March 22, 2011

Fansite Spotlight: Richard Chaves Fans


I was a fan of Richard Chaves (or more accurately, Lt. Col. Paul Ironhorse, since I'd only seen him as that character at that point) when watching War of the Worlds as a little kid, back during the show's original run. I never joined any fanclubs or mailing lists at the time (though I see now that there were tons, with plenty of fans too), but I'm making up for lost time now, at a great little corner of the 'Net devoted to enthusing about and admiring Richard and his wonderful acting.

There's the fansite, Richard Chaves Fans, that's been fully updated and is ever-growing with new content as it's discovered or donated. And there's the Fan Forum, where I've been enjoying getting to know other RC fans, all of whom I've found to be friendly, interested, and highly creative (the STG we have running there has kept me thrilled :) ). And then there's a Fanlisting too, which is basically like a directory of fans of RC. All three are created by and run by a consummate RC fan, and real fun gal, Lynda Vazquez.

If anyone needs a refresher course or introduction to Richard and how talented (and AWESOME!) he is, I made a video for that express purpose:



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Overcoming the Stalker Issue

I feel it's necessary to bring this up, cos a fellow RC fan voiced her concerns to me that one reason why we haven't been getting very many members at the forum may be: the fact that RC had to drop out of the public eye, due to dealing with a stalker back in the late 90's, might be making some fans too uncertain about showing their fan-ness for him.

I have to admit that I was a little wary myself of joining, cos I tend to have a very over-enthusiastic personality, and I didn't want that to be mistaken for the sort of unkind type of celeb-obsessed attitude. But let it be said right here: even though fans and stalkers do share a somewhat similar mindset, they do NOT act the same - fans admire and enthuse, and yes, enjoy coming to an actor's public appearances, but stalkers stalk - big difference. So I figured that as long as I was always respectful and kind in my adoration, then I wouldn't have to worry about getting confused for something I'm not - and never ever would be!

We can assume that Richard himself has gotten past whatever misery the stalker caused, since he's been to a convention since then, and he didn't look like he was in any way trying to avoid fan attention. :D So let's put the incident behind us too. I want to get to know the other RC fans out there, and I don't want some jerk's stupid actions to ruin a fandom that's precious to me. And after all, what would Richard think if he decided to google his name so he could see what his fandom was up to, and saw us being all nervous and guarded instead of rambunctiously squeeing about everything we love about him? So c'mon: RC fans unite! Come join the fun!

17 comments:

  1. he's performance in WOTW certainly memorable!!! Amazing star!!!

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  2. I liked him on War of the Worlds; I just want to show my support for him. I hope that he is doing well.

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    1. Hi, Faith :) Thank you for the comment! Last I heard, he is doing a lot better after being sick. The support is appreciated - by him and by us other fans. Yeah, his performance as Colonel Ironhorse is totally amazing - my first TV hero that I still love to this day :)

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  3. As always, late to the party. Joining in the love!

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    1. Hi CarrieAnne - Better late then never :) Welcome! Do you have a favorite role of his?

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  4. The internet basically ate my comment!

    Good evening!

    Nope. No favorite role. I remembered him from random TV shows when I saw Cease Fire and Predator. I started watching "War of the Worlds" because he and Jared Martin were in it (and I like SF!).

    I take that back. *fans self* I think Col. Ironhorse embodies what a little spitfire Southern belle such as I would want in a man. He's strong, intelligent, hard-working, self-sacrificing, compassionate. Did I mention ridiculously attractive?

    Wow. I'm a little fan girl at heart. How silly to preen over a fictional character! Trust me, completely out of character for this gal.

    Good to know you, Joanna! One of my daughters is called "Magnolia."

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    1. Lol, some fictional characters are worth swooning over, and Col. Ironhorse is definitely one of them! :)

      That was the first place I saw him, in WotW, and he was so sensational in it I couldn't stop watching. Love Jared Martin, too. The two of them eat up the screen when they are in a scene together. Chaves is wonderful at the intense scenes too, like in the episode 'Vengeance is Mine' where Ironhorse has to deal with having shot a civilian and defending his actions to the surviving husband/fiance - riveting stuff.

      Nice to meet you back, take care and feel free to fangirl all you want :)

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  5. For pictures of Richard Chaves as Philoctetes,a warrior in Greek mythology, see https://www.aquilatheatre.com/sophocles-philoctetes-1
    The play performed at Aquila Theatre is evidently based on the play by Sophocles but includes changes made to make it more relevant for a modern audience. Don't know if the play toured the country.

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  6. Check YouTube for John DiFusco and you will find 4 videos of Richard Chaves in a performance of Tracers, the play he helped write. The whole cast is great but he just steals the show. Total opposite of the controlled yet nuanced way he played Ironhorse.

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  7. Thank you for the heads up! I'll go check that out. That just goes to show how great of a performer he is! 🙂

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  8. FYI, parts 3 and 4 of the video are reversed. RJC is just so good in this that he made me forget he was Ironhorse and truly appreciate his abilities as an actor. Just wish he had a larger body of work.

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  9. Meant to add watch it through the ending credits--a few little extra special RJC bits.

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    1. It was wonderful to watch! Thank you again for letting us know it was posted. He truly is very talented!

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  10. Hi all, new to this site. I remember being a huge fan of his work when I was a kid. I watched Predator again not too long ago and it made me look him up. Anyone know how he’s doing now? Is he happy and well? (Sillyster@yahoo.com)

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    1. Hi Sillyster, the last news is from the L.A. art gallery "Richard presently lives in the Los Angeles area and continues to write, work and contribute to the creative world." You can see some of his amazing artwork on their website: http://www.handmadegalleriesla.com/explore-the-store/RJC-Stonewood.html

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