Richard Chaves ( CHAH-vez; born October 9, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Poncho in the science fiction film Predator and as Lieutenant Colonel Ironhorse in the television series War of the Worlds.
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Early life
Chaves was born in Jacksonville, Florida, to a career United States Marine officer father who later worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Chaves studied acting at Occidental College before joining the U.S. Army in May 1970, serving a tour of duty in Vietnam as an infantryman in the 196th Infantry Brigade. He was discharged from the Army in 1973 at the rank of Specialist 4.
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.
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 ... Prison Guard
2008 Lost Warrior: Left Behind ... Captain Johansson
2009 Dark House ... Officer Jones
2016 Beyond the Game ... Captain Johansson
Television
1981 Eight Is Enough (Season 5 Episode: "Father Knows Best?") ... U.S. Marine Captain "Bobo"
1982 Dallas (Season 5 Episode 13: "The Search") ... Bernie
1983 St. Elsewhere (Season 1 Episode 17: "Brothers") ... Tim Potts
1983 Hill Street Blues (Season 4 Episode 10: "The Russians Are Coming") ... Doctor
1987 Miami Vice (Season 3 Episode 16: "Theresa") ... District Attorney Martinez
1988 Ohara (Season 2 Episode 10: "They Shoot Witnesses Don't They?") ... Earl Baker
1988 War of the Worlds (Season 1: all 24 episodes; Season 2 Episode 1: "The Second Wave") ... Lieutenant Colonel Paul Ironhorse
1990 L.A. Law (Season 4 Episode 19: "Bang... Zoom... Zap") ... Carlos Mendez
1990 MacGyver (Season 5 Episode 15: "The Treasure of Manco") ... Enrique Vasquez
1990 MacGyver (Season 6 Episode 1: "Tough Boys") ... Detective Anthony "Manny" Lopez
1990 Trials of Rosie O'Neill (Season 1 Episode 10: "Mr. Right") ... Detective John Santos
1991 Sons and Daughters (Season 1 Episode 9: "Throw Momma from the Terrain") ... Michael Valdez
1991 Sons and Daughters (Season 1 Episode 13: "Nose to Nose") ... Michael Valdez
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