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.