Tags
actor, American, Caddyshack, Celebrity, colon cancer, Henry Rush, Mary Tyler Moore Show, surgical complications, Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka, Ted Baxter, Ted Knight, Too Close For Comfort, voice artist
Ted Knight (December 7, 1923 – August 26, 1986)
Ted Knight was an American actor and voice artist well 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.
Knight was born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka in the Terryville section of Plymouth in Litchfield County, Connecticut, to Polish-American parents. Knight dropped out of high school to enlist in the United States Army in World War II. After returning from the War, he studied acting in Hartford, Connecticut and became proficient with puppets and ventriloquism. He had getting jobs at TV stations as a host for various shows. Knight spent most of the 1950s and 1960s doing commercial voice over work and playing guest roles in various TV shows and movies. His distinctive voice gave him work as a voice artist for animated TV shows. In the 1970s, Knight landed his breakout role in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. After the series wrapped in 1977, Knight went back to guest roles and voice work. His final big screen role was in Caddyshack. In 1980, Knight landed on Too Close for Comfort.
Knight married once back in 1948 to Dorothy Smith. The couple had three children. Knight was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 1985. A few months after The Mary Tyler Moore Show wrapped in 1977, Knight was diagnosed with colon cancer. He received various treatments over the next several years. In 1985, his cancer returned. Despite more treatment, it spread to his bladder and lower gastrointestinal tract. After surgery to remove a tumor from his urinary tract, he experienced complications. Unfortunately, Knight’s condition continued to worsen until his death on August 26, 1986 at age 62.