TERRYVILLE - A man who left his home town here as Theodore Konopka at the age of 18 for a successful career in television, returned for the first time in over 20 years for a reunion with relatives this weekend.
Ted Knight, the popular anchorman on the Mary Tyler Moore Show was in New York this weekend and "just decided to rent a car and drive to Connecticut."
The surprise visit to the home of his cousins, the Edward Levandoski's of 14 Patricia Avenue Saturday afternoon shortly turned into a huge family reunion. Relatives, mostly of Polish descent, came from as far away as Old Saybrook and New Hartford.
The crowded scene in the kitchen of the Levandoski's Saturday night was not too unlike any family reunion: teenagers were kidded about their hair; orders for drinks and food flew around the room; mothers tried to keep little ones contented; and some of the men had congregated outside for cigars.
The center of attention never really strayed from the man who stood near the back door, though.
"I haven't seen some of these people in 25 years," Knight said. "We're all close-the passing of time has nothing to do with it."
He spoke of the interdependence immigrants feel for each other. "I miss that," he said. "Blood ties are very strong."
"The Polish are handsome people," someone said. "Yeah, the whole world revolves around the Polies," someone else said. Knight chuckled and went into a bit of his Ted Baxter character, delighting everyone who had pushed into the room, and those who were craning their necks to see.
Asked how he had developed the character, Knight said it was a combination of a lot of different styles and mannerisms he had observed in radio broadcasters.
Asked if anyone else had tried out for the part, he answered, "Everyone who ever had his lips to a microphone." He said the producers spent a great deal of time casting the parts for the show.
"When I first read the script, I wanted that role more than anything," he said. "If you really want something in life you'll get it."
"They didn't know if they wanted a young, romantic type, or an older man, or what type; so I asked the producers if I could take the script home.
"They said fine, so over the weekend I bought a blazer with an insignia on it, and some gray flannel trousers. I lay in the sun, got a terrific tan, and memorized the role.
"When I came in Monday morning, I was Ted Baxter, and they loved it."
Asked about his life in California, Knight described it as "very normal."
"My kids know I'm a celebrity, but they don't brag about it; they realize their own importance. I'm very grateful for this. Knight lives now in Woodland Hills, Calif. with his wife and three children.
On Sunday morning, Knight went to Mass at St. Casimir's Church, a stone's throw away from the home on Allen Street where he was born. After the service, people crowded around him on the steps for autographs.
He left Sunday afternoon for New York again, where he will be cohosting the Mike Douglas show.
[The Bristol Press, Monday, April 16, 1973]