How did a carpet-laying job at a nightclub turn into one of the most successful comedy
duos of all time? Keep watching to learn the humble beginnings of Cheech and Chong.
Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong met in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the late 1960s,
at a nightclub owned by Chong's family. Chong's brother, Stan, had been operating the club as a
topless bar while Tommy had been in the U.S. for a few years working as a Motown musician.
Near the end of that stint touring the U.S.,
Chong happened upon a new path. He told Cannabis Culture,
"One night in Chicago when we weren't playing a gig, I wandered into an
improvisational comedy club called Second City and the experience changed my life."
Chong knew he wanted to get into comedy, so when he went back to Canada,
he set about transforming the club into a comedy venue. Rather than fire the girls working there,
though, he decided to incorporate them into the comedy. He said,
"I didn't have the heart to fire the strippers when I took over, so when I
turned the show into a comedy troupe known as 'City Works,' I put the girls in the skits.
We had the only topless improvisational theater in Canada, and it was a total family affair."
It was in those early days of Chong getting into comedy that Cheech Marin walked into his life.
Chong told Cannabis Culture,
"One day, a Hispanic guy delivering carpets next door came into the club. He was fast and funny,
and tired of laying carpets, so I offered him $5 a week more than he was getting laying rugs.
His name was Cheech Marin, and he was now making $60 a week as a member of City Works."
Marin told his version of that story to Access Hollywood in 2017.
He said when the duo met, they were trying to figure each other out.
"I remember looking at him, saying, 'What are you, a Mongolian biker?'"
Marin added,
"You know, it was, like, weird, because he was half Chinese, half English,
Irish, and Canadian with long hair — hippie — and like in those days he looked at me
and he never seen a Chicano before. He was thinking the same thing."
Marin had experience as a singer, so with Chong's music background,
the duo approached comedy with music in mind. Cheech and Chong honed their comedy
over the next several months. As their act progressed, Chong told Cannabis Culture,
"I could see more and more a future in this kind of stand-up duo performance."
Cheech and Chong emerged around the same time as the anti-Vietnam War,
counter-cultural revolution was ramping up, and the two quickly found an audience.
Their act combined comedy that played off of their ethnic backgrounds as well as heavily leaning into
stoner culture. That mix of material became their calling card and their popularity grew steadily.
By the early 1970s, the duo took their act into the recording studio,
which brought them even more attention with the release of hit comedy albums
like their 1971 self-titled album and their 1972 follow-up effort "Big Bambu."
Not only did their comedy albums sell well, they also received critical acclaim and a Grammy award.
They then parlayed their audio success into what would become a big-screen cult classic
with the release of their film "Up In Smoke" in 1978, which grossed over $100 million.
"We were extremely sophisticated under the guise of being these dummies."
Like most successful duos, Cheech and Chong's relationship
eventually began to fray. Marin wrote in his 2017 memoir "Cheech Is Not My Real Name:
...But Don't Call Me Chong," that at some point, after the pair had churned out several movies,
things took a turn. Marin said that he felt as though Chong was struggling with balancing
his public perception with that of his most popular character, "The Man." Marin wrote,
"He wanted to be recognized for what he perceived his persona to be rather than
for the Man character, but he would only play the Man character, so it was tough on him."
However, Marin did note that any issues the
two had with each other never affected their performances.
Cheech and Chong eventually broke up, though they did reunite in 2008,
after Chong served a stint in prison. According to the Daily Mail,
Chong was arrested for selling bongs online and shipping one over state lines.
Marin said in his 2017 interview with The New York
Post that his relationship with his comedy partner was going well.
According to Ticketmaster, the iconic comedians continue to do occasional live performances.
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