He is best known for his acting role as Clinton "Clint" Buchanan, husband of Victoria "Viki" Lord on the ABCsoap opera, One Life to Live; having originated the character in 1979, portrayed the role through 1998, with recurring stints in 1999, 2003, and 2004. He was under contract at 20th Century Fox with Tom Selleck and is credited with teaching Selleck how to ride a horse. He co-starred and guest starred in numerous television Westerns during the 1950s and 1960s, including the 1965 pilot for the long-running Wild, Wild West. He also appeared in the TV seriesBatman as well as in many films, including First to Fight, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Bandolero!, Patton, Joe Kidd, Against a Crooked Sky, Midway, Poco... Little Dog Lost and A Force of One. In Patton, he had a notable scene as a wounded tank commander who briefs Patton on a fierce night battle. His television movie roles included The Bastard, Centennial and Desperate Women. Later, he would appear on Roseanne as Clint Buchanan with his OLTL costars Robert S. Woods and John Loprieno. He was critically injured at California ranch on May 10, 1993, when his John Deere tractor upended, knocked him to the ground, and rolled over him. Quoted as saying that he could hear his own ribs cracking, he survived and returned to the One Life to Live set after recuperating. His co-star Erika Slezak fought not to have his role recast by another actor. His character, Clint Buchanan, was written off temporarily as having been in an airplane crash while Ritchie recuperated.
Later life
Ritchie retired in December 1998, and said that he believed the character of Clint had been damaged during the 1992 Viki-Clint-Sloan Carpenter love triangle story. He lived at his California ranch, with his numerous dogs and cats, and 43 horses. He purchased the ranch, named the Happy Horse Ranch, in 1980 largely due to its location near Grass Valley, which is located near the site of the annual Tevis Cup 100-mile endurance horse race. His character on One Life to Live had a ranch in Arizona with the same name, and several of Ritchie's horses had been used on the show.
Death
In late January 2009, Ritchie had surgery to implant a pacemaker. Although the surgery was a success, a blood clot traveled to his brain, resulting in a massive stroke. He died a few days later about 4:00 a.m. on January 31, 2009, aged 70. His friend and costar Phil Carey, who played his father on One Life to Live, died of lung cancersix days after Ritchie's death. Ritchie was cremated.
