Ted Knight facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ted Knight
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Knight in 1972
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| Born |
Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka
December 7, 1923 Terryville, Connecticut, U.S.
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| Died | August 26, 1986 (aged 62) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1950–1986 |
| Spouse(s) |
Dorothy Smith
(m. 1948) |
| Children | 3 |
Ted Knight (born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka; December 7, 1923 – August 26, 1986) was an American actor. He was famous for playing funny characters like Ted Baxter in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush in Too Close for Comfort, and Judge Elihu Smails in Caddyshack.
Contents
Early Life and Military Service
Ted Knight was born in Terryville, Connecticut. His parents, Sophia and Charles Walter Konopka, were Polish-American. His father was a bartender.
Knight left high school to join the United States Army during World War II. He served in Europe and earned five battle stars, which means he was part of five important battles.
Ted Knight's Acting Journey
Starting in TV and Radio
After the war, Knight studied acting in Hartford, Connecticut. He was good with puppets and ventriloquism (making a dummy seem to talk). This helped him get a job as a children's TV show host at WJAR-TV in Providence, Rhode Island, from 1950 to 1955.
Later, he moved to Albany, New York, and hosted The Early Show, which showed MGM movies. He also had a kids' variety show where he played a character called "Windy Knight". He worked as a radio announcer too. In 1957, his boss told him he should try acting in Hollywood.
Early Roles in Movies and TV
For many years, Knight did voice-overs for commercials and played small parts in TV shows and movies. He was a police officer in Alfred Hitchcock's movie Psycho (1960). He also appeared in many popular TV series like Lassie, The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, and Get Smart.
Knight also used his voice for many animated shows. He worked on cartoons from Filmation and Hanna-Barbera, including Star Trek: The Animated Series, Super Friends, and The New Scooby-Doo Movies.
Becoming Famous as Ted Baxter
His most famous role was playing Ted Baxter, a funny but vain news anchor, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. This role made him very well-known and successful. He was nominated for an Emmy Award six times for this role and won twice, in 1973 and 1976, for "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Comedy".
After The Mary Tyler Moore Show
In 1975, Knight released a music album called Hi Guys. The main song, "Hi, Guys!", was played on the Dr. Demento radio show.
He also appeared on The Bobby Vinton Show in 1975. He sang a song in Polish with Bobby Vinton, celebrating his Polish background. Knight also made commercials using a character similar to Ted Baxter for a shopping center in Cleveland.
After The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended, Knight got his own show called The Ted Knight Show in 1978, but it only lasted for six episodes.
He also appeared in a few episodes of The Love Boat. In one episode, he played a rival cruise captain against his Mary Tyler Moore Show co-star Gavin MacLeod.
Knight's last movie role was in the 1980 golf comedy Caddyshack. He played Judge Elihu Smails, a strict judge who gets annoyed by the antics of another character, Al Czervik.
Too Close for Comfort
In 1980, Knight got the main role as Henry Rush, a kind cartoonist, in the TV series Too Close for Comfort. In scenes where Henry drew, Knight used his ventriloquism skills to have funny conversations with a puppet version of his comic book character, "Cosmic Cow".
The show was cancelled by ABC after three seasons but was brought back in 1984. In 1986, the show changed its name to The Ted Knight Show. Henry Rush retired from cartooning and became part-owner of a newspaper. A second season was planned, but Ted Knight's health issues prevented it.
Personal Life
In 1948, Ted Knight married Dorothy Smith. They had three children: Ted Jr., Elyse, and Eric.
In January 1985, Ted Knight received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located at 6673 Hollywood Boulevard, honoring his work in television.
Later Years and Legacy
Ted Knight was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1977. He received treatment for it. In 1985, the cancer returned and spread.
Ted Knight passed away on August 26, 1986, at the age of 62.
He was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. His grave marker has his birth name, Theodore C. Konopka, and the words "Bye Guy". This is a nod to his famous catchphrase as Ted Baxter, "Hi, guys!"
His hometown of Terryville, Connecticut, honored him by dedicating a bridge over the Pequabuck River in his memory. There is a bronze plaque with his picture on the bridge.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1960 | Psycho | Policeman | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Two Rode Together | Lt. Upton | Uncredited |
| 1962 | Hitler | Maj. Buch | |
| 1964 | Nightmare in Chicago | Dan McVeay | |
| 1967 | Countdown | Walter Larson | |
| 1970 | MASH | Offstage Dialog | Voice, uncredited |
| 1980 | Caddyshack | Judge Elihu Smails | |
Images for kids
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Knight in 1972
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Ted Knight and Georgia Engel on The Mary Tyler Moore Show
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Ted Knight's grave
See also
In Spanish: Ted Knight para niños
