Raye Birk (born May 27, 1943, Flint, Michigan) is an American film and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

best known for a variety of roles, such as playing the role of Pahpshmir in the first and last of the '' Naked Gun'' movies, and a variety of television appearances where he played very unique characters each time, including ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Supe ...

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Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

,'' and ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'', well known for portraying the character of mailman Walt Twitchell in the latter.

Career

Birk appeared as the main villain in '' Naked Gun : The Final Insult''. He has also guest starred in ''

Due South ''Due South'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama television series created by Paul Haggis, and produced by Alliance Communications from its premiere on April 26, 1994, to its conclusion after four seasons on March 14, 1999. The series starred ...

'' 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 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Televi ...

''. 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 In larger school systems, a head teacher principal is often assisted by someone known as a vice-principal, deputy principal, or assistant/associate principal. Unlike the principal, the vice-principal does not have quite the decision-making authorit ...

Mr. Diperna on ''

''; starting with the pilot episode, when he had a conference with Kevin Arnold's parents for throwing food in the cafeteria. (He originally read for the role of Coach Ed Cutlip). 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 also was on a pair of ''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

'' episodes as one of Tim's poker buddies. Raye appeared in several episodes on the TV series '' Night Court''. He appeared twice on ''

'', both times playing a wedding caterer. Furthermore, in 1985, 1986 and 1992, he appeared in three episodes of ''

'' as Walt Twitchell, a mailman who got into minor altercations with

Cliff Clavin Clifford C. Clavin, Jr. (born 1947 or 1949) is a fictional character on the American television show ''Cheers'' played by John Ratzenberger. A postal worker, he is the bar's know-it-all and was a contestant on the game show '' Jeopardy!'' Cl ...

. 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 Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

'' as university band director Riley Pringle from 1989 to 1993. He also appeared in an episode of Mr. Belvedere as an accordion player. From 2004 to 2008, he played Ebenezer Scrooge in '' A Christmas Carol'' at the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gu ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birk, Raye 1943 births American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Michigan Actors from Flint, Michigan Living people Jewish American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors