Robert Ray Shafer (born April 10, 1958) is an American character actor who has appeared in film and television.

[1][2] He has amassed a substantial cult following for his portrayal of Officer Ted Warnicky (more commonly known as Joe Vickers) in the 1989 horror-comedy Psycho Cop and the sequel Psycho Cop 2.

Robert Ray Shafer, Jr. was born in Charleston, West Virginia, in 1958.

[3] His father, a heavy equipment operator, died in a car accident when he was nine years old.

[citation needed] Shafer attended Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before moving to Los Angeles where he modeled and took acting classes with Peggy Feury.