What actor was born with the name Tadewurz Konopka?

Ted Knight (December 7, 1923 – August 26, 1986) was an American actor and voice artist well known for playing the comedic roles of Ted Baxter in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", Henry Rush in "Too Close for Comfort", and Judge Elihu Smails in "Caddyshack". Knight was born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka in Connecticut, to Polish-American parents, Sophia (Kavaleski) and Charles Walter Konopka, a bartender. Knight dropped out of high school to enlist in the United States Army in World War II. He was a member of A Company, 296th Combat Engineer Battalion, earning five battle stars while serving in the European Theatre.

A few months after the end of the Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1977, Knight was diagnosed with cancer for which he received various forms of treatment over several years. In 1985, the cancer returned as colon cancer which, despite rigorous treatment, eventually began to spread to his bladder and throughout his lower gastrointestinal tract.

Knight continued to work, even after having surgery to remove a tumor from his urinary tract. However, he experienced complications from the surgery and was advised not to resume work on Too Close For Comfort until he recovered. Knight's condition continued to worsen and he died on August 26, 1986, at the age of 62.

His hometown of Terryville, Connecticut, dedicated the bridge on Canal Street over the Pequabuck River in his memory. There is a bronze plaque bearing his likeness on the bridge.