Ted Knight
Ted was christened Tadeusz (Theodore) Wladyslaw Konopka, the son of a Polish-American family in his native town of Terryville Connecticut on December 7, 1923.
Ted dropped out of High school and enlisted in the war. He eventually became a decorated member of the A Company, 296th Combat Engineer Battalion. It was here that he developed an interest in acting.
Ted returned home in the post-war years to study his craft in Hartford, Connecticut, at the Randall School of Dramatic Arts.
Following this Ted found more work (WROW-TV) in Albany, New York, hosting a children's variety show while playing radio announcer for its sister radio station WROW.
He later traveled to Los Angeles and did commercial voice-overs and minor roles. His bio is extensive. His shows include:
"Psycho" (1960) Policeman in Hallway Opening Door
– Run, Sheep, Run (1965) … Bill Miller
– Print Asper (1959) … Jay Rabb
1. Elizabeth, My Love (27 May 1961) - Halloran
--Hallaron comes to tell Captain Stoddard (Torrin Thatcher), he is no longer the Captain of his ship. He then offers the job to Ben. Ben has just entered with Liz (Geraldine Brooks) to announce their engagement
2.A Peace Officer (6 February 1966) - Mayor Garrett
But success came slowly. He did not reach his stride until he was offered the role of Ted Baxter WJM’s Weather Man on "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970)
He later got his own show in "Too Close for Comfort" (1980), later renamed “The Ted Knight Show” in syndication.
Knight was initially diagnosed with cancer in 1977, for which he was treated over an extended period of time. In 1985, the TV star's conditioned worsened and the 62-year-old actor died on August 26, 1986, following surgery for a growth in his urinary tract. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California (his marker reads Theodore C. Konopka), and was survived by his wife of 38 years, Dorothy Smith, and their three children, Ted, Jr., Elyse, and Eric.
