Ted Baxter

Portrayed by Ted Knight, the Baxter character is a broad parody of a vain, shallow, buffoonish, vacuous TV personality.

Knight's comedic model was actor William Powell, and he also drew on Los Angeles newscasters, including George Putnam, to shape the character.

The character's incompetence is a running joke on Mary Tyler Moore, characterized by a steady stream of mispronunciations, malapropisms, and miscues.

[4] In the show's early seasons, Knight plays the character broadly for comic effect; he's a simpleton who mispronounces even the easiest words on camera.

In response, the writers rounded out Knight's character, pairing him with love interest and eventual wife Georgette, played by Georgia Engel, who brings out some of Baxter's more lovable characteristics.