CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- Emmy award-winning actor John Ritter died suddenly on Thursday, his representatives, Wolf-Kasteler & Associates Public Relations, told the press today.

The actor, 54, was working on filming "Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" when he collapsed and was taken to Providence St. Joseph hospital in Burbank, California. Surgeons at the hospital were unable to save him, and he died from what's called a "dissection of the aorta," which results from an unrecognized flaw in a main artery from the heart.

Ritter is best known for his work on the 1970s comedy "Three's Company" and has been working steadily in film and television ever since. His latest series, "Rules," was ABC's second most-watched comedy last season, averaging nearly 11 million viewers each week.

Ritter is survived by his wife, actress Amy Yasbeck and their daughter, Stella and three children, Carly, Tyler and Jason, from his first marriage to Nancy Morgan.

As for "Rules," production has been completed on the first three episodes of the show's second season. ABC has yet to comment on the future of the series.