__NOTOC__ Richard John Chaves is an American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

Biography

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 A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

roles until he gained a role in 1987 as Poncho in the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

film ''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

''. Soon afterward, his career received another boost with the role of Lt. Colonel Ironhorse in the television series ''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

''. Chaves once calculated that the volume of

fan mail Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fans". In return for a fan's support and admiration, public figures may send an autographed poster, photo, reply letter or note thanking their fans for the ...

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

Chaves served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

with the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

’s

196th Infantry Brigade The 196th Infantry Brigade ("Chargers"), also known as the Charger Brigade was first formed on 24 June 1921 as part of the United States Army Reserve's 98th Infantry Division (United States), 98th Division with the responsibility of training soldi ...

. In the late 1990s, Chaves became the target of a

stalker Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

. 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 Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Comic-Con in October 2003; in late 2006 he was photographed with

Frances Fisher Frances Louise Fisher (born May 11, 1952) is a British-born American actress. She began her career in theatre and later starred as record executive Suzette 'Red' Saxon in the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Guiding Light'' (1985). In film, she is ...

at the premiere of ''

Flags of our Fathers ''Flags of Our Fathers'' (2000) is a book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about his father, Navy corpsman John Bradley, and five United States Marines, who were made famous by Joe Rosenthal’s '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'' photograph. Th ...

''; he was a guest at the

Chicagoland The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

Entertainment Collectors Expo in October 2007; he appeared at the

Gallifrey One Gallifrey One is an annual North American science fiction convention focusing primarily on the British television series '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, ''Torchwood'', '' K-9'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', with an additional emphasis on ...

convention in February 2007, and was scheduled to attend again in February 2008.Gallifrey 2008
/ref> In June 2009 he was present as a guest star at ''Collectormania'', a film and comic convention which was hosted at the

Stadium MK Stadium MK is a football ground in the Denbigh district of Bletchley in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Designed by Populous and opened in 2007, it is the home ground of EFL League One side Milton Keynes Dons and FA Women's National ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

, 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 In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

'' ... Detective *1985 ''

Cease Fire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

'' ... Badman *1986 ''

Penalty Phase ''Penalty Phase'' is a 1986 American made-for-television thriller drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Peter Strauss. Plot Supreme court judge, Kenneth Hoffman (Peter Strauss) oversees a high-profile murder trial which appears ...

'' ... Nolan Esherman *1987 '' Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues'' ... Irondog (Sioux Indian) *1987 ''

'' ... Jorge "Poncho" Ramirez *1988 ''Onassis: The Richest Man in the World'' ... Turkish Officer *1988 ''To Heal a Nation'' ... Veteran *1989 ''

L.A. Takedown ''L.A. Takedown'', also called ''L.A. Crimewave'' and ''Made in L.A.'', is a 1989 crime thriller. Originally filmed as an unsuccessful pilot for an NBC television series, it was reworked and aired as a stand-alone TV film. The film was later rel ...

'' (aka ''Crimewave'') ... Lou Casals *1992 ''

Night Eyes 2 ''Night Eyes 2'' is a 1992 erotic thriller film directed by Rodney McDonald and starring Andrew Stevens and Shannon Tweed. The film is a sequel to ''Night Eyes'' (1990). Premise Will Griffith ( Andrew Stevens) is hired to secure and protect th ...

'' ... Hector Mejenes *1994 ''Night Realm'' ... Ursis *1996 ''Baja Run'' ... Domingo *1997 ''

Weapons of Mass Distraction ''Weapons of Mass Distraction'' is a 1997 television film directed by Stephen Surjik and written by Larry Gelbart, about two media moguls and their fight over ownership of a professional American football team. The film starred Gabriel Byrne and B ...

'' ... 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 ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...

'' "Father Knows Best?" ... U.S. Marine Captain "Bobo" *1982 ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' "The Search" ... Bernie *1983 '' St. Elsewhere'' "Brothers" ... Tim Potts *1983 ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'' "The Russians Are Coming" ... doctor *1987 ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'' "Theresa" ... District Attorney Martinez *1988 '' Ohara'' "They Shoot Witnesses Don't They?" ... Earl Baker *1988 ''

'' (season 1: all 23 episodes; season 2: "The Second Wave") ... Lt. Col. Paul Ironhorse *1990 ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'' "Bang... Zoom... Zap" ... Carlos Mendez *1990 ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both po ...

'' "Tough Boys" ... Det. Anthony "Manny" Lopez *1990 ''

'' "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 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'' "The War Prayer" ... Alvares *1995 '' Star Trek: Voyager'' "Tattoo" ... tribal chief *1996 ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texa ...

'' "Deadline" ... Special Agent Samuel Mills *2001 ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' "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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaves, Richard Living people American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Place of birth missing (living people) 1951 births