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 Knight ​ ​ (m. 1948)​
Children	3
Awards	Hollywood Walk of Fame

Ted Knight (bornTadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka; December 7, 1923 – August 26, 1986) was an American actor known for playing thecomic roles ofTed Baxter inThe Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush inToo Close for Comfort and Judge Elihu Smails inCaddyshack.

Knight was born in theTerryville section of Plymouth inLitchfield County, Connecticut toPolish-American parents Sophia (née Kavaleski) and Charles Walter Konopka, a bartender.^[1] He withdrew from high school to enlist in theUnited States Army duringWorld War II and was a member of Company A, 296th Combat Engineer Battalion, earning fivecampaign stars while serving in theEuropean Theater of Operations.^[2][3]

During the postwar years, Knight studied acting inHartford, Connecticut. He became proficient with puppets and ventriloquism, which led to steady work as a television children's show host atWJAR-TV inProvidence, Rhode Island from 1950 to 1955.^[4][5] In 1955, he left Providence forAlbany, New York, where he landed a job at station WROW-TV (nowWTEN), hostingThe Early Show, featuring MGM movies, and a children's variety show, playing aGabby Hayes-type character named "Windy Knight".^[6] He was also a radio announcer for sister stationWROW radio and briefly for WFNS inBurlington, North Carolina. He left the station in 1957 after receiving advice from station manager (and futureCapital Cities chairman)Thomas Murphy that he should take his talents toHollywood.

Knight spent most of the 1950s and 1960s creating commercial voiceovers and playing minor television and film roles. In 1959 he played a part in the western TV showThe Lawman in the episode “The Ugly Man”. He had a small part playing a police officer guarding the room where Norman Bates sat wrapped in a blanket at the end ofAlfred Hitchcock'sPsycho (1960).^[7] He played Phil Buckley on theABC soap operaThe Young Marrieds in the early 1960s.^[8]

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

In 1975, Knight recorded an album of mostly novelty songs,Hi Guys, on the Ranwood label.^[9]

Knight guest-starred in "Mr. Dennis Steps Out", the October 26, 1977, episode of the situation comedyBusting Loose, as Roger Dennis, the owner of anescort 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 ofThe Love Boat, including one episode as a rival cruise captain.^[10]

Knight's final film role was in the 1980 golf comedyCaddyshack, in which he played Judge Elihu Smails, a foil forRodney Dangerfield's character.

Knight was cast in the lead role as the curmudgeonly cartoonist Henry Rush in the seriesToo Close for Comfort in 1980.

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 theHollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the television industry. It is located at 6673Hollywood Boulevard.^[11]

A few months after the end of theMary Tyler Moore Show in 1977, Knight was diagnosed withcolon cancer, for which he received treatment. In 1985, the cancer returned and spread to hisbladder andgastrointestinal tract.^[12]

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

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

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

• Highway Patrol (1958) (Season 4, Episode 15: "Exposé") as reporter Merle Hartman.
• The Twilight Zone (1959) (Season 1, Episode 7: "The Lonely") as Adams
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960) (Season 5, Episode 33: "Party Line") as Mr. Maynard
• Gunsmoke (1964) (Season 10, Episode 16: "Run, Sheep, Run") as Rancher Bill Miller
• Combat! (1964) (Season 2, Episode 27: "Weep No More") as German Sergeant
• The Outer Limits (1964) (Season 2, Episode 7, "The Invisible Enemy")
• The Wild Wild West (1968) (Season 4, Episode 6, "The Night of the Kraken")

Wikimedia Commons has media related toTed Knight.

• Ted Knight atIMDb
• Ted Knight atMemory Alpha
• Interview with Lydia Cornell by Michael Sutton
• Interview with Lydia Cornell on the podcastThe Future and You (anecdotes about Ted Knight andToo Close For Comfort)

• 1923 births
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• 20th-century American male actors
• American male comedians
• American male film actors
• American male soap opera actors
• American male television actors
• American male voice actors
• American people of Polish descent
• Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
• Comedians from Connecticut
• Deaths from colorectal cancer in California
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• Male actors from Connecticut
• Male actors from Los Angeles
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• Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
• People from Terryville, Connecticut
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• United States Army soldiers

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