Kaley Cuoco Honors Late Costar John Ritter at An Evening from the Heart Gala By Sharing her Favorite Memory (Exclusive)

Kaley Cuoco Tributes Her Late TV Dad!

The actress, 38, is dressed to the max An evening from the heartgala presented by the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health on Thursday, May 9 at the Sunset Room Hollywood in Los Angeles.

The event celebrated the life and legacy of Cuoco 8 simple rules Costar John Ritter, who died in 2003 at age 54 of “misdiagnosed acute aortic dissection,” according to the foundation’s website.

Kaley cuoco on May 9th.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

“He touched so many lives,” Cuoco told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview at the event. Cuoco said she became very close to Ritter’s family, who have “worked very hard” for the past two decades to raise awareness about aortic dissection.

“I’ll do anything for his wife and kids,” Cuoco says. “And I’m very very proud to be here and to honor him.”

Stars such as Cheri Oteri and Holly Robinson Peete also attended the event to raise money for the organization founded by John’s wife Amy Yasbeck Ritter in 2003 to “spread awareness of aortic health and prevent unnecessary suffering through genetic research, widespread education and radical advocacy, ” according to the website.

Amy attended the gala alongside John’s son, Tyler Ritter — one of the late actor’s four children.

Kaley Cuoco (left) and John Ritter. Albert L. Ortega/WireImage Kaley Cuoco says every animal at her rescue ranch has ‘kissed’ and ‘licked’ baby daughter Matilda (Exclusive)

Cuoco and Ritter played father and daughter Paul and Bridget Hennessy 8 simple rules two seasons in 2002 and 2003 before his unexpected death. The series – which also starred Katey Sagal as matriarch Cate Hennessy, Amy Davidson as Bridget’s sister Kerry and Martin Spanjers as her brother Rory – ran for another season after John’s death.

On Thursday, Cuoco recalled how Ritter would do anything just to get a laugh.

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

“And I said, ‘No way!'” she recalled. “And then I’d watch him mess up over and over when I knew he knew the scenes, and I carried that with me for a long time.”

Kaley Cuoco May 9.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

“He didn’t take himself seriously. And I feel like we need to get back to not taking ourselves so seriously,” Cuoco added.

Cuoco has attended the event in the past, including in 2023 when she reunited with Sagal, 70, Spanjers, 37, and Davidson, 44, to honor John and spread awareness. The Big Bang Theory she gave the opening remarks for the evening in 2003, thanking her former colleagues for attending.

“This is really great. I think John is laughing right now. He can’t believe we’re here,” she said in her speech.

Kaley Cuoco (left) and John Ritter. L. Cohen/WireImage

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The Stewardess The star appears to have had a close relationship with her sitcom father and has been constantly writing tributes to him on the anniversary of his death.

“Thank you for continuing to make me laugh every day 💜💜,” she wrote in an Instagram message in 2020.

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Source: HIS Education