Erik Estrada Movies
Born in Spanish Harlem, Erik Estrada was compelled to go to work at an early age to help support his large, fatherless family. While a student at Brandeis High, Estrada was encouraged by his girlfriend to audition for school plays. The acting bug bit hard, and soon Estrada was working overtime in a laundromat to pay his tuition at the American Musical Dramatic Academy. He also served as errand boy/interpreter for film companies working in the neighborhood. His first professional movie appearance was as a street punk in The Cross and the Switchblade; he won the role over 100 aspirants by ad-libbing his audition, convincingly wielding a prop knife as he spoke. His next important film role was Spanish rookie cop Sergio Duran in The New Centurions (1972), and it was this assignment that led to a spate of TV guest appearances. In 1977, he was cast as motorcycle patrolman Frank "Ponch" Poncherello on the hit TV series CHiPs In 1979, he was nearly killed in a stunting accident; fortunately, he made a complete physical recovery, and remained with the series until its 1983 cancellation. After the demise of CHiPs Estrada's acting career went into decline, though he has enjoyed a career renaissance of late as the heartthrob star of Spanish-language TV soap operas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this thriller, television reporter Kate Ryan de Melendez (Amy Irving) investigates the death of two radical Puerto Rican activists, whom she begins to believe may have been framed and murdered by undercover American agents. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Irving, Robert Duvall, (more)
In the wake of the 45-million-dollar gross of the original Airport (1970), Universal was all but required by an act of Congress to produce Airport '75. Charlton Heston heads the all-star cast as Alan Murdock, the former test pilot who must keep a disabled 747 from crashing in flames. The crisis begins when a businessman (Dana Andrews), flying his small private plane, suffers a fatal heart attack and the plane smashes into the cockpit of the 747. Following Murdock's radioed instructions, stewardess Nancy Pryor (Karen Black) takes over the controls. The special-guest passenger lineup includes Helen Reddy as a singing nun (a character wickedly satirized in the 1980 parody Airplane!), Myrna Loy as an alcoholic, and Sid Caesar as a garrulous passenger. While Airport '75 yielded only 25 million dollars at the box office, the franchise continued, spawning Airport '77 a few years later and Airport '79 two years after that. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Karen Black, (more)
- 1989
In this bizarre science fiction thriller, a woman is kidnapped by aliens who impregnate her, hoping the result will be a superior race that will right the wrongs committed by Earthlings. However, the woman soon dies mysteriously, and her sister is determined to get revenge on whoever has hurt her, not knowing that she'll be the next candidate for the alien repopulation project. Meanwhile, a government scientist and a newpaper reporter both get wind of the story and are determined to bring it to the people. Alien Seed stars Erik Estrada, Steven Blade, and Heidi Paine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heidi Paine, Steven Blade, (more)
- 1989
- Add Andy Colby's Incredibly Awesome Adventure to QueueAdd Andy Colby's Incredibly Awesome Adventure to top of Queue
This crazy-quilt melange was originally released as Andy Colby's Incredibly Awesome Adventure; apparently it was retitled to avoid confusion with the very similar Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Randy Josselyn plays Andy Colby, a 12-year-old videotape addict. Making a visit to the local rental store, Andy comes across a cassette titled "Incredible Video Adventure". A weird-looking video clerk (isn't that a bit redundant) warns Andy in Gremlins fashion that he must not sit too close to the TV while watching the tape, and he must never, ever let loose of the remote control. Alas, Andy breaks both those rules-whereupon he and his little sister Bonnie (Jessica Puscas) are sucked into a maelstrom of thrills and adventure. Most of the highlights are culled from previous Roger Corman productions like Space Raiders, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom, Deathsport, Chopping Mall and Wheels of Fire. In other words, it's a feature-length "cheater," a hodgepodge of past cinematic glories. The young stars perform as well as possible under the circumstances (it's hard to be convincing while reacting to stock footage), but the film's acting honors go to Chuck Kovacic as the wigged-out villain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
In this thriller, a seductive young woman returns to the home of her step-father, after having spent the last few years in an institution for the criminally insane for killing her mother, and causes all sorts of trouble. She comes in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm. Her step-daddy's girl friend Michelle is not pleased by Angel's sudden appearance, for she is truly a luscious lass. Meanwhile realtor, step-father Steven has his own problems as he and his partner have borrowed a fortune, from violent loan shark Johnny, to finance a failing Palm Springs condo scheme. In Johnny's business defaulting on loans is usually fatal and now he wants Steven to pay up, so he sends out his best killer. Back at home Angel uses her considerable physical charms on both Steven and Michelle to convince them to allow her to stay. When the killer suddenly shows up, Angel gets him into the sack and that's when all hell breaks loose. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 2007
Designed as a brief replacement for the on-hiatus Jericho, the CBS reality series Armed & Famous has been described as a combination of Cops and The Surreal Life. Five celebrities were chosen to train and perform as patrol officers in the Muncie, Indiana police department. The lucky "rookies" included former ChiPs star Erik Estrada, singer LaToya Jackson, wrestler Trish Stratus, Jackass fall guy Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna, and, perhaps inevitably, a member of the famously dysfunctional Osbourne clan, in this case Jack Osbourne. The quintet underwent the standard rigorous training before being partnered with genuine officers and sent out for street duty. Along the way, the stars made arrests, handed out tickets, and even went undercover (in one episode, the female celebs posed as hookers). Much of the series' fun derived from the sporadic temperamental outbursts by Estrada, and the dithery starstruck behavior of the "perps" when they realized who was arresting them! Armed & Famous ran from January 9 through 24, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erik Estrada, LaToya Jackson, (more)
- 1976
This time, undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) goes behind bars to nab a master criminal. Posing as a convict, Baretta blends into the prison population in search of a minor-league jewel thief. His real target, however, is the genius who commandeered a huge jewel theft -- and ordered two brutal murders in the process. Guest stars include future Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones and soon-to-be CHiPs star Erik Estrada. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Edward Grover, (more)
Erik Estrada stars in this straight-to-video sci-fi-action flick featuring the former CHiPs man as a blind psychic cop investigating the killing of a highly ranked government scientist. L.A.P.D. detective Frank Moreno (Estrada) is a top cop that gets a little too close to a murder investigation which lands him in a hospital bed after being horribly electrocuted. Waking up, Frank realizes his sight is gone, but in its place are extraordinary ESP powers. Sightless, the detective reopens the case and is soon on the run from a national security agent (Robert Vaughn) and his team of corrupt government agents who hope to un-coif his hair and silence his psychic powers before their plan is destroyed. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erik Estrada, Robert Vaughn, (more)
- 1998
- NR
One of the quintessential family shows of the late '70s, CHiPs featured two handsome California Highway Patrolmen: Jon, the blonde uptight one, and Ponch, the free-wheeling Latin Lover. Prowling the L.A. freeways for wrong doers and the inattentive, the duo rode cool bikes, witnessed many exciting accidents -- often ending in fireballs -- saved lives, solved mysteries and flirted with pretty girls. Off duty, they often did all the things considered hip during that time, including lots of disco-dancing.
Made-especially for the TNT cable network and featuring most of the original cast and crew, this lighthearted action-adventure is set 15 years from where the old show left off. Jon (Larry Wilcox) and Ponch (Erik Estrada) have not been partners for years, but a puzzling series of car thefts reunite them. Part of the fun of the show is watching the two leads -- no longer sporting washboard stomachs, trim waistlines and smooth faces -- as they try to adjust to the innovations of modern police work, including new bikes and wireless radios that keep them in constant contact with their senior officer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Made-especially for the TNT cable network and featuring most of the original cast and crew, this lighthearted action-adventure is set 15 years from where the old show left off. Jon (Larry Wilcox) and Ponch (Erik Estrada) have not been partners for years, but a puzzling series of car thefts reunite them. Part of the fun of the show is watching the two leads -- no longer sporting washboard stomachs, trim waistlines and smooth faces -- as they try to adjust to the innovations of modern police work, including new bikes and wireless radios that keep them in constant contact with their senior officer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Wilcox, Erik Estrada, (more)
- 1990
- R
Prison chicks provide the basis for this exploitation film. The tale centers on two young women, one a naive, star-struck midwestern girl, and the other a savvy hitcher, who head for Tinseltown in search of stardom only to find themselves appearing in a soft-core porno flick. Unfortunately they end up arrested and thrown in prison where they are abused by the ubiquitous overbearing chief lesbian guard who forces inmates to become sexual slaves for the millionaires who frequent the penitentiary. Meanwhile, the naive girl's sister refuses to believe the claim that her sister is in Mexico shooting a film, and goes to LA to investigate the situation herself. When she finds out what has been happening, she enlists the aid of a biker and detectives to help her stop the insanity of it all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erik Estrada, Richie Barathy, (more)
- 2000
A pair of skateboarders cut a swath across America in this short action feature. Heath Kirchart and Jeremy Klein are a pair of skaters just looking to have a good time as they travel cross-country, stopping at skate spots along the way. However, after they're involved in a serious accident, they get on the bad side of a cop (Erik Estrada) who is determined to put them behind bars through whatever means necessary. A follow-up to The End, one of the best-selling skating videos ever produced, Destroying America also features a number of top skaters and martial arts stars in cameo appearances, including Tony Hawk, Willy Santos, Ming Tran, and the Hook-Ups Destruction Squad. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
Two undercover federal agents (Dona Speir and Roberta Vasquez, both former Playboy playmates) are captured by their nemesis Kaneshiro, a big-time crime lord (Pat Morita). Instead of killing them, Kaneshiro plays a cat-and-mouse game involving six separate assassin teams. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erik Estrada, Dona Speir, (more)
- 1979
In this episode of the "CHiPs" television series the patrolmen arrive in a small community to take over for the striking officers. ~ All Movie Guide
The made-for-TV Earth Angel stars Cathy Bodewell as Angela, a prom queen who dies in 1962. Unfortunately, Angela has not always lived up to her name, and her entry into Heaven is held up indefinitely. She is given a chance to redeem herself by returning to earth in 1990, where she is to successfully complete an important mission. Thing of it is, she has no idea what her mission is-though she suspects it has something to do with romance. Clearly intended as a hybrid of Ghost and Peggy Sue Got Married, Earth Angel was first telecast March 4, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy Podewell, Cindy Williams, (more)
- 1974
Paramedic John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) falls in love with Valerie (Michele Noval) a beautiful hit-and-run victim who is harboring a few secrets. Elsewhere, a belly dancer (Barbara Nichols) consumes one too many diet pills, a cache of improperly stored gasoline causes tragedy, two of the paramedics are trapped on an apartment ledge, and a child bites a dog (which promptly bites back). Look for a pre-CHiPs Erik Estrada in this episode, written by series regular Michael Norell (Captain Stanley). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The made-for-TV Fire! is graced with a made-for-TV cast, including Ernest Borgnine, Patty Duke Astin, Vera Miles, Alex Cord and Donna Mills. It all begins when a convict (Neville Brand) escapes from an Oregon road gang. To cover his trail, the fugitive starts a forest fire. Need you be told at this point that Fire! is an Irwin Allen production? Originally telecast in a two-hour slot on May 8, 1977, Fire! was later cut by 30 minutes and rerun in tandem with another Allen TV-movie disasterfest, Flood! (he stopped short of making a picture called Famine!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Paul Newman stars as an essentially decent cop patrolling that decimated, drug-and-gang-ridden borough known on the city maps as the Bronx, but known to its denizens as "Fort Apache". While Newman tries to hold on to his basic humanity and to treat even the sorriest of the people on his beat with dignity, he can't do much to convince his superiors that blind brutality is not the answer to social blight. When he witnesses fellow-cop Danny Aiello cold-bloodedly murdering a crime suspect, Newman is advised to sweep the whole incident under the rug. He refuses to do so, and as a result becomes "persona non grata" to his former friends on the force. Ed Asner co-stars as the beleaguered captain who has given up trying to treat his job as anything but a necessary evil, while Rachel Ticotin is Newman's love interest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Ed Asner, (more)
Joon Kim is both the victim and instigator of Gang Justice is this martial-arts programmer. Attending a school populated by non-Asians, Paul (Kim) is subject to racial harassment. At home, he must contend with his father, an embittered, crippled boozer. Pushed to the wall by his tormentors, Paul lashes back in swift and terrible fashion. Onetime TV-heartthrob Erik Estrada also flashes his pecs in Gang Justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- R
Erik Estrada stars as an arms dealer, smuggling weapons from China to South America, who's being pursued by a pair of sexy female secret agents. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erik Estrada, Dona Speir, (more)
