An iconic star of a 1970s cop show looked fit and youthful at the age of 75 when he was spotted out and about this week.
The dashing actor was seen in the Burbank area of Los Angeles collecting his dry-cleaning and picking up a take-out meal.
Although his hair was sprinkled with a touch of grey, he still mostly sported the raven locks that helped form his unforgettable look at the height of his fame.
His most famous role was on a police procedural series that ran from 1977 to 1983, turning him into a household name and a nationwide sex symbol.
Who is this TV legend?
An iconic star of a 1970s cop show looked fit and youthful at the age of 75 when he was spotted out and about this week
Erik Estrada, who played a motorcycle cop Frank Llewelyn ‘Ponch’ Poncherello on the smash hit NBC crime drama CHiPs, was the actor spotted in Burbank this week.
He wore a casual outfit including a monochrome t-shirt that allowed him to show off his still toned arms while he ran his errands.
Erik’s rakish sense of style was still in full evidence, as he accessorized with a gleaming set of 1980s style shades and a tooth necklace.
CHiPs ran for six seasons on NBC, following the lives of two motorcycle-riding California Highway Patrolmen solving crimes in Los Angeles.
Erik played the hotblooded Ponch alongside Larry Wilcox as his partner Jonathan ‘Jon’ Andrew Baker, a more coolheaded by-the-book type.
The show made a heartthrob out of Erik, who was named one of People magazine’s 10 Sexiest Bachelors In The World in 1979.
When Erik briefly went on strike in the 1980s, he was replaced for three episodes by Bruce Jenner, who was decades away from transitioning into Caitlyn Jenner.
Rumors flew that Erik and Larry had a strained equation in real life, and in 1982 Larry left the show, which was canceled altogether the following year.
Erik Estrada, who played a motorcycle cop Frank Llewelyn ‘Ponch’ Poncherello on the smash hit NBC crime drama CHiPs, was the actor spotted in Burbank this week
CHiPs made a heartthrob out of Erik, who was named one of People magazine’s 10 Sexiest Bachelors In The World in 1979; Erik pictured in a publicity still for the series
CHiPs ran for six seasons on NBC, following the lives of two motorcycle-riding California Highway Patrolmen solving crimes in Los Angeles
However, 15 years later, several of the cast including the two leading men reunited to star in a made-for-television movie called CHiPs ’99.
Erik pursued a career in telenovelas and guest-starred on such English-language TV shows as Lizzie McGuire, Scrubs, The Nanny and Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
In 2016, he became a real life law enforcement officer, joining the police reserve force in the small town of St. Anthony, Idaho.
His goal was to help protect children from predatory adults that they might encounter online, he explained after his swearing-in ceremony.
‘Education is the best protection especially on the internet. Children should be educated in how to handle a chat room,’ he told the Idaho State Journal.
‘Don’t give out personal information. Certainly don’t give out your mother’s or father’s name or what school you go to. Don’t ever accept gifts.’
He added: ‘Certainly don’t ever go meet someone you’ve been chatting with. They’re not who they are. If they send a picture, that isn’t them.’
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