​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Ted Knight (December 7, 1923 – August 26, 1986) was an American actor best known for playing the comedic role of Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort, and Judge Elihu Smails in Caddyshack. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ted Knight  licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.