HE'S A SELFPROCLAIMED ham with enough confidence never to have doubted his eventual success. He never made a dollar in his chosen profession until he was well past 20, but Ted Knight has become one of television's biggest stars who describes his as a "pick and choose world."
Tadewurz Wladzui Konopka spent his growing up years in Terryville where he was born and still has droves of relatives and friends. But except for an occasional visit, Terryville hasn't seen too much of him since he found his pot of gold in show business.
[MARY TYLER MOORE, star of her show, gets into a discussion with Ted Knight on a recent show. The show is one of the most successful on television and has vaulted members of the cast to fame. Knight grew up in Terryville.]
His given name would never make him a household word and neither did his adopted name, despite over 300 bit parts on many television series. But when he landed the role of Ted Baxter, the egocentric anchorman on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, he became a comet on the entertainment horizon.
"I lost money when the series started," he said, "But I saw the potential in it."
The role landed him an Emmy in 197273 as best supporting actor in a comedy role.
Knight isn't overwhelmed by his success and never doubted that he would one day reach the top.
"I always had a little ham in me," he said. "Even at an early age I had the ability to make people laugh. You might say the seed was planted then," said Knight.
Knight explained that his mother was married and widowed three times. He was the youngest of seven children. Times were austere for little Ted during his childhood years during the depression but, "We always had enough to eat," he said.
Ted's early showbusiness experience consisted of backyard shows for pins. "You know, we'd charge a safety pin to watch us," he laughed.
Knight, who lived at 18 Allen St., started at Prospect Street School in Terryville, then moved on to the East Main Street School when he was in the fourth grade. He went through Terryville High without ever performing before a paid audience, but dreams of show business were always at the back of his mind.
"I felt I had the ability to achieve greatness," he said. "I looked at myself objectively and felt I could do as good as what I had seen in the movies. I could mimic accurately." He added that he probably could have equaled comedianimpersonator Rich Little if he worked at it.
[THE THREE MEN in Mary Tyler Moore's TV life, from left, Ted Knight, Gavin MacLeod and Ed Asner, find a new sense of camaraderie on the weekly series. Like Knight, Asner is an Emmy winner.]
"I think all good actors must be able to mimic," he said. "It reflects humanity. I have always been a mimic even in those little tent shows I used to put on with Henry Chmielewski on Beach Avenue. "
World War II delayed Knight's acting career. He was among the first Americans to enter Berlin and though he won five Bronze Stars, he doesn't regard them as anything special. "I didn't do anything heroic. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
After the war, it was acting school for Ted. "I didn't feel a good looking young stud like myself should be an 85 working slug," he said. "It was a life of booze and broads for me," he added followed by his deep laugh. The government subsidized his acting lessons at the Randall School of Dramatic Arts in Hartford. On week ends, Radio Station WCCC, Hartford, gave him practical experience.
After two and half years in Hartford, Knight got a steady job at WFFY in Greensboro, N.C., but felt he was destined for bigger things. Soon after he was in New York. He trained at the American Theater Wing and appeared on such top radio and television shows as "Big Town," "Suspense" and "Lux Video Theater. "
"I met an old friend of mine who was a salesman," he recalled. "He later became station manager of WJAR in Providence. He made me an offer and I took it. I was married and it was a steady job.
"I did a kids' show, was an MC and a newsman . . . and Teddy the Milkman," Knight said. Teddy the Milkman hosted the late night movies and at the many intermissions performed little skits, conducted interviews and played with puppets. "I became a really good puppeteer at WJAR, " he said.
Knight got a better offer as a DJ in Albany, but didn't last too long. "After an argument, I got a little ticked, so I put my little chickie in the car and drove to California." The year was 1957. Knight had no job and it was quite a while before he got one. "I sulked a lot and found I had a lot of growing up to do," he said. He didn't feel his given name would attract too much attention, so sat down with his wife to come up with a new one. They both agreed that Knight would be suitable.
Knight got an agent. A little theater work followed before he was discovered.
It wasn't long before he became one of the business bit players in Hollywood. He had more than 300 roles in some of the top TV programs, including "Gunsmoke," "The FBI," and "Get Smart."
"They were just jobs," he said in his best Ted Baxter voice.
But when the opportunity for the anchorman role came up, Ted tried for it and scored. He reasoned that with his experience as a newsman, he would be able to handle the job and create a character. Some actors view the tight TV shooting schedule as a hindrance to character development. Knight doesn't. He feels he has been able to create a character that has been very well received. Despite the enormous success of the show, Knight says the role is getting a little tiresome.
"I am casting my eyes elsewhere perhaps developing some other aspect of my talent. I recently opened in Las Vegas you know," he said. "I have also been offered a show of my own. They (CBS) are already working on a pilot for me. Actually, they would be foolish if they didn't, " he added. Knight mentioned that his contract with the Mary Tyler Moore Show will run out in two years and that's when he'll probably make his move.
[KNIGHT, as Ted Baxter, goes on the defensive in a recent Mary Tyler Moore Show. Ed Asner and Mary are apparently waiting for Ted's explanation.]
Knight, who is as humorous in person as he is on the stage, said he has no special problems in portraying Ted Baxter. "Sometimes the scripts are weak and that always makes it more difficult for the cast," he added.
But despite an occasional weak script, the show draws a major share of the viewing audience and Knight points to several reasons for that. "I think it's a certain chemistry all lumped together," he said. "And I'm talking about the cast, the production crew, and the writing brilliance and the concern for and love and attention they give the script."
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is shot live, which means that the cast rehearses all week before an audience comes in on Friday when the show is actually taped for public viewing. Ted finds this easier than a show that is taped as it is produced without benefit of an audience. This is called a threecamera setup. Others such as M*A*S*H and most shows shot on location are referred to as onecamera shows.
Terryville's famous native finds the work easy and has no complaints of being burdened. "Acting never was hard for me and I was never one, even when I was young, who had trouble finding work. It wasn't difficult for me to break in."
Ted doesn't live the stereotyped high life of a Hollywood star. He prefers to spend his free time at home with his wife and three children. "I don't do anything strenuous," he said. "I sleep a lot, watch television. My idea of exercise is walking out into the front yard and stroking the neighbor's cat." Knight does little socializing even with the cast. "We see enough of each other during work to take care of all the socializing," he said.
Knight is in demand. In addition to Las Vegas, he does some live stage in Southern California. "It's a pick and choose world for me now," he likes to say.
Success really hasn't changed Knight. He talks with confidence just as he always has. He believes in himself. He doesn't really see any changes in his life since he became Ted Baxter except to say he's more secure now. "An actor is always insecure, but a successful series makes you less insecure," he added. "The insecurity remains, but you might say it is tempered a little."
He still likes to do cartoon shows and cites the "Lassie's Rescue Rangers" as one to which he lends his voice. He is also doing more and more guest shots on TV variety and talk shows.
And Ted Baxter has been his ticket to such success. Knight likes Ted. "To me, Ted Baxter reveals the frivolities of man. It gives the producers the opportunity to expose the weaknesses of man and maybe that is the reason why people laugh at him."
Knight speaks Polish like a Warsaw native and still recalls those days when he and his pals would pile into a car and head for the Polish National Home in Torrington. "I'd dance my little legs off there," he recalled.
He isn't especially fond of traveling and even his TV work doesn't require that he leave the LA area. He last visited Terryville in April 1973, staying with a cousin, Matilda Lewandowski. The Lewandowski home was a busy place that day as more than 100 of his friends and relatives dropped by.
Tadewurz Wladzui Konopka has touched all the show business bases and was a successful actor before he met Mary Tyler Moore. The successful series, however, has brought him to the attention of millions and Knight likes to sum it up with one of his favorite expressions: "It's a pick and choose world now."
[Waterbury Republican, Sunday, May 25, 1975]