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ALEX BERLINER / BEI/Rex Features
John Ritter's widow has described the events leading up to the actor's death in 2003.
Amy Yasbeck cried as she gave evidence in a £33 million wrongful death lawsuit in California.
She told the court that she arrived at the Providence St Joseph Medical Centre in Burbank to be told the actor was having a heart attack.
She said he had been "scared", adding: "I leaned down to John's ear and said, 'I know you're scared but you have to be brave.'"
Ritter, 54, was rushed to hospital on September 11, 2003 after feeling nauseous on the set of his ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules... For Dating My Teenage Daughter. He died from a dissection of the aorta, the result of an unrecognized flaw in his heart.
His family is suing a radiologist who had previously given him a body scan, and a cardiologist who allegedly treated him for a heart attack rather than a torn aorta when he arrived at the hospital. Both doctors deny any wrongdoing.
Yasbeck, 45, revealed that Ritter said 'I love you' in sign language as he was wheeled down a hall on a trolley and she mouthed the sentiment back.
She added: "He went around the corner and that's the last time I saw him."
Happy Days star Henry Winkler testified at the trial last month.
