Richard Chaves Video | Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi

Richard John Chaves (born October 9, 1951) is an American actor. 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 notable 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 War of the Worlds TV series. As well as having a character that allowed him to get in touch with both his Native American heritage and a military history, the series also brought him a large fanbase.... MORE

Richard John Chaves (born October 9, 1951) is an American actor. 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 notable 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 War of the Worlds TV series. As well as having a character that allowed him to get in touch with both his Native American heritage and a military history, the series also brought him a large fanbase. 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. Chaves was born in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of a U.S. Marine Corps officer/drug enforcement agent father. He is part Cherokee on his mother's side. He is a Vietnam veteran. In the LESS