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 Paul Ironhorse in the television series War of the Worlds.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Chaves was born in Florida. His father was a United States Marine officer who later worked for the Drug Enforcement Agency.[1] In the early 1970s, 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 Paul 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.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Fire on the Mountain | Army lieutenant | |
| 1985 | Witness | Detective | |
| Cease Fire | Badman | ||
| 1986 | Penalty Phase | Nolan Esherman | |
| 1987 | Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues | Irondog (Sioux Indian) | |
| Predator | Jorge "Poncho" Ramirez | ||
| Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam | Himself (voice) | Additional dialogue | |
| 1988 | Onassis: The Richest Man in the World | Turkish Officer | |
| To Heal a Nation | Veteran | ||
| 1989 | L.A. Takedown (a.k.a. Crimewave) | Lou Casals | |
| 1992 | Night Eyes 2 | Hector Mejenes | |
| 1994 | Night Realm | Ursis | |
| 1996 | Baja Run | Domingo | |
| 1997 | Weapons of Mass Distraction | Senator Ramirez | |
| 1998 | Lone Greasers | Las Vegas police officer | Short film |
| 2007 | Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter | Unknown | |
| 2008 | Lost Warrior: Left Behind | Captain Johansson | |
| 2009 | Dark House | Officer Jones | |
| Elf Sparkle Meets Christmas the Horse | Buzznoose (voice) | Television film | |
| 2010 | Elf Sparkle and the Special Red Dress | ||
| 2016 | Beyond the Game | Captain Johansson |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Eight Is Enough | U.S. Marine Captain "Bobo" | Episode: "Father Knows Best?" |
| 1982 | Dallas | Bernie | Episode: "The Search" |
| 1983 | St. Elsewhere | Tim Potts | Episode: "Brothers" |
| Hill Street Blues | Doctor | Episode: "The Russians Are Coming" | |
| 1987 | Miami Vice | District Attorney Martinez | Episode: "Theresa" |
| 1988 | Ohara | Earl Baker | Episode: "They Shoot Witnesses Don't They?" |
| 1988–1989 | War of the Worlds | Lt. Col. Paul Ironhorse | Main role (Season 1); Guest role (Episode: "The Second Wave") |
| 1990 | L.A. Law | Carlos Mendez | Episode: "Bang... Zoom... Zap" |
| MacGyver | Det. Anthony "Manny" Lopez / Enrique Vasquez | 2 episodes | |
| Trials of Rosie O'Neill | Det. John Santos | Episode: "Mr. Right" | |
| 1991 | Sons and Daughters | Michael Valdez | Episode: "Throw Momma from the Terrain" |
| 1992 | FBI: The Untold Stories | Det. Joe Swiski | Episode: "The Blue Fiber" |
| 1994 | Babylon 5 | Alvares | Episode: "The War Prayer" |
| 1995 | Star Trek: Voyager | Tribal chief | Episode: "Tattoo" |
| 1996 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Special Agent Samuel Mills | Episode: "Deadline" |
| 2001 | Days of Our Lives | Capt. Eduardo | 1 episode |
Stage[]
| Year | Production | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19?? | Pendleton Blankst | ||
| Vietnam Trilogy | |||
| Labyrinth | |||
| Macbeth | |||
| Romeo & Juliet | |||
| 1980 / 1985 | Tracers | Dinky Dau | Co-author |
| 1995 | Santos & Santos | Miguel Santos | |
| 1997 | Police Officer's Wives (P.O.W.) | Franko | |
| 2001 | Pvt. Wars | Silvio |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Buck, Jerry (March 24, 1989). "Richard Chaves heads battle in new 'War of the Worlds'". Newspapers.com. The San Bernardino County Sun. Retrieved on April 5, 2023.
- ↑ Williams, Sidney (February 10, 1990). "Good guy or bad guy?". Newspapers.com. The Town Talk. Retrieved on April 5, 2023.
- ↑ Starlog (November 1989, #148): "Casualty of War" (p. 46)
- ↑ Terry, Carol (November 26, 1989). "TV Line". Newspapers.com. Newsday. Retrieved on April 5, 2023.
- ↑ "Richard Chaves". IMDb. Retrieved on April 5, 2023.
- ↑ "Gallifrey 2008". Archived from the original on January 1, 2008.
External links[]
- Richard Chaves at Wikipedia
- Richard Chaves at the Internet Movie Database
- The Richard Chaves Fansite - screenshots, interviews, forum
 |
This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |