The HHS Auditorium Mural – John Ritter Presents A Tribute to
Diversity in Entertainment!

By Mark Garcia (’72)

So what about the John Ritter connection? Many are aware of John having been elected as HHS student body president in 1966, as well as John’s string of situation comedy successes on network television. The year 2003 was the inaugural year of the Jimmy Kimmel Live late night television talk show. Jimmy Kimmel Live routinely taped across the street from HHS at the El Capitan Entertainment Center on Hollywood Boulevard. One of Jimmy’s first guests in 2003 was John Ritter. Jimmy was aware of John having been an alumni of HHS. During John’s interview, Jimmy asked him why his likeness was not included in the HHS auditorium mural across the street. John appeared to be perplexed and could not answer Jimmy’s query. So, Jimmy promised John that he would look into it. After the untimely passing of John later that year (just days before the 2003 HHS Centennial celebration at the Universal Studios Hilton Hotel, where John was scheduled to appear), Jimmy helped organize funding to re-engage muralist Eloy Torrez (see narrative to above "Diversity in Entertainment" work) to add John’s likeness to the HHS auditorium mural. Rather than just add John’s image to the existing work, backers of the work requested Eloy to create a dedicated mural panel to John. Eloy thought it appropriate to render John as a presenter on a talk show, in tribute to the influence that Jimmy Kimmel had on adding John’s likeness to the work. Hence, today we see a full-body likeness of John Ritter on the north wall of the HHS auditorium facing Selma Avenue. John appears to be looking across the street toward the Jimmy Kimmel Live show studio location. He is posed pulling back a show curtain as if to introduce us all to the wonderfully diverse work of entertainment.

(At the time of this writing, a special dedication of the John Ritter/HHS auditorium panel is being planned involving John Ritter’s family, current HHS principal Fiona Bishop and other HHS administration and students.)