Raye Birk

Raye Birk

Born: May 27, 1943
in Flint, Michigan, USA
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.

Movies for Raye Birk...

New Neighbors
Title: New Neighbors
Released: September 15, 2016
Type: Movie
In the face of the killings and assaults on black lives, a mother is determined to keep her two sons safe once they've moved to a new neighborhood.
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A Serious Man
Title: A Serious Man
Character: Dr. Shapiro
Released: September 30, 2009
Type: Movie
It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous acquaintances Sy Ableman.
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Sweet Land
Title: Sweet Land
Character: Postal Clerk
Released: October 21, 2005
Type: Movie
Set in 1920, Inge travels from Germany to rural Minnesota in order to meet the man destined to be her husband.
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Factotum
Title: Factotum
Character: Heathercliff
Released: April 25, 2005
Type: Movie
This drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of "Factotum" author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don't interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.
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Title: Black Scorpion
Character: Dr. Phineas Phoenix
Released: January 5, 2001
Type: TV
The City of Angels is falling apart, and crime pervades the city to the core. The mayor is corrupt, the police are inept, the city needs a figure to take control of the situation. Then in the light of day Darcy Walker is a cop, but in the dark of night she becomes the Black Scorpion. She does with a mash what she can't do with a badge. This is vigilante justice, old school style.
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Title: Futurama
Character: (voice)
Released: March 28, 1999
Type: TV
The adventures of a late-20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for one thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century.
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Star Trek: Insurrection
Title: Star Trek: Insurrection
Character: Son'a Doctor
Released: December 11, 1998
Type: Movie
When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has "regenerative" properties, it falls upon Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise to defend the planet's people as well as the very ideals upon which the Federation itself was founded.
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After Jimmy
Title: After Jimmy
Character: John Davies
Released: September 24, 1996
Type: Movie
This is a story of Jimmy, a high school senior, who is struggling with his school life, family pressures, future choices. When it becomes too much, Jimmy kills himself.
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Title: 3rd Rock from the Sun
Character: Jeweler
Released: January 9, 1996
Type: TV
3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet. The extraterrestrials pose as a human family in order to observe the behavior of human beings.
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Illegal in Blue
Title: Illegal in Blue
Character: Gary Dedmarch
Released: August 28, 1995
Type: Movie
A cop taking personal leave after he witnesses money stolen from the police property room becomes involved with a beautiful singer who may have killed her husband.
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Title: Nowhere Man
Character: Tobe Alder
Released: August 28, 1995
Type: TV
Thomas Veil is a documentary photographer who, in the course of one evening, seemingly has his whole existence erased... Nowhere Man is an American television series that aired from 1995 to 1996 starring Bruce Greenwood. Created by Lawrence Hertzog, the series aired Monday nights on UPN. Despite critical acclaim, including TV Guide's label of "The season's coolest hit," the show was cancelled after only one season.
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Cries from the Heart
Title: Cries from the Heart
Released: October 16, 1994
Type: Movie
Michael, a young autistic boy who has trouble with verbalization but a real talent for technology, uses a computer to plead for help after being molested at his school.
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Title: Due South
Character: Francis Bolt
Released: September 22, 1994
Type: TV
Constable Benton Fraser, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is attached to the Canadian consulate but works with Chicago Police Department to solve crimes.
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Title: ER
Character: Mr. Hartley
Released: September 19, 1994
Type: TV
ER explores the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by the dedicated physicians and staff of its overburdened emergency room.
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Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
Title: Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
Character: Papshmir
Released: March 18, 1994
Type: Movie
Frank Drebin is persuaded out of retirement to go undercover in a state prison. There he has to find out what top terrorist, Rocco, has planned for when he escapes. Adding to his problems, Frank's wife, Jane, is desperate for a baby.
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Title: Babylon 5
Character: William
Released: January 26, 1994
Type: TV
Babylon 5 is a five-mile long space station located in neutral space. Built by the Earth Alliance in the 2250s, its goal is to maintain peace among the various alien races by providing a sanctuary where grievances and negotiations can be worked out among duly appointed ambassadors. A council made up of representatives from the five major space-faring civilizations - the Earth Alliance, Minbari Federation, Centauri Republic, Narn Regime, and Vorlon Empire - work with the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to keep interstellar relations under control. Aside from its diplomatic function, Babylon 5 also serves as a military post for Earth and a port of call for travelers, traders, businessmen, criminals, and Rangers.
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Title: Frasier
Character: Walt Twitchell
Released: September 16, 1993
Type: TV
After many years spent at the “Cheers” bar, Frasier moves back home to Seattle to work as a radio psychiatrist after his policeman father gets shot in the hip on duty.
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Title: The X-Files
Character: Dr. Jeff Eckerle
Released: September 10, 1993
Type: TV
The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.
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Title: The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Character: Prosecuting Attorney
Released: August 27, 1993
Type: TV
A tough-as-rawhide cowpoke, debonair ladies' man and Harvard-educated smarty-britches roams from Frisco to Jalisco in pursuit of outlaws who killed his father...and in search of a mysterious orb possessing out-of-this world powers. Hot lead and cool anachronisms await Brisco as he and his sidekicks - including Comet, the intellectual equine who doesn't know he's a horse - fight for justice in the way, way, way-out West.
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Caught in the Act
Title: Caught in the Act
Character: Sterling
Released: July 22, 1993
Type: Movie
An unemployed actor is mixed up in a case about a $10,000,000 bank fraud.
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Class Act
Title: Class Act
Character: Principal Kratz
Released: June 5, 1992
Type: Movie
Duncan is a genius straight A student, Blade is juvenile delinquent. But because of a mix up with their school records, everyone thinks each is the other one. Now, Duncan kind of likes the attention from being thought of as a real bad dude, if only the school bully would stop trying to rough him up. And Blade definitely likes being thought of as important instead of as trouble.
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Title: Silk Stalkings
Character: Atticus Dunn
Released: November 7, 1991
Type: TV
Silk Stalkings is a crime drama television series. The series portrays the daily lives of two detectives who solve sexually-based crimes of passion among the ultra-rich of Palm Beach, Florida.
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Title: Home Improvement
Character: Fred
Released: September 17, 1991
Type: TV
The daily trials and tribulations of handyman Tim Taylor, a TV show host raising three boys with help from his loyal co-host, domineering wife, and unseen neighbor.
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Doc Hollywood
Title: Doc Hollywood
Character: Simon Tidwell, First Patient
Released: August 2, 1991
Type: Movie
After leaving Washington D.C. hospital, plastic surgeon Ben Stone heads for California, where a lucrative practice in Beverly Hills awaits. After a car accident, he's sentenced to perform as the community's general practitioner.
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Aftermath: A Test of Love
Title: Aftermath: A Test of Love
Character: Dr. Frenzel
Released: March 10, 1991
Type: Movie
Based on a true story, an adoring wife and mother is taken hostage during a robbery and brutally murdered.
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Title: Under Cover
Character: Grimbach
Released: January 7, 1991
Type: TV
Under Cover is an American secret agent drama series that premiered on ABC on January 7, 1991. The series starred Anthony John Denison and Linda Purl as Dylan and Kate Del'Amico, a husband and wife who share the same day job—as spies for a fictional US intelligence agency. Under Cover follows the couple's adventures as they attempt to balance the demands of a sometimes deadly profession while raising two children. The series co-starred John Rhys-Davies as Flynn, the team's gadget man who is also a deadly assassin. Although well received by critics and launched with a high-rated made-for-TV movie, Under Cover was adversely affected by the outbreak of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. A two-part episode had been produced involving the Del'Amicos infiltrating Iraq in the wake of its invasion of Kuwait, and culminated with an American military strike on the country. The night the first episode was scheduled to air, real-life hostilities erupted. The two-part storyline was postponed indefinitely and the series itself was effectively cancelled. Following the end of the war, the series resumed for several more episodes, but it was soon officially cancelled, though not before the pulled Iraq episode was finally broadcast. Several episodes have subsequently been edited together as TV-movies and syndicated.
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Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
Title: Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
Character: Judge Brown
Released: May 6, 1990
Type: Movie
The classic comic book characters created by John L. Goldwater are brought to tv in a slightly older version. Here the characters are adults returning to their high school reunion and remembering old times and romances from good old Riverdale High
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Title: Wings
Character: Prince Restivon
Released: April 19, 1990
Type: TV
Brothers Brian and Joe Hackett attempt to run an airline on the New England island of Nantucket while surrounded by their various wacky friends and employees.
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Challenger
Title: Challenger
Character: Joseph Kilminster
Released: February 25, 1990
Type: Movie
A profile of the astronauts, crew, and civilians who were involved in the January 28, 1986 flight of the spaceship, Challenger, that resulted in its explosion upon takeoff. The center point of the film is the safety inspections and arguments surrounding the use of the o-rings that ultimately were blamed for the explosion.
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Title: Seinfeld
Character: Mr. Pless
Released: July 5, 1989
Type: TV
A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.
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Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson
Title: Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson
Character: Sam Morgan
Released: February 12, 1989
Type: Movie
Ken Malansky, a law student of Perry Mason's, is accused of murdering a fellow student. Perry is reluctant to take on his case as the victim was the son of a close friend.
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The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Title: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Character: Pahpshmir
Released: December 2, 1988
Type: Movie
When the incompetent Lieutenant Frank Drebin seeks the ruthless killer of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
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Title: Murphy Brown
Character: Barney
Released: November 14, 1988
Type: TV
Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) is a recovering alcoholic who returns to the fictional newsmagazine FYI for the first time following a stay at the Betty Ford Clinic residential treatment center. Over 40 and single, she is sharp tongued and hard as nails. In her profession, she is considered one of the boys, having shattered many glass ceilings encountered during her career. Dominating the FYI news magazine, she is portrayed as one of America's hardest-hitting (though not the warmest or more sympathetic) media personalities.
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Title: Empty Nest
Character: Judge Talmadge
Released: October 8, 1988
Type: TV
Widowed pediatrician Harry Weston is a miracle worker when it comes to dealing with his young patients, but he's more challenged by the other people surrounding him: daughters Barbara and Carol; his wisecracking office assistant, nurse LaVerne Todd; and obnoxious neighborhood mooch Charley Dietz. Thank goodness he always finds a friendly shoulder (and a warm, wet tongue) in Dreyfuss, his enormous dog.
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Title: Empty Nest
Character: Albert
Released: October 8, 1988
Type: TV
Widowed pediatrician Harry Weston is a miracle worker when it comes to dealing with his young patients, but he's more challenged by the other people surrounding him: daughters Barbara and Carol; his wisecracking office assistant, nurse LaVerne Todd; and obnoxious neighborhood mooch Charley Dietz. Thank goodness he always finds a friendly shoulder (and a warm, wet tongue) in Dreyfuss, his enormous dog.
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Title: Dear John
Character: Dr. Hendricks
Released: October 6, 1988
Type: TV
Dear John starred Judd Hirsch as easygoing Drake Prep high school teacher John Lacey who is dumped by his wife, Wendy, via a Dear John letter. Wendy ends up with everything in the divorce settlement, including custody of the couple's son, forcing John to move into an apartment in Ozone Park, Queens. John soon joins the One-2-One Club, a self help group for divorced, widowed or lonely people. The group is led by Louise (Jane Carr), a sex-obsessed British woman. Other members of the group include Kate McCarron (Isabella Hofmann), a sweet divorcée; Kirk Morris (Jere Burns), a cocky ladies' man; Ralph Drang (Harry Groener), a shy and neurotic tollbooth collector; Bonnie Philbert (Billie Bird), a feisty senior citizen; and Tom, Mrs. Philbert's quiet boyfriend (Tom Willett).
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Title: The Wonder Years
Character: Mr. Diperna
Released: January 31, 1988
Type: TV
The story of Kevin Arnold facing the trials and tribulations of youth while growing up during the 1960s and 70s. Told through narration from an adult Kevin, Kevin faces the difficulties of maintaining relationships and friendships on his enthralling journey into adulthood.
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Throw Momma from the Train
Title: Throw Momma from the Train
Character: Pinsky
Released: December 11, 1987
Type: Movie
Larry Donner, an author with a cruel ex-wife, teaches a writing workshop in which one of his students, Owen, is fed up with his domineering mother. When Owen watches a Hitchcock classic that seems to mirror his own life, he decides to put the movie's plot into action and offers to kill Larry's ex-wife, if Larry promises to murder his mom. Before Larry gets a chance to react to the plan, it seems that Owen has already set things in motion.
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Title: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Character: Wrenn
Released: September 28, 1987
Type: TV
Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the all-new USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, as they explore new worlds.
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Amazon Women on the Moon
Title: Amazon Women on the Moon
Character: Vanya
Released: September 18, 1987
Type: Movie
Centered around a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with a series of wild commercials, wacky shorts and weird specials, this lampoon of contemporary life and pop culture skewers some of the silliest spectacles ever created in the name of entertainment.
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Title: The Popcorn Kid
Character: Leonard Brown
Released: March 23, 1987
Type: TV
Short lived sitcom about the goings on at a movie theatre. The show mainly focused on Scott Creasman, who wanted to be in movies, but working in the theatre was about as close as he would come.
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Burglar
Title: Burglar
Character: The Jogger
Released: March 20, 1987
Type: Movie
Bernice "Bernie" Rhodenbarr is a burglar by trade, and she runs a bookstore as well. Her friend Carl Hefler is a dog groomer. After a successful burglary, it's discovered that a dead body was in the house she burgled. As she's the only one who can be placed at the scene of the crime, she has to use her criminal skills to clear her name of the murder AND avoid getting charged with the burglary.
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The Stepford Children
Title: The Stepford Children
Character: George Larson
Released: March 15, 1987
Type: Movie
Steven and Laura Harding, along with their kids David and Mary, have moved to the quiet community of Stepford. Steven joins the men's club, which is still assimilating their wives into robots. This time, they have begun to turn their out of control teens into robots as well. Once they are assimilated, they are obedient, homework loving, big band dancing droids. Laura, David, and Mary stumble onto this mystery, and they must avoid Steven's plans to turn them into robots.
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Title: Fresno
Character: Mr. Loats
Released: November 16, 1986
Type: TV
In Fresno, California, the once-wealthy Kensington family's raisin-growing empire has fallen on hard times. They are led by widowed matriarch Charlotte, who is locked in a deadly power struggle with rival raisin magnate Tyler Cane.
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Title: ALF
Character: Officer Griswald
Released: September 22, 1986
Type: TV
A furry alien wiseguy comes to live with a terran family after crashing into their garage.
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Title: ALF
Character: Lenny Scott
Released: September 22, 1986
Type: TV
A furry alien wiseguy comes to live with a terran family after crashing into their garage.
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Title: L.A. Law
Character: Judge Steven Lang
Released: September 15, 1986
Type: TV
L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off-the-wall humor. It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights, homophobia, sexual harassment, AIDS, and domestic violence. The series often also reflected social tensions between the wealthy senior lawyer protagonists and their less well-paid junior staff. The show was popular with audiences and critics, and won 15 Emmy Awards throughout its run, four of which were for Outstanding Drama Series.
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Title: Matlock
Character: Simon Le Simple
Released: March 3, 1986
Type: TV
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, Viacom Productions and Paramount Television originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC. The show's format is similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury.
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Title: The Twilight Zone
Released: September 27, 1985
Type: TV
This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.
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Title: The Golden Girls
Character: Caterer
Released: September 14, 1985
Type: TV
Four Southern Florida seniors share a house, their dreams, and a whole lot of cheesecake. Bright, promiscuous, clueless and hilarious, these lovely, mismatched ladies form the perfect circle of friends.
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Deadly Messages
Title: Deadly Messages
Character: Harding
Released: February 21, 1985
Type: Movie
When Laura unearths an old Ouija board in her closet, her roommate, Cindy, uses it and encounters the spirit of a man that had been murdered in their apartment. After Laura later witnesses Cindy being strangled to death, the authorities arrive to find Cindy missing and no evidence of a crime. Laura sets out to convince everyone that the murder was real while evading the man she feels is Cindy's killer.
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Mister Roberts
Title: Mister Roberts
Character: Dowdy
Released: March 18, 1984
Type: Movie
Set aboard a navy cargo ship during World War II, this comedic drama follows Lt. Doug Roberts (Robert Hays, Airplane!), who battles boredom and a tyrannical captain to the admiration of Ensign Pulver, Doc, and the crew.
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Title: Night Court
Character: Ward
Released: January 4, 1984
Type: TV
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone. It was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.
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Title: Night Court
Character: Frank Pepitone
Released: January 4, 1984
Type: TV
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone. It was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.
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Title: Night Court
Character: God #1
Released: January 4, 1984
Type: TV
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone. It was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.
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Title: Night Court
Character: Dworkin
Released: January 4, 1984
Type: TV
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone. It was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.
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A Christmas Carol
Title: A Christmas Carol
Character: Marley's Ghost
Released: December 21, 1981
Type: Movie
Televised stage performance based on Charles Dickens' novella.
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The Taming of the Shrew
Title: The Taming of the Shrew
Character: Gremio
Released: November 10, 1976
Type: Movie
San Francisco's prize-winning American Conservatory Theater's rowdy commedia dell'arte production incorporates slapstick, pratfall and earthy humor into William Shakespeare's comedy about the two unmarried daughters of a wealthy Italian merchant. While daughter Bianca is genteel and popular, daughter Kate is foul-tempered and strong-willed. No one dares to marry Kate, until Petruchio arrives in Padua and tries his hand at courtship.
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Title: Columbo
Character: Howard Seltzer
Released: September 15, 1971
Type: TV
Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.
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Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.
Title: Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.
Character: Mort Catafalque
Released: September 4, 1970
Type: Movie
A gas is let loose upon the world that kills anyone over 25 years old.
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Title: Hawaii Five-O
Character: Parole Officer
Released: September 20, 1968
Type: TV
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. Jack Lord portrayed Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force which was based on an actual unit that existed under martial law in the 1940s. The theme music composed by Morton Stevens became especially popular. Many episodes would end with McGarrett instructing his subordinate to "Book 'em, Danno!", sometimes specifying a charge such as "murder one".