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Raye Birk is a Actor American born on 27 may 1943 at Flint (USA)
Raye Birk (born May 27, 1943) is an American film and television actor famous for playing the role of Papshmir in the first and last of the Naked Gun movies. He was the main villain in Naked Gun 33⁄3: 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 principal on The Wonder Years, starting with the pilot episode when he suspended Kevin Arnold for throwing food in the cafeteria. He was also on a pair of Home Improvement episodes as one of Tim's poker buddies. In 1991 Raye appeared on the TV series Night Court as Frank Pepitone. He has appeared twice on The Golden Girls, both times playing a wedding caterer.
Furthermore, he appeared on three episodes of Cheers in 1985, 1986 and 1992 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 titular 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 Riley Pringle from 1989 to 1993.
In 2004–2008, he played Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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In addition to these roles, he had a frequently occurring role as the principal on The Wonder Years, starting with the pilot episode when he suspended Kevin Arnold for throwing food in the cafeteria. He was also on a pair of Home Improvement episodes as one of Tim's poker buddies. In 1991 Raye appeared on the TV series Night Court as Frank Pepitone. He has appeared twice on The Golden Girls, both times playing a wedding caterer.
Furthermore, he appeared on three episodes of Cheers in 1985, 1986 and 1992 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 titular 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 Riley Pringle from 1989 to 1993.
In 2004–2008, he played Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Filmography of Raye Birk (21 films)
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A Serious Man (2009)
, 1h46Directed by Frères Coen
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Films about religion, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Simon Helberg, Fred Melamed, Adam Arkin, Michael Lerner
Roles Dr. Shapiro
Rating69%
In a prologue, a Jewish man in an unnamed Eastern European shtetl tells his wife that he was helped on his way home by Traitle Groshkover, whom he has invited in for soup. She says Groshkover is dead and must be a dybbuk. Groshkover (Fyvush Finkel) arrives and laughs off the accusation, but she plunges an icepick into his chest. Bleeding, he exits into the snowy night.
Factotum (2005)
, 1h34Directed by Bent Hamer
Origin Norvege
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes Films about alcoholism, Films about writers, Medical-themed films, Films about drugs
Actors Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Fisher Stevens, Didier Flamand, Adrienne Shelly
Roles Heathercliff
Rating65%
Bukowski's picaresque novel, also titled Factotum, was published in 1975. The book and the film both center on the character of Henry Chinaski, Bukowski’s alter ego, who appears in much of his fiction. Although events in the book take place in Los Angeles in the 1940s, the setting of the film is contemporary.
Sweet Land (2005)
, 1h50Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Elizabeth Reaser, Tim Guinee, Alan Cumming, Lois Smith, Alex Kingston, Paul Sand
Roles Postal Clerk
Rating70%
In the aftermath of World War I, Inge Altenberg (Elizabeth Reaser), an orphan from Snåsa, Norway, arrives in America to a very cold reception. The parents of immigrant farmer Olaf Torvik (Tim Guinee) remain in Norway, where they met her. Dialogue reveals that the four of them have worked out an agreement that allowed her to emigrate to America for the purpose of marrying Olaf. The Minnesota farming village of Audubon, in which her intended husband lives, is horrified to learn that she is a German immigrant with no papers. To make matters worse, she has accidentally obtained membership papers for the American Socialist Party. Scandalized, both the town's Lutheran minister and the county clerk refuse to marry them.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
, 1h43Directed by Jonathan Frakes
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Action, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Dans l'espace, Films set in the future, Films about extraterrestrial life, Political films, Space opera, Films about extraterrestrial life, Robot films
Actors Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden
Roles Son'a Doctor
Rating63%
Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) is temporarily transferred to an undercover mission observing the peaceful Ba'ku people. While on their planet, he malfunctions and reveals the presence of the joint Federation–Son'a task force observing the Ba'ku. Admiral Matthew Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe) contacts the USS Enterprise-E to obtain Data's schematics but adamantly states the presence of the Enterprise is not needed. Captain Picard decides to ignore these orders and takes the Enterprise to capture Data. After stopping Data, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) becomes suspicious of Dougherty's insistence that the Enterprise is no longer needed. His crew investigates the cause of Data's malfunction. They discover that the Ba'ku are technologically advanced, but have rejected its use to live simpler lives. Due to unique radiation or "metaphasic particles" emanating from their planet's rings, they are effectively immortal. Dougherty's allies, the Son'a, are a decrepit race who use medical techniques to prevent death; their excessive use of cosmetic surgery gives them a mummified appearance. The Enterprise crew also begin to experience the rejuvenation effects of the planet: Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) finds his eyes have regenerated and he no longer requires ocular implants; Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) rekindle their long-abandoned relationship; and Picard develops a romantic relationship with the Ba'ku woman Anij (Donna Murphy).
After Jimmy (1996)
, 1h39Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about suicide
Actors Meredith Baxter, Bruce Davison, Peter Facinelli, Mae Whitman, Eva Marie Saint, Natalija (Natalia) Nogulich
Roles John Davies
Rating62%
Depressed eighteen-year-old Jimmy Stapp commits suicide by shooting himself in the head with his father's gun. His family (mother Maggie, father Sam, and two young siblings Billy and Rosie) struggles to deal with life, amid questions of why they didn't see the signs sooner and what could have precipitated suicide. Both parents grieve very differently in the aftermath, which divides them as they search for a way to bring their family back together.
Cries from the Heart (1994)
, 1h33Directed by Michael Switzer
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Crime
Themes Films about children, Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism, Films about child abuse
Actors Melissa Gilbert, Patty Duke, Bradley Pierce, Markus Flanagan, Lisa Banes, Roger Aaron Brown
Rating64%
Karen Barth (Gilbert) is the divorced mother of Michael (Pierce), a young autistic boy who is unable to speak or write. After an incident in which Michael wanders away from home to the local playground, Karen's ex-husband Roger realizes that Michael may need more specialized care than she can provide, and suggests Michael be enrolled in a special residential school.
, 1h23Directed by David Zucker, Peter Segal
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Comedy thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Prison films, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Transgender in film, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Fred Ward, George Kennedy, Anna Nicole Smith, Kathleen Freeman
Roles Papshmir
Rating64%
Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) has retired from Police Squad and lives a basically happy life with his wife, Jane Spencer-Drebin (Priscilla Presley). It remains "basically happy" because police work has been Frank's meaning of life, and he feels unhappy about not being able to legally take on criminals anymore. Additionally, Jane tries to push him into siring a child, but Frank does not have the courage to go through this yet. It comes as a blessing to him when his old friends Ed Hocken (George Kennedy) and Nordberg (O.J. Simpson) come by and ask for his help in an investigation. The Police Squad has caught wind that a well-known bomber named Rocco Dillon (Fred Ward), who is currently incarcerated, has been hired by a terrorist (Papshmir, known from the first movie) to conduct a major terrorist act against the United States. An important contact, Tanya Peters (Anna Nicole Smith), Rocco's girlfriend, proves to be a dead end, so Drebin is asked to join Dillon undercover in prison, befriend him, and then leak details of the plan to his colleagues. However, the first part of the mission – by pure accident – proves to be extremely taxing; Jane becomes frustrated both at Frank's sudden unwillingness to engage in his marital duties and the suspicion that he is doing police work again, and storms out of the house.
Class Act (1992)
, 1h38Directed by Randall Miller
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Films about music and musicians, Hip hop films, Musical films
Actors Meshach Taylor, Christopher "Kid" Reid, Mariann Aalda, Christopher "Play" Martin, Loretta Devine, Doug E. Doug
Roles Principal Kratz
Rating60%
Genius high school student Duncan Pinderhughes (Christopher "Kid" Reid) is getting ready for graduation, but is somewhat disheartened to find out that, despite his perfect SAT score and 4.0 GPA, prestigious Hafford University (parody of Harvard University) will not admit him unless he can pass phys. ed. Ex-convict Michael "Blade" Brown (Christopher "Play" Martin) is released from jail, and told by his parole officer (Rick Ducommun) that the condition of his release is satisfactory graduation from high school. A mishap results in their pictures being swapped on their permanent school records. In effect, Blade is surprised to find out that he is being placed in gifted classes, while Duncan is shocked to be placed in minimal classes with substandard conditions and miscreants for classmates.
Doc Hollywood (1991)
, 1h44Directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Woody Harrelson, Barnard Hughes, David Ogden Stiers, Bridget Fonda
Roles Simon Tidwell, First Patient
Rating62%
Dr. Benjamin Stone is a promising young surgeon working in Washington, D.C. with plans of making more money working for a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. On his last day, he realizes that none of his colleagues care enough about him to say good-bye to him, instead leaving him a cake with an insult made out of icing.
Challenger (1990)
Genres Drama, Documentary
Actors Karen Allen, Barry Bostwick, Richard Jenkins, Joe Morton, Keone Young, Brian Kerwin
Roles Joseph Kilminster
Rating58%
In the film, NASA managers and Thiokol engineers argue back and forth about whether the data Thiokol has is adequate to support the risk they claim. In a teleconference, Morton Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly describes to the NASA team the soot from prior O-ring "blow-by" incidents on prior launches as "black", trying to communicate the severity of the malfunction, and says "it looked bad". A NASA director challenges him, asking "What does the black color mean?" Boisjoly, played by Boyle, is unable to put into words a concrete logical argument for concern about what is to him obviously a serious problem, and he just replies with something like, "I'm telling you, if you'd seen it, you'd know it isn't good." The NASA manager demands proof before he will ground the shuttle, and the call ends leaving Boisjoly frustrated and baffled at their attitude. Unable to prove their case with certainty, Thiokol managers cave in to direct pressure and reverse their recommendation, finally recommending launch.
, 1h36Directed by Dick Lowry
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Christopher Rich, Lauren Holly, Raye Birk, Karen Kopins, Cindy Ambuehl, Sam Whipple
Roles Judge Brown
Rating53%
Archie Andrews, fifteen years after graduating from Riverdale High, has become a successful lawyer and is preparing to marry his fiancée, Pam, and move to "the big city." Before doing that, however, he returns home to Riverdale for his high school reunion.
, 1h25Directed by David Zucker
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Comedy thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Political films, Films about royalty
Actors Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy, Nancy Marchand, Justin Timberlake
Roles Pahpshmir
Rating75%
In Los Angeles, Officer Nordberg attempts to bust a heroin drug operation at the docks organized by Vincent Ludwig, and is shot by Ludwig's henchmen. After being briefed on the case by his boss, Captain Ed Hocken, Police Squad Lieutenant Frank Drebin visits Nordberg in the hospital. Nordberg provides cryptic clues, including a picture of Ludwig's ship on which the deal had been organized. Frank meets with police scientist Ted Olsen, who has invented a cufflink that shoots a tranquilizer dart. Frank learns through Ted that Nordberg's jacket tested positive for heroin. Police Squad is in charge of security for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Los Angeles, and Ed tells Frank that he has 24 hours to clear Nordberg before word gets out about what happened and detracts from the queen's visit. Frank visits Ludwig in his office. Ludwig learns that Nordberg is still alive. Ludwig has his assistant, Jane Spencer, assist Frank in his investigation and the two fall in love. Jane is unaware of her employer's illegal activities.
Burglar (1987)
, 1h43Directed by Hugh Wilson
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action, Crime
Themes Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Whoopi Goldberg, G. W. Bailey, Bobcat Goldthwait, Lesley Ann Warren, Vyto Ruginis, James Handy
Roles The Jogger
Rating51%
Bernice "Bernie" Rhodenbarr, a former burglar, resumes her life of crime when a corrupt police officer named Ray Kirschman blackmails her.
Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
, 1h25Directed by Joe Dante, John Landis, Peter Horton, Carl Gottlieb, Robert K. Weiss
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Comic science fiction
Themes Space adventure films, Films about television, Sur la Lune, Comedy science fiction films, Space opera
Actors Arsenio Hall, Lou Jacobi, Griffin Dunne, Steve Forrest, Robert Colbert, Michelle Pfeiffer
Roles Vanya
Rating61%
Fictional television station WIDB-TV (channel 8) experiences problems with its late-night airing of science-fiction classic Amazon Women on the Moon, a 1950s B movie in which Queen Lara (Sybil Danning) and Captain Nelson (Steve Forrest) battle exploding volcanoes and man-eating spiders on the moon. Waiting for the film to resume, an unseen viewer begins channel surfing—simulated by bursts of white noise—through late night cable, with the various segments and sketches of the film representing the programming found on different channels. The viewer intermittently returns to channel 8, where Amazon Women continues to resume airing before faltering once more.
Throw Momma from the Train (1987)
, 1h24Directed by Danny DeVito
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action, Crime
Themes Transport films, Rail transport films
Actors Billy Crystal, Danny DeVito, Kim Greist, Kate Mulgrew, Anne Ramsey, Branford Marsalis
Roles Pinsky
Rating62%
Novelist Larry Donner (Billy Crystal) struggles with writer's block due to his resentment towards his ex-wife Margaret (Kate Mulgrew), who stole his book and garnered mainstream success and critical acclaim with it. Owen Lift (Danny DeVito) is a timid, middle-aged fellow who still lives with his overbearing, abusive and paranoid mother (Anne Ramsey). Owen fantasizes about killing his mother but can't summon the courage to bring his desires into fruition. As a student in Larry's community college writing class, Owen is given advice by Larry to view an Alfred Hitchcock film to gain some insight into plot development for his mystery stories. He sees Strangers on a Train, in which two strangers conspire to commit a murder for each other, figuring their lack of connection to the victim will, in theory, establish a perfect alibi. Having overheard Larry's public rant that he wished his ex-wife dead, Owen forms a plan to kill Margaret, believing that Larry will, in return, kill his mother.