Editing Ted Knight (section)

== Career ==
{{Excessive examples|date=January 2024|section}}

===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|WJAR-TV]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]] from 1950 to 1955.<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.pbn.com/WJAR-TV-marks-60th-birthday-tonight,43515| title=WJAR Turns 60| last=Nesi| first=Ted| newspaper=[[American City Business Journals|Providence Business News]]| date=July 10, 2009| access-date= September 14, 2018|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.billjerome.com/tedknight/misc/pj_550223_we.html |title=WJAR's Ted Knight |newspaper=[[The Providence Journal]]| date=February 23, 1955 |access-date=September 14, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205113512/http://www.billjerome.com/tedknight/misc/pj_550223_we.html |archive-date=February 5, 2007}}</ref> 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 [[George "Gabby" Hayes|Gabby Hayes]]-type character named "Windy Knight".<ref>{{Cite web| title=WTEN| url=http://www.ted-knight.com/wten/| website=Ted Knight: Actor, war hero, and friend to my family| access-date=September 17, 2018}}</ref> 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/ABC Inc.|Capital Cities]] chairman) [[Thomas Murphy (broadcasting)|Thomas Murphy]] that he should take his talents to [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]].

[[File:Ted and georgette Mary Tyler Moore Show.JPG|thumb|left|Ted Knight and [[Georgia Engel]] on ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'']]
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 film)|Psycho]]'' (1960).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kehr |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Kehr |date=December 1, 2008 |title=Movies: About Ted Knight |work=[[The New York Times]] |department=Movies & TV Dept. |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/38822/Ted-Knight/biography |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201162121/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/38822/Ted-Knight/biography |archive-date=December 1, 2008}}</ref> He played Phil Buckley on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] soap opera ''[[The Young Marrieds]]'' in the early 1960s.<ref>{{Cite book| title='TV Guide' Guide to TV| year=2004| publisher=Barnes and Noble| isbn=978-0760756348| page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760756348/page/716 716]| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760756348/page/716}}</ref> He also made guest appearances in numerous series, including ''[[How to Marry a Millionaire (TV series)|How to Marry a Millionaire]]'', ''[[Highway Patrol (U.S. TV series)|Highway Patrol]]'', ''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]'', ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]'', ''[[Peter Gunn]]'', ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' (in the episode "[[The Lonely (The Twilight Zone)|The Lonely]]"), ''[[Bourbon Street Beat]]'', ''[[Death Valley Days]]'', ''[[The Man and the Challenge]]'', ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'', ''[[Mr. Lucky (TV series)|Mr. Lucky]]'', ''[[Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond|One Step Beyond]]'', ''[[Pete and Gladys]]'', ''[[Surfside 6]]'', ''[[Sea Hunt]]'', ''[[The Asphalt Jungle (TV series)|The Asphalt Jungle]]'', ''[[Dr. Kildare (TV series)|Dr. Kildare]]'', ''[[General Electric Theatre]]'', ''[[Manhunt (1959 TV series)|Manhunt]]'', ''[[Cain's Hundred]]'', ''[[The New Loretta Young Show]]'', ''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|The Untouchables]]'', ''[[Sam Benedict]]'', ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'', ''[[Arrest and Trial]]'', ''[[Ripcord (TV series)|Ripcord]]'', ''[[The Lieutenant]]'', ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' (in the episode "[[The Invisible Enemy (The Outer Limits)|The Invisible Enemy]]"), ''[[McHale's Navy]]'', ''[[Gunsmoke]],'' ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'', ''[[Run for Your Life (TV series)|Run for Your Life]]'', ''[[12 O'Clock High (TV series)|12 O'Clock High]]'', ''[[Bonanza]]'', ''[[Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.]]'', ''[[Combat!]]'', ''[[T.H.E. Cat]]'',  ''[[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive]]'', ''[[The F.B.I. (TV series)|The F.B.I.]]'', ''[[Get Smart]]'', ''[[The Invaders]]'', ''[[Judd, for the Defense]]'', ''[[Garrison's Gorillas]]'', ''[[The Wild Wild West]]'', ''[[The Outsider (1968 TV series)|The Outsider]]'' and ''[[The Immortal (1970 TV series)|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 (TV series)|Journey to the Center of the Earth]]'', ''[[Fantastic Voyage (TV series)|Fantastic Voyage]]'', ''[[The New Scooby-Doo Movies]]'', ''[[Super Friends]]'' and ''[[Lassie's Rescue Rangers]]''.

=== ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' ===
[[File:Mary Tyler Moore Show Ted and Georgette's Baby 1976.jpg|thumb|right|From L-R: [[Ed Asner]], [[Georgia Engel]], Ted Knight and [[Mary Tyler Moore]] from [[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]] (1976)]]
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.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.discogs.com/Ted-Knight-Hi-Guys/master/757961| title=Ted Knight&nbsp;— Hi Guys| website=[[Discogs]]| date=1975}}</ref> 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 (TV series)|Busting Loose]]'', as Roger Dennis, the owner of an [[Escort agency|escort service]] in New York City. This appearance launched a new show, ''[[The Ted Knight Show (1978 TV series)|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.<ref>{{Cite journal| url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-love-boat-1982/episode-24-season-5/pride-of-the-pacific-the-vikings-son-separate-vacations-the-experiment-getting-to-know-you/100488| title=The Love Boat: Season 5, Episode 24 Pride of the Pacific; The Viking's Son; Separate Vacations; The Experiment; Getting to Know You| journal=[[TV Guide]]| date=March 6, 1982}}</ref>

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 [[Sweater|sweatshirts]] from colleges and universities sent to him by students who were fans of the show. [[American Broadcasting Company|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.