Erik Estrada was born on March 16, 1949 in the East Harlem part of New York City. His film debut was in 1970 when he played a part in a film adaptation of The Cross and the Switchblade. Growing up, Estrada had always wanted to become a policeman, a role he often played. In fact, his biggest break when he was cast as Frank “Ponch” Poncharello in the TV series CHiPs in 1977. Quite famously, Estrada seriously injured himself while filming CHiPs after being thrown off his motorbike, breaking several ribs and his wrists. Despite the injuries being considered life threatening, Estrada made a full recovery and was later voted one of “the ten sexiest bachelors in the world” by People Magazine.
After exiting the show in 1981, Estrada was cast in several low budget films that were of little blockbuster merit. In the 1990’s, Estrada was cast in a Venezuelan Telenovela titled Dos Mujeres, un Camino which went on to become the biggest telenovela in Latin America history. In 2001, Estrada started playing a character for American daytime television classic The Bold and The Beautiful. Since then, Estrada has made a string of appearances and cameos in TV shows, music videos and movies.
Estrada’s penchant for playing popular policeman roles such as Ponch led to him becoming involved in activism. This led to him being awarded the honor of being the international face of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) program.
Actors, Film and TV
Film and TV, TV Personality
Actresses, Film and TV, TV Personality
Author, Film and TV, TV Personality