Tommy Chong

**Thomas B. Kin Chong** (born May 24, 1938) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, musician, activist. He is known for his marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movies with Cheech Marin, as well as playing the character Leo Chingkwake on Fox's *That '70s Show*. He became a naturalized United States citizen in the late 1980s. He will reprise his role as Leo in the upcoming series, *That '90s Show* as a special guest star.

## Early life

Thomas B. Kin Chong was born on May 24, 1938, in Edmonton, Alberta. His mother was of Scotch-Irish Canadian ancestry, and his father was a Chinese Canadian who immigrated in the 1930s. He had an older brother, Stan (1936-2019). After arriving in Canada, the senior Chong had first lived with an aunt in Vancouver.

As a youth, Tommy Chong moved with his family to Calgary, settling in a conservative neighbourhood Chong has referred to as "Dog Patch". He has said that his father had "been wounded in World War II and there was a veterans' hospital in Calgary. He bought a $500 house in Dog Patch and raised his family on $50 a week." In an interview, Chong later described how he dropped out of Crescent Heights High School "when I was 16 but probably just before they were going to throw me out anyway." He played guitar to make money. "I discovered that music could get you laid, even if you were a scrawny, long-haired, geeky-looking guy like me."

## Career

### Cheech & Chong

Chong co-wrote and performed on many Cheech & Chong comedy albums, four of which were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. He and Cheech Marin shared the 1973 award in this category for *Los Cochinos*.

He also directed four of the duo's films, while co-writing and starring in all seven with Cheech.

### After Cheech & Chong

Cheech & Chong, while a very successful comedy act, split in 1985 due to creative differences and Marin's desire to focus on a mainstream acting career. This began a difficult time for Chong. He developed an unsold pilot for CBS called *The Martinez Family*, which was redeveloped as the 1988 sitcom *Trial and Error*. In 1990, he directed, wrote and starred in the movie *Far Out Man*. He did not act regularly until filling the recurring role (later a regular role) as the fun-loving, aging hippie "Leo" (similar to his Chong character) on *That '70s Show*. Chong was absent during the fifth and sixth seasons of the show as he was serving a brief jail sentence; upon his release, he returned to the series for its final two seasons. He also played a role as a hippie in *Dharma & Greg*.

Chong was originally going to voice the character of Shenzi, the hyena in the Disney film *The Lion King*. Cheech Marin voiced Banzai. (The Shenzi character was changed to a female and was voiced instead by Whoopi Goldberg.) Chong provided the voice of the character Yax in the 2016 Disney film *Zootopia*.

In September 2005, *a/k/a Tommy Chong* premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The documentary, produced, written and directed by Josh Gilbert, chronicles Chong's comedic and personal history. It includes material related to his prosecution by the US Justice Department and imprisonment. The project features interviews with Cheech Marin, Bill Maher, George Thorogood, Peter Coyote, Lou Adler, Eric Schlosser and Jay Leno. In 2011, Chong appeared as a Judge in an episode of *Franklin & Bash.*

On September 4, 2014, Chong was announced as one of the celebrities participating on the 19th season of *Dancing with the Stars*. He paired with professional dancer Peta Murgatroyd. Despite being at the bottom of the leaderboard numerous times, Chong and Murgatroyd were able to make it to the night of the semi-finals but were eliminated at the end of that night. Chong is the oldest contestant to have made it to the semi-finals of the show.

On April 4, 2015, Chong appeared as a guest speaker at the annual "Hash Bash" event in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which focuses on cannabis legalization.

In November 2017, Chong guest-starred as himself in an episode of the *Trailer Park Boys* spinoff *Out of the Park: USA*. In 2017, Chong also partnered with smoking subscription box service Daily High Club to create the DHC Tommy Chong Signature Smoking Supply Box.

On January 9, 2019, Chong competed in season one of *The Masked Singer* as "Pineapple" where he sang "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.

On May 23, 2019, Chong appeared on episode #1303 of the internet video podcast *The Joe Rogan Experience*, hosted by Joe Rogan.

On June 19, 2019, Chong appeared on episode #694 of the internet video podcast "The Church Of What's Happening Now", hosted by Joey Diaz.

In April 2020, Chong's brand started working alongside the fashion brand Slicks.

On December 18, 2020, Chong appeared in the online cannabis publication *The Green Fund* for an interview to discuss his career with Cheech & Chong and his upcoming branded dispensaries.

### Music

By the early 1960s, Chong was playing guitar for a Calgary soul group called the Shades. The Shades moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where the band's name changed to "Little Daddy & the Bachelors". They recorded a single, "Too Much Monkey Business" / "Junior's Jerk". Together with bandmember Bobby Taylor, Chong opened a Vancouver nightclub in 1963. Formerly the Alma Theatre, they called it "Blue Balls". They brought in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which had never been to Vancouver before. Although Little Daddy & the Bachelors built up a small following, things soured when they went with Chong's suggestion and had themselves billed as "Four N's and a C" before taking on the moniker Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers.

In 1965, the Vancouvers signed with Gordy Records (a subsidiary of Detroit's Motown Records). They recorded their debut album, an eponymous release, and their debut single, the Tommy Chong co-composition, "Does Your Mama Know About Me," which peaked at number 29 on the *Billboard* Hot 100. While on tour in Chicago for a short time, the band followed opening act the Jackson 5. Chong later referred to the young Michael Jackson as a "cute little guy". After the band released two additional singles, Chong and bandmate Wes Henderson missed a Friday night performance to apply for green cards so they could become American citizens. Chong was fired by Chris Clark and Motown producer Johnny Bristol for arriving late to the gig. Later, when Berry Gordy told Chong that he wasn't fired after all, that it had been a mistake, Chong said he wanted to stay fired. "I said I want to become a Berry Gordy, I don't want to just work for a Berry Gordy. And he says I can, I can dig that. So he was nice. He gave me $5,000 as the severance and to me that was a fortune." The group broke up shortly afterwards, when Chong tried to reduce the number of players covered by the Vancouvers' contract. He intended that he, Taylor, and Henderson would constitute the group, while other members would be classified as sidemen and session artists.

## Personal life

In 1960, Chong married Maxine Sneed in Canada. They raised two daughters, Rae Dawn (b. 1961) by his previous wife Gail Lewis, and Robbi Chong (b. 1965). They divorced in 1970.

In 1975, Chong married Shelby Fiddis in Los Angeles. They had three children, sons Paris (b. 1974) and Gilbran (b. 1981) and daughter Precious Chong (b. 1968). In 1978, the couple adopted Marcus Wyatt. Rae Dawn, Robbi, Marcus, Paris, and Precious Chong have each pursued careers in acting. In addition to film work, in May 2011, Precious Chong had her play, *Push ... One Mother of a Show,* produced in Toronto.

In an interview, Tommy Chong shared that he smoked with Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his bodybuilding buddies, also with all the Beatles except Paul McCartney. He also calls George Harrison his favourite smoking friend.

In the late 1980s, Chong became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Rae Dawn Chong has also become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Tommy Chong has become a marijuana activist and supports legalizing the plant's use. He is a regular contributor to *Cannabis Culture Magazine* and sits on the NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) advisory board.

### Cancer diagnosis

Chong announced on June 9, 2012, that he is battling prostate cancer. He described the cancer "as a slow stage one [that I've] had for a long time". He said that he had been drug free for about three years, during which time he began having prostate-related problems.

On July 15, 2012, Chong tweeted that the hemp oil treatment he had been using to cure his cancer was effective and that he is "99% cancer free". However, on June 16, 2015, Chong stated that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer and was "using cannabis like crazy" in order to endure the treatment.

In 2019, Chong announced that he is "cancer-free". He also opined that stress could have been a cause of his diagnosis