Cheech Marin

American actor and comedianTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actor and comedian

*The surname* Marin *is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled* Marín*, with an acute accent on the* í.

**Richard Anthony** "**Cheech**" **Marin** (born July 13, 1946) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and activist who gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez, on *Nash Bridges*. He has also voiced characters in several Disney films, including *Oliver & Company*, *The Lion King*, the *Cars* series, *Coco* and *Beverly Hills Chihuahua*.

Marin's trademark is his characters' strong Chicano accents, although Marin himself is not fluent in Spanish.

## Early life

Marin was born on July 13, 1946 in South Los Angeles, California, to Mexican-American parents Elsa (née Meza) (1923-2010), a secretary, and Oscar Marin (1922-2015), a police officer for the LAPD. Marin was born with a cleft lip, which was surgically repaired. According to Marin, he identifies as Chicano; he speaks some Spanish and often uses it in his movies, but he is not fluent.

Marin's nickname "Cheech" is short for "chicharron", fried pork rind, which is a popular snack and ingredient in Latin American cuisine. In a 2017 NPR interview, Marin attributed the nickname to his uncle: "I came home from the hospital, I was like a couple of days old or something, my uncle came over and he looked in the crib and he said [in Spanish], 'Ay, parece un chicharrón.' Looks like a little chicharrón, you know?"

Marin graduated from Bishop Alemany High School and then studied English at San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge), where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa and graduated in 1968. Marin then auditioned to sing for Frank Zappa in 1967, but instead moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in September to evade the draft during the Vietnam War. Marin met his future comedic partner, Tommy Chong, in Calgary, Alberta.

## Career

### Comedy albums and films

As a part of the highly successful comedy duo Cheech & Chong, Marin participated in a number of comedy albums and feature film comedies in the 1970s and 1980s. Tommy Chong directed four of their films while co-writing and starring in all seven with Marin.

 File:CheechChong1979.jpg
### Later films and television work

After Cheech & Chong disbanded in 1985, Marin starred in a number of films as a solo actor, most notably *Born in East L.A.*, which was also his directorial debut, *The Shrimp on the Barbie*, *Tin Cup*, and *Once Upon a Time in Mexico*. He made a cameo appearance as a dockworker in *Ghostbusters II*. In 2004 he made his second appearance as a policeman, as "Officer Salino" in the film adaptation of John Grisham's holiday novel "Skipping Christmas", under the title "Christmas With the Kranks", starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. Marin appeared in the Fox sitcom Married... with Children as the voice of the Bundy's Briard dog, Buck; he voiced the character in three episodes: *Look Who's Barking*, *Change for a Buck* and *Assault and Batteries*.

Marin made the transition to full-time television work when he co-starred on the short-lived *The Golden Girls* spin-off *The Golden Palace* (1992–1993), and later with Don Johnson, Jaime P. Gomez, and Yasmine Bleeth in the police show *Nash Bridges* (1996–2001), in which they played San Francisco police-detective partners. In recent years he has been active in playing supporting roles in films and performing voice overs for animated features. After appearing in a supporting role in *Judging Amy*, playing an independently wealthy landscape designer, Marin starred in the CBS sitcom *Rob*, with Rob Schneider.

Marin is a frequent collaborator of the director Robert Rodriguez, who has worked with Marin seven times; the last two installments of the *Mexico* trilogy, the *Spy Kids* trilogy, *From Dusk Till Dawn* and *Machete*. He provided his voice for several Disney animated films, most notably Tito the Chihuahua in *Oliver & Company* (1988), Banzai the hyena in *The Lion King* (1994), and Ramone in *Cars* (2006) and its sequels *Cars 2* (2011) and *Cars 3* (2017). He also played Pancho in *The Cisco Kid* (1994), and reprised the Banzai role in the video game *Kingdom Hearts II*.

 File:Cheech Marin - Your Actions Save Lives.ogg
Cheech appears in several episodes of AMC's "Lodge 49" as El Confidente, a member of Lodge 55 in Mexico.Template:Circular reference

### Children's music albums and related works

Marin has released two best-selling albums in the children's music genre, *My Name is Cheech, the School Bus Driver* (1992) and *My Name is Cheech, The School Bus Driver "Coast to Coast"* (1997). Both albums were released bilingually. In July 2007, the book *Cheech the School Bus Driver* was released, written by Marin, illustrated by Orlando L. Ramirez, and published by HarperCollins.

In 2005, Marin lent his voice to the animated children's series *Dora the Explorer*. He appeared in the episode "A Crown for King Juan el Bobo", as the Puerto Rican folk hero Juan Bobo.

### Additional television appearances

In late 2006, Marin participated in Simon Cowell's *Celebrity Duets*, having sung with Peter Frampton, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Aaron Neville, and Al Jarreau. He was the fourth to be eliminated.

Marin had a recurring role in the hit television series *Lost*, playing David Reyes, Hurley's father.

He was a co-host for *WWE Raw* on March 1, 2010, with his comedy partner Tommy Chong, in Oklahoma City.

Marin also sings on the hidden track "Earache My Eye" on Korn's album *Follow the Leader*.

In 2009, he appeared in the Hallmark Channel movie Expecting a Miracle.

On March 18, 2010, Marin beat journalist Anderson Cooper and actress Aisha Tyler on *Celebrity Jeopardy!'*s Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational. Cooper admitted he was "crushed" by Marin. Marin also won his semifinal round early May but lost in the May 6–7 final to Michael McKean. He had previously won the first *Celebrity Jeopardy!* tournament in 1992.

In January 2012, he was one of eight celebrities participating in the Food Network reality series *Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off*. He was eliminated in the third week of the competition.

## The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture & Industry

Marin is an avid collector of Chicano art and started his collection in the 1980s. Two national touring exhibitions have featured works from his private collection. He feels that it's important to "use his celebrity status to call attention to what he saw as an under-appreciated and under-represented style of art". In collaboration with the city of Riverside, California, and the Riverside Art Museum, Marin established The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture & Industry, in the City of Riverside, which opened June 18, 2022. Marin will be donating his collection of over 700 pieces of Chicano art, the largest collection of such art in the world. The center will provide a location for the presentation and study of Chicano art, and is expected to draw international attention.

## Other interests

He is an avid golfer, although he initially disliked the sport until he co-starred  in the golf-themed comedy *Tin Cup*. Marin also practices horse archery on a special course built on his private land.

On April 19, 2018, Cheech (as part of GLE Brands Inc) signed an agreement with Heritage Cannabis Holdings Corporation (CSE: CANN) to have exclusive rights to use cannabis and cannabis-related products utilizing the Private Stash brand throughout Canada for a period of 2 years, with the agreement automatically renewing for an additional year upon achieving various milestones.

## Personal life

Marin was married in 1975 to Darlene Morley, who co-produced *Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers* and also played minor roles in earlier Cheech & Chong films under the name Rikki Marin. The couple had one child and divorced in 1984. Marin married artist Patti Heid in 1986; they had two children and have since divorced. Marin married his longtime girlfriend, Russian pianist Natasha Marin, on August 8, 2009, in a sunset ceremony at their home.

Marin resides in Malibu, California.

## Filmography

### Television

* *The Tracey Ullman Show* (TV) (1 episode, 1987)
* *Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme* (TV) (1990) ...as Carnival Barker
* *Great Performances* (TV) ...El Cosmico (1 episode, 1991)
* *Ring of the Musketeers* (TV) (1992) ...as Burt Aramis
* *The Golden Palace* (TV) ...Chuy Castillos (24 episodes, 1992–1993)
* *Tales from the Crypt* (TV) ...as Dr. Beneloy (1 episode, 1993)
* *The Cisco Kid* (TV) (1994) ...as Pancho
* *Married... with Children* (TV) ...as Buck's Voice (3 episodes, 1991–1994)
* *Dream On* (TV) (1994) ...as Waiter (1 episode, 1994)
* *Sesame Street* (TV) (1994) ...as Genie (Episode 3259, May 12, 1994)
* *Santo Bugito* (TV) (1995) ...as Lencho the Flea (unknown episodes)
* *The Courtyard* (TV) (1995) ...as Angel Steiner
* *Latino Laugh Festival* (TV) (1996) ...Host
* *Happily Ever After: Fairytales For Every Child* (TV) Character- "Hansel and Gretel"
* *Tracey Takes On...* (TV) (1996–1998) ...Carlos (starred in only 2 episodes)
* *Funny Flubs & Screw-Ups V* (TV) (2000) ...Host
* *The 26th Annual People's Choice Awards* (TV) (2000) ...Host
* *Resurrection Blvd.* (TV) (2000)...as Hector Archuletta
* *South Park* (TV) (2000) ...voiced as Carlos Ramirez (voiced in 1 episode "Cherokee Hair Tampons")
* *Nash Bridges* (TV) (2001) ...as Inspector Joe Dominguez (1996–2001)
* *The Ortegas* (2003) (TV) ...as Henny Ortega (unaired TV series)
* *Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales* (TV) (2003) ...as Himself
* *George Lopez* (TV) (2003) ...as Lalo (Starred in the episode titled *Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Honey*)
* *Judging Amy* (TV) (2004–2005) ...Ignacio Messina (20 episodes)
* *Dora the Explorer* (TV) (2005) ...voiced as King Juan el Bobo ("A Crown for King Juan el Bobo")
* *Storm Hawks* (TV) (2007) ...Cyclonian Pilot
* *Lost* (TV) (2007–2009) ...as David Reyes (Hurley's Dad in the episodes *Tricia Tanaka Is Dead*, *There's no Place Like Home* and *The Lie*)
* *Mind of Mencia* (TV) (2008) ...as Gay man's father
* *Grey's Anatomy* (TV) (2008) ...as Otis (episode "Where the Wild Things Are")
* *MADtv* (TV) (2009) ...as Himself
* *Outnumbered* (2009 TV movie)
* *WWE Raw* (TV) (2010) ...as Himself (Guest Host)
* *Off the Map* (TV) (2011) ...as Papa
* *The Simpsons* (TV) (2011) ...as Himself (Guest voice)
* *Lopez Tonight* (TV) (2011) ...as Himself, George's celebrity father
* *Psych* (TV) (2012) ...as Deacon Jones
* *Rob* (TV) (2012)...as Fernando
* *Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off* (TV) (2012) ...as Himself (celebrity contestant)
* *Anger Management* (TV) (2014) ...as Hector
* *Jane the Virgin* (TV) (2015) ...as Edward
* *Elena of Avalor* (TV) (2017-2019) ...as Quita Moz (Guest voice)
* *Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy* (TV) (2018) ...as Condor De Bogota
* *Lodge 49* (TV) (2018) ...as El Confidente
* *Broke* (TV) (2020) ...as Don Dominguez (Episode: "The Test")
* *Home Economics* (2022) ...as Roberto (Episode: "Round-Trip Ticket SAN-OAK, $234")
* *Bubble Guppies* (2022) as Fogzilla
* *Cars on the Road* (2022) as Ramone (voice) (Episode: "Dino Park")
* *The Legend of Vox Machina* (2023) as TBA (voice)
* *Unknown!*
* *Funky Cops*

### Video games

* *Animated Storybook: The Lion King* (1994) - Banzai
* *Blazing Dragons* (1996) - Sir George / Guido the Pizza Chef / Loudmouth Guard
* *Kingdom Hearts II* (2006) - Banzai
* *Cars* (2006) - Ramone
* *Cars Mater-National Championship* (2007) - Ramone
* *Cars Race-O-Rama* (2009) - Ramone
* *Cars 2* (2011) - Ramone
* *Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure* (2012) - Ramone
* *Disney Infinity* (2013) - Ramone
* *Cars: Fast as Lightning* (2014) - Ramone

### Theme park attractions

* *It's Tough to Be a Bug!* (1998) - Chilic
* *Radiator Springs Racers* (2012) - Ramone

## Discography

* *Cheech and Chong* (1971)
* *Big Bambu* (1972)
* *Los Cochinos* (1973), won Best Comedy Recording at the 16th Annual Grammy Awards
* *Cheech & Chong's Wedding Album* (1974)
* *Sleeping Beauty* (1976)
* *Up in Smoke* (1978)
* *Let's Make a New Dope Deal* (1980)
* *Get Out Of My Room* (1985)
* My Name Is Cheech the School Bus Driver (Released October 27, 1992)
* *Follow the Leader* (1998)

## Books

* Marin, Cheech; Hassan, John (2017). *Cheech Is Not My Real Name...But Don't Call Me Chong!*. New York: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 9781455592340. OCLC 974034992.

## References

1. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Dominguez, Robert (April 16, 1998). "Cheech Is Taking The High Road". *Daily News*. New York, NY. p. 49. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
2. ↑ Marin, Richard (October 19, 2019). The Call. *The Moth*.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 What is a Chicano? (May 3, 2012).
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sophisticated and Naive: A Conversation with Cheech Marin Template:Pipe The Bend Magazine.
5. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Wedlan, Candace A. (May 10, 1999). "Whatever Works / CHEECH MARIN; A Comic Axed by His Own Club". *Los Angeles Times*. Southern California Living section, PART-E, page 1. Archived from the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017. Template:Subscription required
6. ↑ The Comedy Couch – Cheech Marin Interview. The Comedy Couch (July 10, 2006).
7. ↑ Cheech Marin On How His Famed Comic Collaboration Was Like Chicano Art. National Public Radio - Morning Edition (March 13, 2017).
8. ↑ Alum "Cheech" Marin and CSUN's Harry Gamboa Featured in French Art Exhibit (en-US) (June 30, 2014).
9. ↑ Template:Cite AV media notes
10. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Volmers, Eric (January 24, 2016). "Tommy Chong Talks Comedy, Pot, Politics and His Days as a *Calgary Herald* Paperboy". *Calgary Herald*. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
11. ↑ Lodge 49
12. ↑ Nickelodeon. IMDb, *A Crown for King Bobo.* Aired October 23, 2005 Retrieved May 29, 2013
13. ↑ IMDb, A Crown for King Bobo Retrieved May 29, 2013.
14. ↑ Steve Krakauer (March 19, 2010). Another CNN Anchor Fails At Celebrity Jeopardy.
15. ↑ Cheech Marin Donates *Jeopardy!* Winnings to Charity. Looktothestars.org (May 9, 2010).
16. ↑ Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off: New Show Premieres This Winter. Blog.foodnetwork.com (July 29, 2011).
17. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Allen, Mike (April 21, 2013). "In collection, W&L talk, Cheech Marin champions Chicano art". *The Roanoke Times*. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
18. ↑  Biography.com:Cheech Marin Biography. A&E Television Networks.
19. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Miranda, Carolina A. (May 1, 2017). "Cheech Marin teams up with city of Riverside and Riverside Art Museum to develop Chicano art center". *Los Angeles Times*. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
20. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Bank of America Invests $750,000 to Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art". Colton, California: IECN. Inland Empire Community News. December 22, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
21. ↑ Tin Cup (August 6, 1996).
22. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Limelight Listing – Cheech Marin's Malibu home". *SFGate*. June 3, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
23. ↑ AnimaWeb. Personajes. Santos vs. Tetona.
24. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Hopewell, John (May 20, 2014). "'El Americano 3D' Kicks Off Pre-Sales at Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)". *Variety (magazine)*. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
25. ↑ Dark Harvest.
26. ↑ Sneak peek: 'Cars 3' zooms ahead with new character Cruz Ramirez.
27. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (December 6, 2010). Cheech Marin To Co-Star In 'Outnumbered' And Harry Hamlin To Recur On 'Army Wives'.
28. ↑ Richard "Cheech" Marin (en) (November 19, 2019).

## External links

Template:Wikiquote
Template:Commons

* Official website
* Cheech Marin at IMDb
* Template:Discogs artist

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