About this episode

Noel interviews character actor Raye Birk about his diverse roles in film and television.

Noel catches up with Raye Birk. The character actor appeared as Pahpshmir in the first and third Naked Gun movies. He had a great supporting role in the movie, Throw Mama From The Train, starring Danny DeVito and Bill Crystal. Raye had a memorable role as the caterer in The Golden Girls episode where Sophia got married. He talks about portraying a gay character as a straight actor and why he almost turned down the role. Raye had recurring roles on Cheers as mailman, Walt Twitchell, the foil to Cliff Clavin. He played assistant principal Diperna on The Wonder Years and band leader Riley Pringle on Coach. Raye also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek Insurrection, The X-Files, and ALF.

People in this episode

Host: Noel Fogelman

Guest: Raye Birk

Topics covered

• acting
• film roles
• television
• character acting
• interviews

Keywords

• Raye Birk
• Naked Gun
• Throw Mama From The Train
• The Golden Girls
• Cheers
• Star Trek

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Naked Gun, Throw Mama From The Train, The Golden Girls, Cheers, The Wonder Years, Coach, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek Insurrection, The X-Files, ALF

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