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Ted Baxter

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Ted Baxter
First appearance"Love Is All Around"
September 19, 1970
Last appearance"The Last Show"
March 19, 1977
Created byJames L. Brooks and Allan Burns
Portrayed byTed Knight
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationAnchorman at WJM-TV Station
FamilyRobert Baxter (father)
Hal Baxter (brother)
SpouseGeorgette Franklin Baxter
ChildrenDavid (son)
Mary Lou (daughter)

Ted Baxter is a fictional character on the sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977). Portrayed by Ted Knight, the Baxter character is a broad parody of a vain, shallow, buffoonish 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.[1] The role was originally conceived for Jack Cassidy, but Cassidy turned it down; he later appears in the season two episode "Cover Boy" as Ted's equally egocentric brother Hal.[2] Ted Baxter has become a symbolic figure often referenced when criticizing media figures, particularly news anchors hired for style and appearance rather than journalistic ability.[3]

Character

Ted and friends prepare for his wedding in Mary's kitchen, 1975.

Ted Baxter is the pompous and narcissistic nitwit anchorman at fictitious station WJM-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Satirizing the affectations of news anchormen, the character speaks in a vocal fry register parody of the narrator of the Movietone News film reels shown in movie houses before the television era. While his narcissism fuels his delusions of grandeur, Baxter's onscreen performance is buffoonish. The character's incompetence is a running joke on Mary Tyler Moore, characterized by a steady stream of mispronunciations, malapropisms, and miscues. In constant fear of being fired, Baxter is, ironically, the only survivor of massive station layoffs in the series' final episode.[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. Knight gradually grew concerned that the show's writers were abusing the character and considered leaving the MTM cast. 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. [5]

Reception

The wedding of Ted and Georgette, 1975.

Knight earned two Primetime Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Ted Baxter. Time magazine wrote that "Knight embodied a wonderful comic oaf: vain, inept and hilarious."[6] Bravo ranked Ted Baxter 48th on their list of the 100 greatest TV characters.[7]

Allusions

Recurring anchorman character Kent Brockman on animated TV series The Simpsons is an homage to Ted Baxter.[8] In Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell's newsman character has a dog named Baxter, one of the movie's many explicit and implicit references to the character.[9] Popular Superman supporting character Steve Lombard is inspired by Ted Baxter.[10] In the West Wing episode "18th and Potomac", C. J. Cregg evokes Ted Baxter to represent the epitome of a bad reporter. A character in the comedy-horror film Return of the Killer Tomatoes has a diploma from "The Ted Baxter School of Journalism". Steve Carell portrays smarmy, self-impressed anchorman Evan Baxter in Bruce Almighty. PBS children's program The Electric Company spoofs Ted Baxter with "Fred Baxter", a dimwitted news anchorman portrayed by Jim Boyd.[citation needed] A character in the "5/1" episode of The Newsroom is asked, "When did you turn into Ted Baxter?" in response to the character being high, missing an email from Vice President Joe Biden, and remaining nonchalant about it.[11]

In media culture

On MSNBC's Countdown, Keith Olbermann regularly referred to rival Bill O'Reilly as "Ted Baxter" and read O'Reilly's words in a Baxter imitation.[12] Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, in the July 6, 2009 issue of New York Times Magazine,[13] said of O'Reilly, "Someone's got to say it: the man is Ted Baxter."

The Charleston, South Carolina, City Paper awarded news anchor Bill Sharpe a 2008 Best of Charleston Award for "Best Ted Baxter Impression".[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ O'Halloren, Bill (January 3, 1981). "Ted Knight...Too Close for Comfort". TV Guide. Archived from the original on November 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-09..
  2. ^ Cassidy, David; Deffaa, Chip (1994). C'mon, Get Happy ... Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus. New York: Warner Books. p. 50. ISBN 0-446-39531-5.
  3. ^ Boyle, Frank T. (October 1993). "IBM, Talking Heads, and Our Classrooms". College English. 55 (6). National Council of Teachers of English: 618–626. doi:10.2307/378698. ISSN 0010-0994. JSTOR 378698. ERIC EJ470266.
  4. ^ Kohl, Paul R (2005). ""Who's in Charge Here?": Views of Media Ownership in Situation Comedies". In Dalton, Mary M.; Linder, Laura R. (eds.). The sitcom reader: America viewed and skewed. SUNY Press. pp. 232–234. ISBN 0-7914-6569-1.
  5. ^ Andrew Szym (2000). "Georgia Engel: Georgette Franklin Baxter". Mary Tyler Moore Show. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
  6. ^ Corliss, Richard (1980-11-03). "Television: The Bodies in Question". Time. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  7. ^ "The 100 Greatest TV Characters". Bravo. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  8. ^ Stephanie Woo (December 2004). "The Scoop on The Simpsons: Journalism in U.S. Television's Longest Running Prime-Time Animated Series" (PDF). Ijpc.org. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  9. ^ Chris Kaltenbach (July 16, 2004). "The legend of Ted Baxter - latimes". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Wells, John (September 2016). "Bullies and Blowhards of the DC Bronze Age". Back Issue! (91). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 16–18.
  11. ^ Virtel, Louis. "5 Things I Loved (!) About Last Night's "The Newsroom"". Afterelton.
  12. ^ Olbermann: "Ted Baxter strikes again" - Democratic Underground
  13. ^ Chafets, Zev (July 6, 2009). "Late-Period Limbaugh". The New York Times. p. MM30.
  14. ^ Lesemann, T. Ballard (March 5, 2008). "Best Ted Baxter Impression - News Anchor Bill Sharpe - WCSC - Best of Charleston 2008". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
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