Raye Birk

Born: 1943-05-27

Raye Birk (born May 27, 1943, Flint, Michigan) is an American film and television actor best known for playing the role of Pahpshmir in the first and last of the Naked Gun movies. He was the main villain in Naked Gun 33​1⁄3: The Final Insult. He has also starred in Due South as the terrorist Francis Bolt in the Episodes "All the Queens Horses", "Red, White and Blue", "Call of the Wild Part One" and "Call of the Wild Part Two". He also had roles in the X-Files and Babylon 5. His other film credits include roles in Best Defense (1984), Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Doc Hollywood (1991) and Star Trek: Insurrection (1998). In addition to these roles, he had a frequently occurring role as the assistant principal on The Wonder Years; starting with the pilot episode, when he had a conference with Kevin Arnold's parents for throwing food in the cafeteria. While generally antagonist, a more sympathetic role on the show was seen in the award winning episode "Goodbye" where he confides in Kevin that he is Kevin's new math teacher as Kevin's hardnosed algebra teacher has just died. He was also on a pair of Home Improvement episodes as one of Tim's poker buddies. Raye appeared in several episodes on the TV series Night Court. He appeared twice on The Golden Girls, both times playing a wedding caterer. Furthermore, in 1985, 1986 and 1992, he appeared on three episodes of Cheers as Walt Twitchell, a mailman who got into minor altercations with Cliff Clavin. Birk reprised the role of Twitchell in a 2002 episode of the Cheers spinoff series, Frasier, in which the title character (played by Kelsey Grammer) returned to Boston and re-acquainted himself with old friends from the bar. He played a recurring role on Coach as university band director Riley Pringle from 1989 to 1993. He also appeared in an episode of Mr. Belvedere as an accordion player. In 2004–2008, he played Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Raye has been married to his wife Candace Barrett for 41 years. They have one son, Joshua, who is a professor of medieval history.


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The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

as Pahpshmir
Released: 1988-12-02

When the incompetent Lieutenant Frank Drebin seeks the ruthless killer of his partner, he...

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as Son'a Doctor
Released: 1998-12-11

When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has...

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A Serious Man

as Dr. Shapiro
Released: 2009-09-30

It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just...

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Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult

as Papshmir
Released: 1994-03-18

Frank Drebin is persuaded out of retirement to go undercover in a state prison. There he has to...

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Throw Momma from the Train

as Pinsky
Released: 1987-12-11

Larry Donner, an author with a cruel ex-wife, teaches a writing workshop in which one of his...

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Doc Hollywood

as Simon Tidwell, First Patient
Released: 1991-08-02

After leaving Washington D.C. hospital, plastic surgeon Ben Stone heads for California, where a...

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Amazon Women on the Moon

as Vanya
Released: 1987-09-18

Centered around a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with...

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Class Act

as Principal Kratz
Released: 1992-06-05

Duncan is a genius straight A student, Blade is juvenile delinquent. But because of a mix up...

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Burglar

as The Jogger
Released: 1987-03-20

Bernice "Bernie" Rhodenbarr is a burglar by trade, and she runs a bookstore as well. Her friend...

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Factotum

as Heathercliff
Released: 2005-04-25

This drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of "Factotum" author Charles...

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Sweet Land

as Postal Clerk
Released: 2005-10-21

Set in 1920, Inge travels from Germany to rural Minnesota in order to meet the man destined to...

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The Stepford Children

as George Larson
Released: 1987-03-15

Steven and Laura Harding, along with their kids David and Mary, have moved to the quiet...

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Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.

as Mort Catafalque
Released: 1970-09-04

A gas is let loose upon the world that kills anyone over 25 years old.

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Challenger

as Joseph Kilminster
Released: 1990-02-25

A profile of the astronauts, crew, and civilians who were involved in the January 28, 1986...

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Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson

as Sam Morgan
Released: 1989-02-12

Ken Malansky, a law student of Perry Mason's, is accused of murdering a fellow student. Perry is...

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Mister Roberts

as Dowdy
Released: 1984-03-18

Set aboard a navy cargo ship during World War II, this comedic drama follows Lt. Doug Roberts...

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Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again

as Judge Brown
Released: 1990-05-06

The classic comic book characters created by John L. Goldwater are brought to tv in a slightly...

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Deadly Messages

as Harding
Released: 1985-02-21

When Laura unearths an old Ouija board in her closet, her roommate, Cindy, uses it and...

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Illegal in Blue

as Gary Dedmarch
Released: 1995-08-28

A cop taking personal leave after he witnesses money stolen from the police property room...

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The Taming of the Shrew

as Gremio
Released: 1976-11-10

San Francisco's prize-winning American Conservatory Theater's rowdy commedia dell'arte...

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Caught in the Act

as Sterling
Released: 1993-07-22

An unemployed actor is mixed up in a case about a $10,000,000 bank fraud.

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Aftermath: A Test of Love

as Dr. Frenzel
Released: 1991-03-10

Based on a true story, an adoring wife and mother is taken hostage during a robbery and brutally...

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Cries from the Heart

as uncredited
Released: 1994-10-16

Michael, a young autistic boy who has trouble with verbalization but a real talent for...

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New Neighbors

as uncredited
Released: 2016-09-15

In the face of the killings and assaults on black lives, a mother is determined to keep her two...

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Columbo

as Howard Seltzer
First aired: 1971-09-15

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently...

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The X-Files

as Dr. Jeff Eckerle
First aired: 1993-09-10

The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files:...

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Star Trek: The Next Generation

as Wrenn
First aired: 1987-09-28

Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the...

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Babylon 5

as William
First aired: 1994-01-26

Babylon 5 is a five-mile long space station located in neutral space. Built by the Earth...

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Home Improvement

as Fred
First aired: 1991-09-17

The daily trials and tribulations of handyman Tim Taylor, a TV show host raising three boys with...

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Hawaii Five-O

as Parole Officer
First aired: 1968-09-20

Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and...

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The Golden Girls

as Caterer
First aired: 1985-09-14

Four Southern Florida seniors share a house, their dreams, and a whole lot of cheesecake....

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L.A. Law

as Judge Steven Lang
First aired: 1986-09-15

L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from...

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Frasier

as Walt Twitchell
First aired: 1993-09-16

After many years spent at the “Cheers” bar, Frasier moves back home to Seattle to work as a...

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The Twilight Zone

as uncredited
First aired: 1985-09-27

This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original...

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3rd Rock from the Sun

as Jeweler
First aired: 1996-01-09

3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is...

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Futurama

as (voice)
First aired: 1999-03-28

The adventures of a late-20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who,...

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Wings

as Prince Restivon
First aired: 1990-04-19

Brothers Brian and Joe Hackett attempt to run an airline on the New England island of Nantucket...

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Seinfeld

as Mr. Pless
First aired: 1989-07-05

A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in...

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Matlock

as Simon Le Simple
First aired: 1986-03-03

Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of...

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The Wonder Years

as Mr. Diperna
First aired: 1988-01-31

The story of Kevin Arnold facing the trials and tribulations of youth while growing up during...

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ALF

as Lenny Scott
First aired: 1986-09-22

A furry alien wiseguy comes to live with a terran family after crashing into their garage.

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ALF

as Officer Griswald
First aired: 1986-09-22

A furry alien wiseguy comes to live with a terran family after crashing into their garage.

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The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

as Prosecuting Attorney
First aired: 1993-08-27

A tough-as-rawhide cowpoke, debonair ladies' man and Harvard-educated smarty-britches roams from...

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Nowhere Man

as Tobe Alder
First aired: 1995-08-28

Thomas Veil is a documentary photographer who, in the course of one evening, seemingly has his...

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ER

as Mr. Hartley
First aired: 1994-09-19

ER explores the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by...

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Due South

as Francis Bolt
First aired: 1994-09-22

Constable Benton Fraser, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is attached to the...

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Night Court

as Dworkin
First aired: 1984-01-04

Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to...

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Night Court

as God #1
First aired: 1984-01-04

Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to...

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Night Court

as Ward
First aired: 1984-01-04

Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to...

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Night Court

as Frank Pepitone
First aired: 1984-01-04

Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to...

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Black Scorpion

as Dr. Phineas Phoenix
First aired: 2001-01-05

The City of Angels is falling apart, and crime pervades the city to the core. The mayor is...

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Silk Stalkings

as Atticus Dunn
First aired: 1991-11-07

Silk Stalkings is a crime drama television series. The series portrays the daily lives of two...

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Murphy Brown

as Barney
First aired: 1988-11-14

Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) is a recovering alcoholic who returns to the fictional...

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Empty Nest

as Albert
First aired: 1988-10-08

Widowed pediatrician Harry Weston is a miracle worker when it comes to dealing with his young...

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Empty Nest

as Judge Talmadge
First aired: 1988-10-08

Widowed pediatrician Harry Weston is a miracle worker when it comes to dealing with his young...

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Dear John

as Dr. Hendricks
First aired: 1988-10-06

Dear John starred Judd Hirsch as easygoing Drake Prep high school teacher John Lacey who is...

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Fresno

as Mr. Loats
First aired: 1986-11-16

In Fresno, California, the once-wealthy Kensington family's raisin-growing empire has fallen on...

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The Popcorn Kid

as Leonard Brown
First aired: 1987-03-23

Short lived sitcom about the goings on at a movie theatre. The show mainly focused on Scott...

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