Bruce French Bruce French is a veteran actor who has appeared in three different " Star Trek " series as well as . Hailing from Reinback , Iowa , French is a graduate of the University of Iowa , where he majored in Speech and Theater . He is married to actress Eileen Burnett . French filmed his scenes for the episode " The Drumhead " on Wednesday and between Monday and Wednesday on Paramount Stage 8 and 9 . French has more than 150 film and television appearances to his credit . He has held recurring roles on such series as " Dallas " ( working with Susan Howard , Leigh J . McCloskey , William Smithers , and Morgan Woodward ) and " Ally McBeal " ( co - starring Albert Hall ) . He is currently known for his roles as Jim Burns on the FX series " The Riches " ( starring Gregg Henry and Todd Stashwick ) and as Father Lonigan on the NBC soap opera " Passions " . In addition , French has made guest or co - starring appearances on such television series as " The Waltons " , " Hardcastle and McCormick " ( starring Brian Keith and Daniel Hugh Kelly , in an episode with Gail Strickland ) , " Magnum , P . I . " ( with Ed Lauter ) , " The A - Team " ( starring Dwight Schultz ) , " L . A . Law " ( starring Corbin Bernsen ) , " Cheers " ( with Kirstie Alley , Vaughn Armstrong , Kelsey Grammer and Bebe Neuwirth ) , " Night Court " ( with John Larroquette and Roy Brocksmith ) , " Picket Fences " ( with Roy Brocksmith , Leigh Taylor - Young , and Ray Walston ) , " The West Wing " ( with Thomas Kopache and Glenn Morshower ) , and " JAG " ( with Scott Lawrence , Zoe McLellan , Terry O ' Quinn , and Eric Pierpoint ) . More recent TV appearances include episodes of " House , M . D . " ( starring Jennifer Morrison ) and " Boston Legal " ( with John Larroquette , Daniel Hugh Kelly , Lawrence Pressman , Derek Webster , and William Shatner ) . French made his feature film debut in the 1974 thriller " Man on the Swing " , starring Joel Grey . Film credits since then have included " Coming Home " ( 1978 , with Jonathan Banks and David Clennon ) , " Airplane II : The Sequel " ( 1982 , starring William Shatner ) , In 1983 , Frech appeared in the automotive - themed thriller " Christine " with fellow TNG guests David Spielberg and Doug Warhit and " Mr . Mom " co - starring Teri Garr , Christopher Lloyd , Graham Jarvis , Carolyn Seymour , Miriam Flynn , Derek McGrath , and Michael Ensign ) , " Fletch " ( 1985 , with Richard Libertini , Kenneth Mars , and James Avery ) , " Jagged Edge " ( 1985 , with Michael Dorn ) , " Legal Eagles " ( 1986 ) with Robert Curtis - Brown and David Clennon , " Martians Go Home " ( 1990 , co - starring Roy Brocksmith , Ronny Cox and Gerrit Graham ) , " Jurassic Park III " ( with Linda Park ) , " Enough " ( 2002 , co - starring Billy Campbell , Bill Cobbs , and Jeff Kober ) , and " Mr . Deeds " ( starring Winona Ryder , Erick Avari and Harve Presnell ) . More recently , French had a small role in Paramount Pictures ' 2006 film " Mission : Impossible III " . Many of the filmmakers who worked on this film – including director J . J . Abrams , writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci , cinematographer Dan Mindel , production designer Scott Chambliss , and casting director April Webster – also worked on ' s . Among French ' s co - stars in " M : I : III " were Ellen Bry , Tracy Middendorf , and Simon Pegg .