Raye Birk

Birthday: 1943-05-27
Birthplace: Flint, Michigan, USA
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned

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.

Credits

Year Title Character
2016-09-15 New Neighbors
2009-10-02 A Serious Man Dr. Shapiro
2005-10-21 Sweet Land Postal Clerk
2005-04-25 Factotum Heathercliff
1998-12-11 Star Trek: Insurrection Son'a Doctor
1996-09-24 After Jimmy John Davies
1995-08-28 Illegal in Blue Gary Dedmarch
1995-03-14 My Brother's Keeper Dr. Roth
1994-10-16 Cries from the Heart
1994-03-18 Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult Papshmir
1993-07-22 Caught in the Act Sterling
1992-06-05 Class Act Principal Kratz
1991-08-02 Doc Hollywood Simon Tidwell, First Patient
1991-03-10 Aftermath: A Test of Love Dr. Frenzel
1991-01-05 Under Cover Grimbach
1990-05-06 Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again Judge Brown
1990-02-25 Challenger Joseph Kilminster
1989-02-12 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson Sam Morgan
1988-12-02 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Pahpshmir
1987-12-11 Throw Momma from the Train Pinsky
1987-03-20 Burglar The Jogger
1987-03-15 The Stepford Children George Larson
1985-02-21 Deadly Messages Harding
1984-07-20 Best Defense Sonny
1984-03-18 Mister Roberts Dowdy
1981-12-21 A Christmas Carol Marley's Ghost
1976-11-10 The Taming of the Shrew Gremio
1970-09-04 Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. Mort Catafalque