
Raye Birk
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 331⁄3: 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.
73 acting credits
Acting · 73

Columbo
1971

The X-Files
1993

Seinfeld
1989

ER
1994

Frasier
1993

Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987

Cheers
1982

Babylon 5
1994

Hawaii Five-O
1968

Night Court
1984

Home Improvement
1991

Wings
1990

The Wonder Years
1988

St. Elsewhere
1982

Matlock
1986

Coach
1989

The Golden Girls
1985

The Twilight Zone
1985

Due South
1994

Touched by an Angel
1994

L.A. Law
1986

3rd Rock from the Sun
1996

ALF
1986

Caroline in the City
1995

Murphy Brown
1988

Silk Stalkings
1991

Empty Nest
1988

Saved by the Bell: The New Class
1993

Dear John
1988

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
1993

Nowhere Man
1995

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
1988

Black Scorpion
2001

Snoops
1989

Blue Thunder
1984

Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994

J.J. Starbuck
1987

Fresno
1986

Eisenhower and Lutz
1988

Star Trek: Insurrection
1998

A Serious Man
2009

North Country
2005

Throw Momma from the Train
1987

Doc Hollywood
1991

Working Girl
1990
Under Cover
1991

Factotum
2005

Class Act
1992

Burglar
1987

The Popcorn Kid
1987

Beauty and the Beast
1987

Best Defense
1984

Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson
1989

Sweet Land
2005

Barbarians at the Gate
1993

Challenger
1990

Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
1990

The Stepford Children
1987

Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.
1970

Aftermath: A Test of Love
1991

Mister Roberts
1984
My Brother's Keeper
1995

Illegal in Blue
1995

Under Cover
1991

The Big Squeeze
1996

Deadly Messages
1985
After Jimmy
1996

Cries from the Heart
1994

Caught in the Act
1993

The Taming of the Shrew
1976
A Christmas Carol
1981
Seed of Doubt
—

New Neighbors
2016