Future CHiPS star, Erik Estrada, is born Henry Enrique "Erik" Estrada in New York City.
Starting September 15, 1977, Erik Estrada co-starred as Frank "Ponch" Poncharello in the NBC TV series CHiPs. Over the next three years the highway seemed to be paved with gold for Estrada.
Following a salary dispute with NBC in the fall of 1981, Erik was briefly replaced for six episodes by Olympic Gold Medalist, Kim and Khloe's step-dad, actor and future step-mom, Bruce Jenner as Officer Steve McLeish.
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Erik Estrada relishes telling the story of how he gave Ed Harris a personal training lesson on a motorcycle in 1979 when the struggling actor made a guest appearance on the show, playing a one-off bad guy on the then supremely popular California cop show.
Estrada, of course, was nearing the height of his Hollywood ego-trip playing highway patrol man Ponch on the series.
"I remember he didn't know how to ride a bike at the time," says Estrada. "Ed asked me, 'How do I ride this?' I told him it was easy, that I had never ridden a bike before until I came onto CHiPs." (Estrada underwent an intensive eight-week course, learning how to ride.) His advice to Harris: "Don't look down and stay in first gear or second gear. Just go slow," Estrada recalls. "He did really well. He rode that bike. And he's gone onto a great career." Estrada's other rules of the road: "Sit up straight, don't slouch and smile."
"There's only two kinds of motorcycle riders," Estrada says. "Those who have been down and those who are going down."
On August 6, 1979, Estrada became one of the "...those who are going down." when he was seriously injured while filming a scene on the set of CHiPs, fracturing several ribs and breaking both wrists after he was thrown from his KZ1000C Police bike.
CHiPs was eventually canceled on July 17, 1983.
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In the early 90's, Estrada played the role of Johnny, a Tijuana trucker, in the Televisa telenovela, "Dos mujeres, un camino" ("Two women, one road"). Originally slated for 100 episodes, the show went to 400-plus episodes and became the biggest telenovela in Latin American history. In 1995, he made a special guest appearance as his alter ego Ponch in Bad Religion's music video "Infected" and then in the Butthole Surfers's video for "Pepper".
Erik Estrada now is a full-time deputy sheriff in Bedford County, Virginia and rides a Harley-Davidson Road King with the Blue Knights International Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club. But he does have an original Kawasaki KZ900 from the show, a gift from the Teamsters as a parting show of thanks. Seriously.
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
Erik Estrada now is a full-time deputy sheriff in Bedford County, Virginia and rides a Harley-Davidson Road King with the Blue Knights International Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club. But he does have an original Kawasaki KZ900 from the show, a gift from the Teamsters as a parting show of thanks. Seriously.
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
