| Frank Poncherello | |
|---|---|
| |
Personel File
| |
| Full Name | Francis Llewelyn Poncherello |
| Call Sign | 7 Mary 4 |
| Rank | Traffic Officer |
| Nickname | Ponch |
| Occupation | Highway Patrol Motor Officer |
| Residence | Trailer Park [Season 1]
The Tides and Waters Edge at Marina Harbor [Seasons 2-6] |
| Family | Robert [Brother]
Martin [Brother] Patricia [Sister] Unknown [Father] Maria [Mother] Carol Rosen [Wife] Frank Poncherello Jr [Son] |
| First Appearace | Pilot |
| Played by | Erik Estrada
|
Personal Information[]
Ponch's full name is, Francis Llewelyn Poncherello. He went to Lehigh Polytechnical High School and holds the record for number of visits to the Principals office. Whilst there Ponch played basketball, a sport he's loved most of his childhood from watching the Globetrotters. He was so good he gained the nickname 'High Points Ponch'. His skill in basketball is shown when initially he is overcome with nitrous oxcide making him unable to take part in a CHP vs Ram's game and the team is losing. When Ponch recovers he returns to the game and wins the match for the team.
He used to ride dirt bikes out in the hills. He is chased by Jon one day because he's riding a bike without a helmet, they start a friendship from then on. Jon sees potential in Ponch and advises him to sign up for the Highway Patrol. Reluctant at first, Jon takes him to visit the precinct and introduces him to Getraer. Getraer isn't so sure of Ponch at first due to his past, but advises him to apply anyway.
Ponch is of course successful in his application, and is later partnered with Jon. However Ponch starts life in the CHP as a patrol car officer. After 6 months partnered with Ponch, Ponch's file in Getraer's office overspills it's own jacket much to the annoyance of Getraer, who can barely open the filing cabinet.
He told Carol Rosen he's been on the force for two years.
Ponch passes his probation and is cut loose on his own. He manages quite well on his own until he tells a woman to pull over unfortunately for him she drives down an off road. She has influential friends and Ponch is back on probation.
Ponch can sometimes be seen as a hot head and lets his mouth talk before thinking.
Ponch is a keen sportsman, playing racketball and pratically raised on basketball watching the Globetrotters, he had a nickname. 'High points Ponch'.
Ponch lived in a motor home park for a while; he also uses it for transportation.
Likes[]
- Ding Dongs
- Women
- Sports
Dislikes[]
- Writing reports
- Justice Queue Work
Hobbies[]
- Dirt Bike racing
- Basketball
- Racketball
Love Interests[]
- Vanessa James - An elementary school teacher that he meet at an event dealing with MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
- Carol Rosen - Met her when she was involved in an accident where she swerved to miss a motorcycle merging with the freeway. She eventually married Ponch years later and had a son with him before she became ill and passed away.
- Sherry Bell - Attempted to woo her at the racketball bar, Jon ruined his chances when he told her they were cops.
- Catherine - A pilot who landed on the freeway when she ran out of fuel and went on a date with him, it ended when she found out Ponch wasn't a higher ranking officer plus she was quite loquacious and he couldn't get a word in edgeways.
- Georgia - She works in dispatch and Ponch wants to go on a date with her. He buys her roses for their impending date. Ponch finds out through Jon that Georgia has got engaged to a Sgt Malloney.
- Sally - A woman he took to a carnival, Ponch won a stuffed toy frog and didn't give it to her because he won it.
- Mary-Kate -
- Ruth - Takes her on a couple of dates with Jon and Karen, and they ended up going to a new fancy French restaurant.
- Jogger - Sets a date in code.
- Robbie Davis - A female truck driver he had met when escorting their payload to another depot.
- Wendy - A neighbor that he met while agreeing to move once again to another apartment at the marina after his first apartment was flooded by another neighbors waterbed accidentally bursted, she had agreed to go out with him on a lunch date with his work colleagues, including Wes Miller who happens to be Jon's nephew at the Villa Cinzano.
- Fay Ramad - Ponch meets her when he arrests her cousin Barney who is second in line to the throne in Bezel. They date a couple of times.
- Mary Barnes -
- Kim Balford - A female ex-convicted felon who had originally served time in a state prison complex in Florence, Arizona, Ponch meets her at the parking garage of marina after accidentally breaking his pinky finger, she had tried to escape about four days later in his recently stolen firebird formula during an auto theft raid of a Ford F-8000 that had just came from Al DuBowe Auto Sales, and he later arrested her after she had accidentally totaled his car.
- Candi Wright - A professional female racecar driver, Ponch meets her at the front desk of the Palma Vista Police Department, they later have dinner together.
- Laurie Windsor - An undercover female Drug Enforcement Agent, Ponch meets her at Ascot Park after losing a Saturday night dirt track.
- Lori -
- Shari -
- Paula - A construction company owner, Ponch meets her on the street after recovering her recently stolen skip loader, he later comes over to her beautifully furnished rented house in order to go over a case involving stolen construction equipment, they later have dinner together at the S.S. Princess Louise, he drove her back to the construction site in his firebird that was later damaged by Sarge who happens to be an ex-convicted felon driving a forklift the next morning during an equipment raid.
- Jennifer - A neighbor with a narcissistic personality disorder, and Ponch couldn't keep up with her demands but soon found himself in trouble with colleagues because of her anger issues with his colleagues.
- Stephanie Lloyd - An animal control officer, Ponch meets her at the Old Los Angeles Zoo on a case involving a female tiger that had recently escaped Kessler's Animal Park, Jon and him had helped her try several different methods in order to trap that tiger in the mountains of Los Angeles, he had finally had Getraer bring over two kittens from the pound in order to help her succeeded by luring the tiger into the cage, and he had later took her on a dinner to see Slappy White at the Comedy Store.
- Gail Harbers - A female leader of the punk rock band called Snow Pink that also works as a salesclerk at Passion Fashions, Ponch meets her at the beach.
- Toni Sykes - A former CHP Officer who had later gotten into trouble because of stubbornness, including anger issues with her colleagues, misplacing evidence, performing illegal searches on innocent citizens, and Ponch had originally met her when they were cadets together at the police academy.
- Kim Travis - A female social worker who happens to be in charge of people with special needs, Ponch meets her in the lobby at central when she comes in looking for Earl Sorenson after receiving a telephone call about an earlier incident with Jon Baker over driving while intoxicated, including accidentally causing facial injuries to Arthur Grossman.
- Rosa Aguila -
- Jenny Lang - A female officer with the canine unit of the Los Angeles Sherriff's Department that is often stubborn, including anger issues with her colleagues, always wants to work alone, and Ponch meets her at the canine training facility.
Accidents[]
- Pilot - Fell off his bike riding onto an embankment.
- Pilot - Wrecks his bike when attempting to free it from a glue spill. Tow required.
- Career Day - Forgot to use the foot stand and damaged his bike. Tow required.
- Flashback! - 8th day on the job skidded in oil and bike needed towing.
- The Volunteers - Punctures his rear tire riding off road. Tow required.
- High Flyer - Crashes when avoiding tires being thrown out of a van.
- Down Time - Brakes hard in order to stop himself inside a parking lot during a police pursuit of a recently stolen 1978 Corvette driven by Melanie Fisher who happens to be a female ex-convicted felon, while paralyzed veterans set up a roadblock in front of the exit causing him to accidentally drop his bike, and he breaks his left pinky finger while avoiding the spikes.
- Rally 'Round the Bank - After receiving his 1 year without incident medal, Ponch crashed and damages the front fender on his bike on Sindy's patrol car when he does a u-turn outside his apartment.
- Return of the Supercycle - Badly injured when avoiding a lorry, he is hospitalized in coma for ten days, and requires surgery to repair his broken right wrist.
- Sick Leave - Falls off his bike when a patrol car stalls in front of him.
- Vagabonds - Dropped his bike and totaled it. Accidentally fractures his coccyx.
- Moonlight - Chemicals burn through his rear tire causing him to crash.
- Breaking Point - Crashes through business, he totals his bike, and he looses his confidence in himself while having hard time getting over it.
- Alarmed - Bike catches fire when his bike is rammed.
Ponch's transport.[]
In season one, Ponch relied heavily on Jon giving him lifts. Ponch did have his own form of transport but it was also his home. Ponch lived on a trailer park and would often use his motor home to get around. But Jon's mini was more practical if not small for him.
In the second season Ponch sells his motor home and buys an appartment. By this time Jon has a new car as well and again, Ponch borrows his pick-up from time to time. Ponch finally buys a car when the owner decides to burn it. Ponch bids on the car and buys it for $83. Throughout the second season his firebird is shown through various stages of restoration with Jon helping him with it.
Notes[]
- Owns and lives in a motor home. In season 2 he sells it and moves into an apartment.
- Every woman in the precinct knows Ponch's telephone number.
- It was revealed in Counterfeit (S03E06) that Frank is an Aquarius (born between January 20 and February 19).