Richard Chaves
Chaves with Frances Fisher and Jane Seymour in 2013
Born
Richard John Chaves

(1951-10-09) October 9, 1951
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Years active1981–present
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUS Army
Years of service1970's
Unit196th Infantry Brigade
Battles/warsVietnam War

Richard John Chaves (born October 9, 1951) is an American character actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Poncho in the science fiction film Predator and as Lt. Colonel Ironhorse in the television series War of the Worlds.

Early life

Chaves was born in Florida. His father was a United States Marine officer who later worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration.[1] In the early 1970's, Chaves joined the US Army and received infantry training at Fort Polk[2] before serving in the Vietnam War with the 196th Infantry Brigade.

Career

Chaves helped write the critically acclaimed stage drama Tracers.[1] In the early 1980s, he began work as an actor taking on various soap opera roles until he gained a role in 1987 as Poncho in the science fiction film Predator.[1] Soon afterward, his career received another boost with the role of Lt. Colonel Ironhorse in the television series War of the Worlds.[1] Chaves once calculated that the volume of fan mail he received outnumbered the rest of the cast members by a four or five to one ratio.[3]

However, his career hit a bump when War of the Worlds was given new creative management for its second season. The new executives did not think that the Ironhorse character worked with the format they wanted for the show, so his character and that of Norton Drake were killed off.[4]

His most recent acting appearances were in the films Lost Warrior: Left Behind, Dark House and Beyond the Game.[5]

Personal life

In the late 1990s, Chaves became the target of a stalker. To protect himself, his family and friends, he followed the advice of police by refraining from attending conventions and closing his official website.

Chaves has made few public appearances over the years since being stalked. He appeared at the Las Vegas Comic-Con in October 2003; in late 2006 he was photographed with Frances Fisher at the premiere of Flags of our Fathers; he was a guest at the Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo in October 2007; he appeared at the Gallifrey One convention in February 2007, and was scheduled to attend again in February 2008.[6] In June 2009 he was present as a guest star at Collectormania, a film and comic convention which was hosted at the Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, UK.

Works

Stage

  • 19?? Pendleton Blankst
  • 19?? Vietnam Trilogy
  • 19?? Labyrinth
  • 19?? Macbeth
  • 19?? Romeo & Juliet
  • 1980/85 Tracers (co-author) ... Dinky Dau
  • 1995 Santos & Santos ... Miguel Santos
  • 1997 Police Officer's Wives (P.O.W.) ... Franko
  • 2001 Pvt. Wars ... Silvio

Movies

Television

  • 1981 Eight Is Enough "Father Knows Best?" ... U.S. Marine Captain "Bobo"
  • 1982 Dallas "The Search" ... Bernie
  • 1983 St. Elsewhere "Brothers" ... Tim Potts
  • 1983 Hill Street Blues "The Russians Are Coming" ... doctor
  • 1987 Miami Vice "Theresa" ... District Attorney Martinez
  • 1988 Ohara "They Shoot Witnesses Don't They?" ... Earl Baker
  • 1988 War of the Worlds (season 1: all 23 episodes; season 2: "The Second Wave") ... Lt. Col. Paul Ironhorse
  • 1990 L.A. Law "Bang... Zoom... Zap" ... Carlos Mendez
  • 1990 MacGyver "Tough Boys" ... Det. Anthony "Manny" Lopez
  • 1990 MacGyver "The Treasure of Manco" ... Enrique Vasquez
  • 1990 Trials of Rosie O'Neill "Mr. Right" ... Det. John Santos
  • 1991 Sons and Daughters "Throw Momma From the Terrain" ... Michael Valdez
  • 1992 FBI: The Untold Stories "The Blue Fiber" ... Det. Joe Swiski
  • 1994 Babylon 5 "The War Prayer" ... Alvares
  • 1995 Star Trek: Voyager "Tattoo" ... tribal chief
  • 1996 Walker, Texas Ranger "Deadline" ... Special Agent Samuel Mills
  • 2001 Days of Our Lives "Episode #1.9109" ... Capt. Eduardo

Voice

  • 1987 Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam ... himself/additional dialogue
  • 2010 Elf Sparkle and the Special Red Dress ... Buzzoose
  • 2009 Elf Sparkle Meets Christmas the Horse ... Buzzoose

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jerry Buck (March 24, 1989). "Richard Chaves heads battle in new 'War of the Worlds'". The San Bernardino County Sun. pp. D8. Retrieved April 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  2. ↑ Sidney Williams (February 10, 1990). "Good guy or bad guy?". The Town Talk. pp. C1, C5. Retrieved April 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ↑ Starlog (November 1989, #148): "Casualty of War" (p. 46)
  4. ↑ Carol Burton Terry (November 26, 1989). "TV Line". Newsday. p. 99. Retrieved April 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ↑ "Richard Chaves". IMDb. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  6. ↑ Gallifrey 2008
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