ByRoger Cormier|Mar 11, 2024, 3:21 PM EDT

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Based on the British sitcom Man About the House, Three’s Company starred physical comedy champion John Ritter in his breakout role as Jack Tripper, a culinary student who crashes a party and wakes up in Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy Snow’s (Suzanne Somers) bathtub. Janet and Chrissy and Jack end up becoming roommates, with Jack posing as a gay man in order to keep the coed living situation going. Here are some facts about the classic ABC sitcom that will impress your friends over at the Regal Beagle.

1. TWO OTHER PILOTS WERE MADE BEFORE THEY GOT IT RIGHT.

On the first attempt, writer/producer Larry Gelbart wrote a Three’s Company pilot script resembling Man About the House. John Ritter’s character was named David Bell and was an aspiring filmmaker. The two female roommates were actresses named Jenny (played by Valerie Curtin) and Samantha (Susanne Zenor). A second unaired pilot was requested by ABC programming head Fred Silverman, written by All in the Family and The Jeffersons writer/producers Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, and Bernard West, and featured Joyce DeWitt and Suze Lanier-Bramlett as Chrissy. The third pilot filmed was the charm deemed worthy for broadcast; it premiered on March 15, 1977.

2. BILLY CRYSTAL AUDITIONED TO PLAY JACK TRIPPER.

Barry Van Dyke (Ritter hero Dick Van Dyke’s son) and Michael Lembeck (later a director of sitcoms including Friends) also attempted to win the role. Crystal found employment on another ABC comedy a short time later, as Jodie Dallas in Soap (1977-1981).

3. LONI ANDERSON AUDITIONED FOR CHRISSY.

Anderson (later Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati) didn’t get the part. Ritter, who claimed she had a great audition, theorized that Anderson wasn’t selected because no one would believe she couldn’t live in her own apartment.

4. SUZANNE SOMERS WAS DISCOVERED BY ACCIDENT.

Desperately searching for the right Chrissy the day before production began, Silverman put in all of the audition tapes they had received and fast-forwarded through them. When he spotted Somers, he stopped the tape and liked what he saw. After never getting a clear answer on why she was passed on in the first place, Somers was summoned to the studio. “We got her in that day and she was on the set tomorrow and she was terrific in that part,” the ABC programming chief remembered. “And that was an accident because she never should have gotten the part.”

5. THE THEME SONG WAS COMPOSED BY THE SAME MAN WHO WROTE THE THEME SONGS FOR SESAME STREET AND THE ELECTRIC COMPANY.

Joe Raposo wrote it, but the producers of Three’s Company flirted with the idea of having the stars of the show sing the theme. Despite their protests, Ritter, DeWitt, and Somers attempted it. “They didn’t even come close,” associate producer Mimi Seawell said. Ray Charles (not that one) and Julia Rinker provided the vocals instead.

6. THE BRUNETTE JACK LOOKS AT BEFORE FALLING IN THE OPENING CREDITS IS SUZANNE SOMERS IN A WIG.

“That brunette is Suzanne with a wig. You can tell by her little Suzanne buns,” Ritter said. The bike Jack rode belonged to production associate Carol Summers.

7. NORMAN FELL BASED STANLEY ROPER ON A REAL GUY.

Norman Fell (who also played a landlord in The Graduate) based the character of landlord Stanley Roper on a man he knew back in his hometown of Philadelphia. “I was thinking of a guy I really know in Philadelphia,” Fell said. “The clothes are all wrong … He was innocent and a guy who just can’t do things right, whether it’s being with a woman or fixing something. And yet he thought he was the cat’s meow. He thought he was attractive, he liked his clothes. He thought people were looking at him because of how well-preserved he looked. He thought he was all things he’s not.”

8. FELL WAS PROMISED HE COULD RETURN TO THREE’S COMPANY IF THE ROPERS DIDN’T LAST FOR MORE THAN ONE YEAR.

Fell wasn’t interested in leaving the very popular Three’s Company, but Audra Lindley (Mrs. Roper) was game for a spin-off towards the end of the third season. To appease Fell, ABC promised him that if The Ropers was cancelled after one year, Fell and Lindley could return to Three’s Company. After The Ropers drew the second highest ratings for a series debut in television history at the time in March of 1979, it moved to Saturdays for the second season and viewership dropped enough for it to get cancelled. Fell wanted to return to Three’s Company, but producers noted that The Ropers had technically lasted for one and a half years. Besides, the Ropers had already been replaced by Don Knotts as Ralph Furley.

9. JEFFREY TAMBOR PLAYED THREE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS.

After he starred as snobby neighbor Jeffrey P. Brookes III in The Ropers, Tambor found employment again and again and again in late-season episodes of Three’s Company. He was a rich man, Winston Cromwell III, who was after Chrissy in “Father of the Bride”; in “Two Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” he played Dr. Tom Miller, a psychiatrist who Jack and Janet confuse for a mental patient; he was also dentist Dr. Phillip Greene, a crazy dentist who was recently dumped by Terri.

10. WHEN JOHN LARROQUETTE GUEST STARRED AS A COP, HE CHANGED THE SCRIPT SO THAT THE AUDIENCE WOULD SEE HIS FACE.

In the third season episode “Jack Moves Out” (spoiler: it doesn’t last), Larroquette figured that because he was supposed to keep his cop cap on, nobody would get to see his visage. He rationalized it for The A.V. Club as such: “So I had to figure out a way to get my hat off. And this is all completely selfish and premeditated. So inside my hat, I’ve written the Miranda rights. So I take my hat off and tell him, ‘You have the right to remain silent.’ So my hat is off for the remainder of the scene, which allows you to see my face and my confidence, as it were. Had I not thought of that, it would have just been this hated cop figure for 30 seconds or whatever, and no one would have really known who he was.” The producers clearly didn’t mind the change; they left the scene intact.

11. SOMERS LEFT THE SHOW BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO BE PAID AS MUCH AS RITTER.

Somers asked for an increase from $30,000 to $150,000 per episode, Ritter’s salary at the time, as well as 10 percent of the show’s profits. ABC was offering a $5000 pay raise. For the fourth season, after Ritter and DeWitt stopped speaking to Somers when she feigned a broken rib injury and the contract negotiations became a distraction, Somers was effectively written off the show. Chrissy was stuck in Fresno caring for her sick mother, calling back home to fill the last minute of episodes. (Jenilee Harrison played Chrissy’s cousin, Cindy, that year.) After her contract expired at the end of that season, Somers was not asked to return.

12. HEATHER LOCKLEAR WAS LAUGHED AT DURING HER AUDITION TO REPLACE SOMERS.

Sweating in her peach silk blouse on her way to her audition, Locklear resorted to putting Kleenex under her arms. Despite performing a funny scene, nobody laughed at her audition. After hearing laughter as soon as she closed the door, the actress noticed the Kleenex had come out of her blouse. “So I guess they thought I stuffed my bra,” Locklear recalled.

13. PRISCILLA BARNES WAS CONSIDERED “TOO BLOND” SOMETIMES.

Barnes portrayed nurse Terri Alden, a replacement for Cindy (who was a replacement for Chrissy) for the final three seasons of the show. “Our bosses were very, very controlling,” Barnes told CNN in 2002. “If my hair was too blond, I’d get called up in the office.”

14. RITTER’S ONE-YEAR-OLD SON, JASON, WAS THE KID WHO RAN UP TO JANET AT THE ZOO.

The younger Ritter (later Dipper Pines in Gravity Falls and Mark Cyr on Parenthood) didn’t remember the incident that was immortalized in the opening credits for seasons six through eight. “But the story is they were shooting a bunch of things at the zoo and I got away from my mom,” Jason told The Huffington Post. “I just walked into the shot and it made Joyce DeWitt laugh so they kept it in the opening credits.”

15. SOMEONE SAW MORE OF JACK TRIPPER THAN SHE WANTED.

In March 2001, a viewer claimed that a certain part of John Ritter’s anatomy was briefly visible in the episode titled “The Charming Stranger.” The complaint was taken seriously enough that Nickelodeon edited the short scene out soon thereafter. In response to the controversy, Ritter infamously said, “I’ve requested that [Nickelodeon] air both versions, edited and unedited, because sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don’t.”

16. THERE WAS ANOTHER SPIN-OFF, CALLED THREE’S A CROWD.

After the events of the 1984 series finale to Three’s Company, Jack moved in with his new girlfriend, Vicky (Mary Cadorette). The person who made his new digs a “crowd” on the show was Vicky’s father, who was also Jack’s new landlord (Robert Mandan). The show lasted for one season.

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50 Simple DIY Halloween Costumes For Last-Minute Planners

Looking for a simple, classic Halloween costume you can create at home with relatively little effort? Look no further.

ByEden Gordon|Oct 25, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT

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Halloween is approaching fast. Do you have your costume yet? 

There’s always the option of going out and buying a whole new costume, and unless you really know your way around a sewing kit, some looks are more likely than others to require that step. But there are countless amazing Halloween costumes that are pretty easy to create all by yourself, mostly using things you already have at home.

Halloween costumes may have their roots in the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, a time when the veil between the land of the dead and the living was traditionally believed to grow thin. In order to blend in with wandering spirits, people would often wear animal skins, masks, bones, and other disguises.

Today, Halloween costumes have become immensely creative and varied, though some patterns do exist. Monstrous creatures such as vampires and aliens remain common across the U.S., as do characters from pop culture. Costumes can be as elaborate or as simple as you wish, and if you’re looking to pull together a costume mostly using just what you already have in your house, there are plenty of options. A little creativity and ingenuity go a very long way here.

Here are 50 Halloween DIY costume ideas perfect for anyone with scissors and a dream.

1. Classic DIY Halloween Costumes
2. Food DIY Halloween Costumes
3. Punny and Funny Halloween Costumes
4. Pop Culture DIY Halloween Costumes
5. Spooky DIY Halloween Costumes

Classic DIY Halloween Costumes

Ghost

Have a spare sheet lying around? Cut out eye holes, pull it over your head, and you’re all set to haunt.

Tourist

Grab a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, a camera, and a paper map, and you’ll look just like a dad seeing Bermuda for the first time.

Black Cat

A black shirt, eyeliner whiskers, ears made with Velcro, and a tail made from fabric come together to create this classic Halloween getup.

Nerd

A button-down shirt, suspenders, and taped-together glasses will have you looking ready to ace the upcoming math test.

Burglar

Prepare to steal the prize for best Halloween costume with a black-and-white striped shirt, a beanie, and a ski mask. (A black hoodie and a bag slung over your shoulder will also suffice.)

Cowboy or Cowgirl

A plaid shirt, overalls, and a cowboy hat are pretty much all this costume needs. (Turn it into a scarecrow costume with some hay and straw-style makeup!)

Detective

All you need is a trench coat, a magnifying glass, and a notebook to look like you’re ready to solve any case that comes your way.

Superhero

There are plenty of pop culture superheroes to choose from, but you can create your own with leggings, a leotard, a piece of fabric for the cape, and your own unique logo.

‘80s Icon

Indulge your ‘80s nostalgia with a classic ‘80s Halloween costume, complete with a leotard over leggings, leg warmers, and a matching headband.

Pirate

An eyepatch is most of what you need to make this costume recognizable, but a bandana, a striped shirt, a DIY sword, and a stuffed parrot perched on your shoulder will complete this look.

Food DIY Halloween Costumes

Bunch of Grapes

Tape a bunch of purple or green balloons to an outfit and you’ll look just like this ancestor of wine.

Fried Egg

This costume can consist of a large egg-shaped blob cut from a piece of white cardboard or fabric, plus a yellow blob on top for the yolk, all attached to your shirt (or jacket, depending on the Halloween weather).

Milk Carton

A cardboard box painted white with the word “Milk” on it and a hole cut through it come together to turn you into a convincing milk carton. Feel free to add as many (or as few) details to the box as you’d like.

Pineapple

A yellow shirt plus a green crown made from paper or felt are all that’s required for this costume.

Popcorn

A cardboard box with red and white stripes painted on, with crumpled-up yellow paper on top make you look like the perfect movie theater snack.

Cosmic Brownie

You can look like this classic Little Debbie sweet treat with just a brown shirt with some colorful cotton balls taped or pinned onto it.

Strawberry

Look like this beloved berry by simply cutting out some seed-shaped bits from felt and attaching them to a red dress, and adding a green hat.

Tropical Drink

This one might require a trip to the corner store, but bear with us: dress up like a poolside cocktail with a pink dress, a parasol, a lemon-shaped headpiece, and a straw-shaped appendage attached to a headband!

Gumball Machine

Just grab some superglue and attach a bunch of colorful ping pong balls to a white shirt.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Glue some white yarn onto a red T-shirt, and pair it with meatballs made from balls wrapped in fabric, and you’ll be looking like this classic dinner dish in no time.

Punny and Funny Halloween Costumes

Cereal Killer

Attach some miniature cereal boxes to a shirt, and add a prop feknife and some fake blood. (To make it even simpler, carry around a bowl of cereal and a knife.)

Ceiling Fan

You’ll need a few pom-poms, plus a shirt with the message “Go Ceiling!” on it.

Identity Thief

Covered in a bunch of name tags with different names on them and voila.

A Formal Apology

A fancy dress and a banner reading “I’m sorry” complete this punny costume.

Copycat

Just add a stack of photocopies or a sign reading “CTRL+C” to your black cat costume.

Blessing in Disguise

Put a trench coat, sunglasses, and a fedora over a white dress complete with angel wings and a halo.

French Kiss

Pair a French-inspired striped shirt and beret with makeup done in the style of the band Kiss. (Croissants, French flags, and electric guitars optional.) Even simpler: drop the Kiss makeup and simply paint your lips bright red.

Chef’s Kiss

Dress up as this popular Gen Z slang term for Halloween with a white chef’s jacket stamped with lipstick kisses. 

Freudian Slip

Wear a slip dress and write or attach Sigmund Freud-related words like “id” and “ego” to it, and you’ll have Freud himself rolling in his grave.

When Life Gives You Lemons

A trip to a grocery store is pretty much all you need for this one, which requires wearing a nametag that reads “life” and carrying a basket of lemons.

Pop Culture DIY Halloween Costumes

Wednesday Addams

A black dress, black stockings, braided pigtails, and a deadpan expression will turn you into a dead ringer for this classic Addams family member.

Dwight Schrute

Turn Halloween night into an episode of The Office with just a mustard button-down shirt, brown tie, glasses, and a large mug.

Barbie

Don a pink outfit, cute accessories, and bright makeup and you’ll be ready to embody this famous doll.

Indiana Jones

Get ready for intrepid Halloween adventures with a fedora, brown jacket, satchel, khakis, and a homemade whip. (Rope will do.)

Men in Black Agent

A black suit, white button-down, and sunglasses will have you ready to track alien activity.

Mary Poppins

A white blouse, dark skirt, red bow tie, and an umbrella will have you ready to offer spoonfuls of sugar to every trick-or-treater.

Joel Goodsen in Risky Business

A large button-down white shirt, neutral undergarments, dark sunglasses, white socks, and a candlestick are all you need; the classic dance moves are optional.

Bob Ross

A denim jacket, a curly wig, and a paint palette come together to create the perfect impression of this lovable TV artist.

Dolly Parton

The late, beloved Dolly Parton will definitely be one of the biggest costumes of 2026. Join the party with a blonde wig, a pink hat, cowboy boots, a guitar, and anything sparkly.

Marty McFly

The classic Back to the Future protagonist is an easy one to replicate if you have a skateboard (or hoverboard) on hand; just pull out a puffer vest over a jean jacket and add jeans.

Spooky DIY Halloween Costumes

Vampire

Dark clothes, a homemade cape made from a sheet, pale makeup, and homemade fangs will have you looking like Dracula (or Edward Cullen, depending on your taste).

Mummy

Drape some strips of white fabric over neutral clothes.

Fortune Teller

Layered clothes, chunky jewelry, and homemade tarot cards complete this look.

Grim Reaper

Pair a black robe with a homemade scythe made from wood and cardboard.

Swamp Monster

Dark green and blue clothes, plus fake moss and leaves, and green makeup, will have you looking ready to crawl out of a swamp.

Haunted Doll

Vintage dress, pigtails, pale makeup with rosy cheeks and a red lip, and painted-on cracks will ensure that you terrify anyone with a fear of dolls.

Devil

This one’s an instantly recognizable classic and requires just an all-red outfit, plus homemade red horns. 

Zombie

Get ready to look very undead with old, torn-up clothes, pale makeup, extremely dark circles under your eyes, and some bloodstains made from corn syrup and red food dye.

Mad Scientist

A lab coat, lab glasses, some wildly teased hair, and a few jars filled with colorful water come together for this zany look.

Witch

It doesn’t get more classically Halloween than this costume, which comes together with just a black dress, a broom, and of course, a pointy hat.

manual.

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