Larry Dee Wilcox (born August 8, 1947) is an American actor best known for his role as California Highway Patrol officer (later captain) Jonathan "Jon" Baker in the television series CHiPs, which ran from 1977 to 1983 on NBC. A Vietnam veteran, Wilcox races cars and is also a private pilot. Early life Wilcox was born on the 8th of August 1947 in San Diego, the son of Marion G. and John C. Wilcox. He and his three siblings were raised in Rawlins, Wyoming, by their single mother. He graduated from Rawlins High School, went to the University of Wyoming, then transferred to Los Angeles Pierce College. He eventually went to Cal State Northridge. He worked at different jobs including acting and rodeo cowboy. Military service Wilcox enlisted in the Marine Corps in May 1967 and served in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. While in Vietnam he studied French and took general classes at College of the Desert during his final year in the Marines at Twentynine Palms, California. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant in 1973. Entertainment career Early years Wilcox made a guest appearance in 1971 in Room 222. In 1973, Wilcox appeared in The Streets of San Francisco episode "The Runaways" as older brother George. Also in 1973, he starred in Lassie as Dale, one of the boys who grew up there and was now working as a hired hand. Wilcox appeared in an episode of Cannon "Target In The Mirror" in 1973 in a role as a witness. He performed in the 1976 film The Last Hard Men, and other TV appearances including The Partridge Family, Hawaii Five-O, M*A*S*H, Fantasy Island, and Police Story, as well as commercials. He was the main (and only human for most of it) actor of a two-part show on The Wonderful World of Disney anthology show in 1978 playing a lone cowboy on a cattle drive and his adventures en route to market. He also played Emmett Dalton in the 1979 film The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang. CHiPs Wilcox was cast as Jon Baker, one of the lead characters on CHiPs; he was not in season six and was cast from 1977 to 1982. Wilcox performed many of his own stunts on the show. Unlike his co-star Erik Estrada (who played his partner "Ponch"), Wilcox never sustained any major injuries. By the 1979–80 season,