Ted Knight
Knight in 1972
Born	Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka (1923-12-07)December 7, 1923 Terryville, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	August 26, 1986(1986-08-26) (aged 62) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1950–1986
Spouse	Dorothy Smith ​ (m. 1948)​
Children	3
Awards	Hollywood Walk of Fame

Ted Knight (born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka; December 7, 1923 – August 26, 1986) was an American actor known for playing the comedic roles of Ted Baxter in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush in Too Close for Comfort and Judge Elihu Smails in Caddyshack.

Early life

Knight was born in the Terryville section of Plymouth in Litchfield County, Connecticut to Polish-American parents Sophia (Kavaleski) and Charles Walter Konopka, a bartender.^[1] He withdrew from high school to enlist in the United States Army in World War II and was a member of A Company, 296th Combat Engineer Battalion, earning five battle stars while serving in the European theatre.^[2][3]

Career

Early roles

During the postwar years, Knight studied acting in Hartford, Connecticut. He became proficient with puppets and ventriloquism, which led to steady work as a television children’s show host at WJAR-TV in Providence, Rhode Island from 1950 to 1955.^[4][5] In 1955, he left Providence for Albany, New York, where he landed a job at station WROW-TV (now WTEN), hosting The Early Show, featuring MGM movies, and a children's variety show, playing a Gabby Hayes-type character named Windy Knigh".^[6] He was also a radio announcer for sister station WROW radio and briefly for WFNS in Burlington, North Carolina. He left the station in 1957 after receiving advice from station manager (and future Capital Cities chairman) Thomas Murphy that he should take his talents to Hollywood.

Knight spent most of the 1950s and 1960s creating commercial voiceovers and playing minor television and film roles. He had a small part playing a police officer guarding the room where Norman Bates sat wrapped in a blanket at the end of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960).^[7] He played Phil Buckley on the ABC soap opera The Young Marrieds in the early 1960s.^[8] He also made guest appearances in numerous series, including How to Marry a Millionaire, Highway Patrol, Lassie, The Donna Reed Show, Peter Gunn, The Twilight Zone (in the episode "The Lonely"), Bourbon Street Beat, Death Valley Days, The Man and the Challenge, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Mr. Lucky, One Step Beyond, Pete and Gladys, Surfside 6, Sea Hunt, The Asphalt Jungle, Dr. Kildare, General Electric Theatre, Manhunt, Cain's Hundred, The New Loretta Young Show, The Eleventh Hour, The Untouchables, Sam Benedict, The Virginian, Arrest and Trial, Ripcord, The Lieutenant, The Outer Limits (in the episode "The Invisible Enemy"), McHale's Navy, Gunsmoke, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Run for Your Life, 12 O'Clock High, Bonanza, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Combat!, T.H.E. Cat, The Fugitive, The F.B.I., Get Smart, The Invaders, Judd, for the Defense, Garrison's Gorillas, The Wild Wild West, The Outsider and The Immortal.

Knight's speaking voice also brought him work as a voice artist for various animated series produced by Filmation and Hanna-Barbera, including Star Trek: The Animated Series, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, The Batman/Superman Hour, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Fantastic Voyage, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Super Friends and Lassie's Rescue Rangers.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Knight's role as the vain and untalented WJM newscaster Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show brought widespread recognition and his greatest success. He received six Emmy Award nominations for the role, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Comedy in 1973 and 1976.

Post-MTM appearances

In 1975, Knight recorded an album of mostly novelty songs, Hi Guys, on the Ranwood label.^[9] The title track, in which Knight tries to extract himself from various embarrassing situations by using his signature "Hi, guys!" line, received some play on the Dr. Demento show.

Knight was the special guest star on the first episode of The Bobby Vinton Show in September 1975. Vinton highlighted Knight's Polish heritage and the two sang a duet of Vinton's hit "My Melody of Love" in Polish. Knight was also featured in a production number based on one of the songs from the Hi Guys album, "I'm in Love with Barbara Walters".

Knight used a variation of the Ted Baxter character for regional commercials. In the Cleveland area during the early to late 1970s, a newsman simply known as "Ted" would provide news of the events at a local shopping center known as Southgate USA, often finishing the 60-second spot with a comedic flair, including wearing a jacket that resembled Baxter's blue WJM blazer. Knight also returned to Albany to film promo spots for his former employer WTEN.

Knight guest-starred in "Mr. Dennis Steps Out", the October 26, 1977 episode of the situation comedy Busting Loose, as Roger Dennis, the owner of an escort service in New York City. This appearance launched a new show, The Ted Knight Show, Knight's first starring role. The Ted Knight Show lasted for only six episodes in the spring of 1978.

Knight appeared in several episodes of The Love Boat, including one episode as a rival cruise captain.^[10]

Knight's final film role was in the 1980 golf comedy Caddyshack, in which he played Judge Elihu Smails, a foil for Rodney Dangerfield's character.

Too Close for Comfort

Knight was cast in the lead role as the curmudgeonly cartoonist Henry Rush in the series Too Close for Comfort in 1980. Throughout the series' run, Knight would wear sweatshirts from colleges and universities sent to him by students who were fans of the show. ABC canceled the show after three seasons, but it was revived in first-run syndication in 1984. In 1986, the show was retitled The Ted Knight Show and saw Henry retire from cartooning and become part-owner of a weekly newspaper. A second season was planned until Knight's health became a factor.

Personal life

In 1948, Knight married Dorothy Smith, and the couple had three children, Ted Jr., Elyse and Eric.

In January 1985, Knight was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the television industry. It is located at 6673 Hollywood Boulevard.^[11]

Death

A few months after the end of the Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1977, Knight was diagnosed with colon cancer, for which he received treatment. In 1985, the cancer returned and spread to his bladder and gastrointestinal tract.^[12]

Knight experienced complications from the surgery and was advised to not resume work on Too Close for Comfort until he recovered. His condition worsened and he died on August 26, 1986 at age 62.

Knight was interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. His grave marker bears the name Theodore C. Konopka and the words "Bye Guy", a reference to his Ted Baxter catchphrase "Hi, guys!"^[13]

His hometown of Terryville, Connecticut dedicated a bridge on Canal Street over the Pequabuck River in his memory. There is a bronze plaque bearing his likeness on the bridge.^[14]

Filmography