LOS ANGELES (AP)-Walter Cronkite thought it would be fun. The producers of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" thought it would be exciting.
So, fumbletongued anchorman Ted Baxter meets anchorman Cronkite Saturday night in the fictional TV newsroom on the CBS show.
Baxter, who admits he's "old butterlips" on the show, was born Tadeus W. Konopka in Terryville, Conn.
On his way to becoming actor Ted Knight, he attended the Randall School of Dramatic Arts in Hartford and married Dorothy Clark of Niantic, Conn.
"They called and said it was a crazy idea and was there any chance in the world I would do it," Cronkite said. "It caught me at a moment when I thought it would be fun to do, something to break out of the routine."
Cronkite, anchorman of "The CBS Evening News," received a oneminute ovation from the audience when he appeared as a surprise guest at the filming earlier this month.
It was a historic meeting between two of the nation's best known television anchormen. You can be sure that Ted Baxter, played by Ted Knight, managed to make a shambles of the occasion.
Cronkite, who said he is a devotee of the comedy series, was flown out from New York for a brief appearance on the show after the reluctance of the CBS News Department was overcome.
"Every once in a while I think guys in our business need something to jog us out of being over dignified," said Cronkite after the filming.
He said he did not accept the offer when it was first made. "It had to be cleared," he said. "I expressed an interest right away. It seemed like it would be fun. Some people counseled me it was undignified. The more they told me that the more I wanted to do it."
Cronkite performed his brief role flawlessly after only a few rehearsals. He said, "I must be a perfectly lousy player. I didn't have any stage fright."
[The Hartford Courant, Wednesday, February 6, 1974]