delivery in the lobby so he wouldn’t suspect what I was up to. I then went quietly to my dressing room to begin the evils of the best practical joke I would ever play on him. I fished his fortune cookie out. Armed with a pair of tweezers, and the skill of a surgeon, I extracted the fortune out of the cookie. I then cut a little piece of paper EXACTLY the same size as the fortune. With incredible detail, I typed a new fortune on the small piece of paper. I can’t tell you what I wrote (I was a lot more naughty then than I am now). . . let’s just suffice it to say that I knew it would make him absolutely double over with laughter.
I then carefully stuffed the fortune back into the fortune cookie (without so much as nicking it!) and put the cookie back in it’s little plastic bag. Crawling, laughing and skulking all the way down the hall to the hair and make-up room, I placed the brown bag of Chinese food on the table, and called him to the make-up and hair room over the PA system to “COME AND GIT IT!”
Well, Clint sauntered in with that true-life cowboy walk, and sat down to have what he thought would be a nice little Chinese lunch before taping. The meal seemed like it lasted forever. I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. I couldn’t WAIT for him to finish so he would open that fortune cookie! At last, the moment came. He sat back, patting his belly, and thanked me for lunch. I opened his cookie wrapper (I didn’t want him to see that it has already been opened) and practically sang, “Here’s your fortune cookie!” I cracked mine open enthusiastically, which prompted him to subconsciously crack his cookie open and read it at the same time. As if on cue, he pulled the fortune out, and, as he did, I read mine out loud (of course I made it up). “You will have the love and good will of friends today,” I said.
He smiled, suspecting nothing.
I then asked, “What’s your fortune say?” He put his reading glasses on, and looked at it. It was naughty and personal. He stared at it. I asked again…”What does it say?” He sat staring at it, as if he could barely believe what he was seeing. When his mind finally put it all together, he roared, and I mean ROARED with that beautiful Clint Ritchie laugh, and began showing it proudly to anyone who would look. I had tears running down my face, and so did he. Laughter is the best everything. “YOU LITTLE DICKENS!” He bellowed. And that man could bellow, let me tell you.
Between me and Bob Woods, I don’t know who drove him more crazy with the practical jokes. But I do know we both loved him like a brother. Some would say he was difficult. I would just say he was authentic. Did he have issues? Oh yeah, but hey, come on, who doesn’t? He could be talked to and reasoned with, and, after all, he was a true cowboy. I think it’s safe to say that we would all learn a lot from being friends with each other.
We would have many of those funny days, many great talks. We would also have some difficult days, but that’s what makes us grow up.
Being a forensics fan and true gore-meister, I loved hearing about his tractor accident many years before when he had been literally run over by his own tractor, and he loved telling me about every gory detail.
Many people, including the producer at the time, told me that I brought out the best in Clint. The truth is, he brought out the best in me. He made my fun side come out to play when we worked together. He challenged me in my patience and taught me tolerance. He made me laugh. He made me learn how to be “one of the guys” and I loved it. I was an honorary cowgirl-dude, and he loved it.
I will miss knowing you are on this Earth, Bucky. You may have given up your human suit, but we will all see you again someday … and, I WILL have another fortune cookie waiting.
God bless Your Journey HOME…
The Little Dickins
Tuesday’s Tribute: Clint Ritchie by Janie Hickok Siess, Esq.
Clint Ritchie and the Buchanan Years Remembered
Statement from Robin Strasser (“Dorian” on “One LIfe to Live”) in reference to both Clint and Phil Carey: “They were both great guys. Not easy, not uncomplicated, bigger than life. Clint, I’m sure, is with as many horses as you can possibly be surrounded by and on top of one of them, riding free. It was never simple with women but it was unconditional about horses. Their spirits are set free and I feel so lucky to have known them. I celebrate their legacy. My condolences to their near and dear. . . . Wherever [Clint] is, I hope that he’s on his favorite horse, riding free, getting togehter for a few good ones with Phil Carey.”
Statement from Hillary B. Smith (“Nora” on “One Life to Life”): “I am saddened by the news of Clint Ritchie’s passing. I had the honor of working with him long after I became a die-hard fan of his work. He was a tender-hearted soul wrapped up in a tough cowboy exterior. He smiled with a naughty twinkle, would pass you in the hall with a wink and a pinch and lived his life with an uncontained passion. What a guy! Here’s to you, Clint! It is amazing to lose Clint Ritchie and Phil Carey in the same week, and yet I don’t think they would have wanted it any other way. I just hope they both end up in the same place or there will be Hell to pay . . . literally.”
Statement from Erika Slezak (“Viki” on “One Life to Live”): “I was incredibly sad to learn that my colleague and friend, Clint Ritchie, passed away on January 31. Clint and I worked together for nearly twenty years, and shared some wonderful stories together. Clint will be missed by me and his family here at One Life to Live.”
Statement from Frankie Valentini, “One Life to Live’s” Executive Producer: “We are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend, Clint Ritchie. He will always have a special place in our hearts and One Life to Live’s legacy. With his creation of the role of Clint Buchanan, he helped to bring to life one of the most memorable families in the show’s history. The OLTL family will always hold dear the memories of the man we fondly referred to as ‘Bucky.’ Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”
Statement from Walter Miller, President, Erika Slezak Fan Club: “I always believed that Clint Ritchie was Clint Buchanan. And his scenes with Erika always worked. I was especially impressed with Clint when he showed his tender side. All those shows when Clint was trying to get Viki back from her breakdown are so memorable. I remember when the club was doing a 20th Anniversary Tribute Book for Erika. I had not received anything from Clint, however, right before our deadline, my phone rang and it was Clint, who proceeded to read me the nicest tribute to Erika that you could ever imagine. He said he had been working on it, and wanted it to be perfect. That’s the man I remember. Clint, please know that your contribution to One Life to Live will be forever with us.”
By Michael Logan, TV Guide: “Happy Trails — There was something so poignant about the deaths — just days apart — of good friends and OLTL cowboys Clint Ritchie (Clint) and Phil Carey (Asa). Their funny, brawny, unapologetic machismo was a rare thing in soaps and is sorely missed.”
From The 4th Doctor, Clint Ritchie RIP.
