DR. DEATH (195?-195?) – Ted Knight, famous for his roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Too Close for Comfort is among the surprising names who worked in the American folk art of Movie Hosting. Yes, just as Tim Conway played Ghoulardi’s sidekick and Gary Busey was Mazeppa’s sidekick; just as Pat Sajak wrote for Nashville’s Phantom of the Opry, Bill O’Reilly for Uncle Ted and Tom Snyder for Bob Hersh’s Movie Host the Advisor, Ted Knight is in the mix as well.
Though the other figures mentioned above were in the supporting staff, Knight was the host himself as Dr. Death, a Mad Scientist who was also some form of revenant back from the dead. Most sources describe Ted’s Dr. Death character as a combination of Dr. Phibes and the 1930s Mummy.
I often wonder if it was more a case of Knight basing the concept partially on Humphrey Bogart’s “back from the dead Mad Scientist” in The Return of Dr. X from 1939 rather than on Boris Karloff’s Mummy. Whatever the thought process was, as Dr. Death the future Ted Baxter hosted Milkman Movies (one source says Milkman’s Movies), which aired so late at night that it ended before the crack of dawn, when milkmen of the past did their rounds.
Some confusion exists regarding the exact years that Milkman Movies/ Milkman’s Movies ran. Per employee accounts, Ted played Dr. Death during his time at WJAR-TV in Providence, Rhode Island. The broadcast years of the show are sometimes listed as “late 1950s” but Ted Knight only worked at WJAR from 1950-1955.
Other sources state the program ran sometime from 1953-1955, but IF 1953 truly is the debut year of Milkman Movies/ Milkman’s Movies, then that would make Dr. Death the earliest known Movie Host, predating even Vampira herself (1954 debut).
It’s difficult to believe that Knight himself or broadcast historians wouldn’t have hyped such a distinction for Ted if 1953 genuinely was when Dr. Death first hit the airwaves. In my opinion it’s more likely that Milkman (or Milkman’s) Movies was launched shortly after The Vampira Show was on April 30th or May 1st of 1954.
NOTE: Some people count the April 30th preview episode publicizing The Vampira Show as the program’s premiere, while others stick to the May 1st date when her first full episode aired.
At any rate, Vampira’s show itself only lasted until April of 1955 despite its monumental impact on Movie Hosting and later Bad Movie Culture. Even if Ted Knight’s run as Dr. Death only went from mid-1954 to his departure from WJAR in 1955 it’s still one hell of a milestone.
And obviously if the 1953 premiere date for Milkman Movies/ Milkman’s Movies can ever be definitively nailed down Ted Knight deserves credit as the oldest known Movie Host ever.
As for those sources which say Ted didn’t play Dr. Death until a few years in the late 1950s that’s certainly possible, but it would mean it happened at another television station and not WJAR, where most authorities place his run as the not so good doctor.
Sadly, only on-set photos of Knight as Dr. Death have survived. Like so much early television no known footage of the actor hosting his show is available. If more information ever becomes available – most likely from old tv listings or newspaper publicity articles like the one below – I will update this blog post.
FOR OTHER MOVIE HOST ENTRIES CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/category/movie-hosts/
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