By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
November 25, 2004
When his manager called to ask if he wanted to co-host television coverage of the 71st annual State Street Thanksgiving Parade, Ricardo Chavira said no.
“I love Chicago, but everyone knows I’m not the type of person to co-host a parade,” the “Desperate Housewives” actor said from his suite at the Four Seasons Hotel downtown. “I don’t have that kind of outgoing personality. But it sounded like fun. I’m going to be relying on [co-host] Kate Snow [of ‘Good Morning America’] who’s a veteran of these things. So if you see me looking over at her all the time, it’s because I’m taking all my cues from her.”
Janet Davis is the primary host of WLS-Channel 7’s parade coverage from 9 to 11 this morning.
Chavira, best known as Carlos Solis, the husband of cheating Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) on ABC’s soapy Sunday hit, Chavira says he’s rarely recognized.
“People are going to watch the parade and wonder, ‘Who’s that guy?'” Chavira says, laughing. “This is the biggest show I’ve ever done, so I think people know the character way better than they do me. It’s nice, actually.”
While some reports have made his female co-stars out be vindictive, um, witches, Chavira says nothing could be further from the truth.
“They are all so professional and polite to everyone,” he says. “People like to say they’re catty, but that’s not true. They are very direct with what they want, whether it’s something to do with a scene or an outfit they have to wear. But they’re always pleasant and considerate of everyone.”
As for Thanksgiving dinner, he’ll be spending it here at a restaurant with his almost 2-year-old son and significant other. The rest of his family is back in Texas, where Chavira grew up.
“My father called the other day and said, ‘Ricardo, I think we have family in Chicago,'” he says. “There’s a large Mexican population in Chicago, so we probably do, but I don’t think today is the day for me to show up and intrude on them. We’ll probably do something mellow and quiet. Maybe we’ll even just order room service.”
