- Title: 'Cheech and Chong' star Cheech Marin hits 75 on July 13
- Date: 12th July 2021
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF "CHEECH AND CHONG" COMEDY DUO AND ACTORS, CHEECH MARIN (L) AND TOMMY CHONG (R) SPEAKING TO REPORTER AND JOKING ABOUT HOW THEY PLANT AND SMOKE STUFF ON EARTH DAY AT "CHEECH & CHONG'S UP IN SMOKE, 40TH ANNIVERSARY" EVENT LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - APRIL 20, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF "CHEECH AND CHONG" EXHIBITION EXHIBITION AT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM TO COMMEMORATE 40 YEARS OF CHEECH AND CHONG'S CULT STONER FILM "UP IN SMOKE", INCLUDING POSTERS, BOOK COVER, ALBUM COVER AND PHOTOS WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - JULY 30, 2008) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) (PART MUTE) CHEECH MARIN AND TOMMY CHONG OF "CHEECH AND CHONG" FILMS ARRIVING AT PRESS CONFERENCE FOR THEIR COMEDY TOUR IN A BLUE CAR PAN FROM REPORTERS TO CHEECH AND CHONG GETTING OUT OF CAR AND POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS CHEECH AND CHONG POSING MARIN AND CHONG POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS NEXT TO CANNABIS PLANT ON STAGE (MUTE) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, TOMMY CHONG, SAYING: "You know this is a moment that I've been looking forward to for many, many years because we have such a legacy and such a history together that we couldn't escape it, even if we tried. So at the end of the day, we just looked at each other and said 'we better do this now man, because there ain't no tomorrow." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, CHEECH MARIN, SAYING: "We've had the younger audience all along. Every time they hit that certain age, they go through that 'Cheech and Chong' period of watching the movies, listening to the records. So, it's almost like a right of passage." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ACTORS, CHEECH MARIN AND TOMMY CHONG, SAYING: MARIN: "I want to invite a bunch of people who live here in Los Angeles in all cities and across the country, to come and see the new episode of 'Cheech and Chong' that there's going to be, in their city, in the next four months." CHONG: "And a lot of tortillas." MARIN: "And free tacos, when they come to see Cheech and Chong."
- Embargoed: 26th July 2021 10:28
- Keywords: Cheech Marin Cheech and Chong Desperado Dusk Till Dawn Machete Tommy Chong
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, UNITED STATES
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Celebrities,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001ELJAJIL
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS FOOTAGE THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
One half of comedy duo 'Cheech and Chong', Cheech Marin turns 75 years old on Tuesday (July 13).
Born Richard Anthony Marin in Los Angeles in 1946, the actor of Mexican descent is known for his strong Chicano accents on screen, a dialect spoken mainly by Mexican Americans.
After meeting in Vancouver, Canada in the late 1960s, Marin partnered with Canadian Tommy Chong for a series of low-budget films portraying a couple of pot-smoking stoners in the 1970s and 80s.
Their first film, "Up In Smoke", in 1978 became a cult comedy classic. Shot in Los Angeles for $2 million and directed by Lou Adler, it has grossed more than $151 million at the box office, according to Forbes.com.
Cheech and Chong, who promote free love and legalizing cannabis use, also performed stand-up shows and released many successful comedy record albums.
They first gained notoriety in nightclubs in the Los Angeles area in the 1970s and released their first album, "Cheech and Chong", in 1971. "Los Cochinos" in 1973 won the Grammy award for that year for best comedy album.
The pair performed together onstage for the last time in 1981, but continued to make movies and records. Their album "Get Out of My Room" in 1985 included the hit song "Born in East L.A." which parodied Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." Soon after, they parted ways in a well-publicized and bitter split following the release of that album.
Marin carved out a career as a television actor in shows such as "Nash Bridges" and "Judging Amy." Chong also did a lot of TV work, including appearances on "That '70s Show."
Chong has long advocated the legalization of marijuana, and in 2003 was arrested and later imprisoned for selling drug paraphernalia.
However in July 2008 the duo unveiled plans for their first comedy tour in more than 25 years. "Cheech & Chong: Light Up America ..." hit 22 cities in the United States, starting with Philadelphia and ending in Denver, Colorado in December that year.
Marin said at the time that their humor about doing stupid things while being stoned on marijuana should still appeal to today's youth, as well as Cheech and Chong's older fans.
The comedy duo toured North America again in 2010 with "Cheech & Chong: Get It Legal", also teaming up with the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), with the aim of promoting changes in U.S. drug policy through laughter.
Marin is well known for appearing in American director Robert Rodriguez's films, including "Desperado", "From Dusk till Dawn", "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" and family adventure series "Spy Kids". He worked with Rodriguez on his exploitation action film "Machete", starring Danny Trejo who reprises the title role from the "Spy Kids" series.
Marin voices Ramone in Disney's animated "Cars" series. Ramone is a 1959 Chevrolet Impala low-rider who owns an auto body shop in Radiator Springs called Ramone's House of Body Art.
The actor recently appeared in 2020 family comedy "War with Grandpa", co-starring Robert De Niro as Grandpa Ed. Marin plays Danny, one of Ed's mates who help the beleaguered grandfather get revenge on his young prankster grandson, after the latter is made give up his beloved bedroom when Ed moves into the family home.
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