Richard Chaves

Richard Chaves
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. In the early 1970's, Chaves joined the US Army and received infantry training at Fort Polk before serving in the Vietnam War with the 196th Infantry Brigade.
Career
Chaves helped write the critically acclaimed stage drama Tracers. 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. Soon afterward, his career received another boost with the role of Lt. Colonel Ironhorse in the television series War of the Worlds. 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.
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.
His most recent acting appearances were in the films Lost Warrior: Left Behind, Dark House and Beyond the Game.
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. 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
1981 Fire on the Mountain ... Army lieutenant
1985 Witness ... Detective
1985 Cease Fire ... Badman
1986 Penalty Phase ... Nolan Esherman
1987 Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues ... Irondog (Sioux Indian)
1987 Predator ... Jorge "Poncho" Ramirez
1988 Onassis: The Richest Man in the World ... Turkish Officer
1988 To Heal a Nation ... Veteran
1989 L.A. Takedown (aka 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 (30 min. short film) ... Las Vegas police officer
2007 Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter ... ??
2008 Lost Warrior: Left Behind ... Captain Johansson
2009 Dark House ... Officer Jones
2016 Beyond the Game ... Captain Johansson
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
External links
Richard Chaves fansite - screenshots, interviews, forum
Living people
American male film actors
American male soap opera actors
American male television actors
Place of birth missing (living people)
1951 births