Erik Estrada was born on March 16, 1949 in
Spanish Harlem,
New York City,
New York. At one time he worked in a dance troupe. He went to the
American Musical Dramatic Academy. He first appeared in 1972 as the leader of a
gang of street punks in
The Cross and the Switchblade. In 1974, he was in the disaster film,
Airport 1975. In 1977 he was cast in his most known role, CHiPs'
Frank Poncherello aka "
Ponch", opposite
Jon Baker played by
Larry Wilcox. In fall of 1981 he was replaced by
Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner. Estrada was back on the show after contract negotiations. Unfortunatly, CHiPs was cancelled in 1983.
He was voted to 1979's People Magazine's '10 Sexiest Bachelors in the World". Erik Estrada has been quoted in saying
"In the past, women I've dated always decided to be actresses. I was just a means to an end for them." and what he looks for in women now is
"T&A".
Estrada made a comeback of sorts on
Spanish tv on
soap operas. One of these soap operas is called "
Dos Mujeres, Un Camino" or "
Two Women, One Road". This is funny because according to www.imdb.com, he does not speak
Spanish. He brought much displeasure to his fans when he appeared in
Jenny-o and
Smoke Signal Communications commercials pimping
lunchmeat and
telephone service for people who can not pay their normal
phone bill. CHiPs fans got great pleasure of Erik's return as
Ponch in CHiPs '99, a
made for tv movie.
generic-man says "Let's not forget his role as
Marco Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar Gabriel Garcia Marquez on
Sealab 2021, in which he obsesses with his "rugged
Latin features" and speaks a little
Spanish."
Erik Estrada is presently married to
Nanette Mirkovich and has two sons and a daughter, Francesca Natalia. This is wierd because when my friend Natalie was a baby, she was kissed by Erik Estrada when her mom brought her onto the production lot.
Please do not confuse Erik Estrada with
Erik Michael Estrada, who is 30 years younger and is in the
boy band,
O-town.