A popular, diminutive and once mustachioed Mexican-American character lead and comic, Cheech Marin gained fame as half of Cheech and Chong, one of the top comedy acts of the 1970s and 80s and still a fondly remembered (by those who can) artifact of pre-politically correct times when marijuana basked in a more benign light. Fleeing from the US draft during the height of the Vietnam War in 1968, the Los Angeles-born Marin settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he met future partner Tommy Chong. The pair co-founded City Works, an improv group that combined comedy and music, at a Vancouver nightclub owned by Chong's brother. Forming 'Cheech and Chong' at the end of the decade, they started out with nightclub appearances in Toronto and Los Angeles, graduated to opening for major rock acts (including the Allman Brothers Band and the Rolling Stones) and eventually recorded a hugely popular series of comedy albums beginning in the early 70s.
While Marin and the half-Chinese, half Scottish-Irish Canadian Chong both exploited and lampooned stereotypes associated with their ethnicity to varying degrees (Cheech more, Chong less), their overriding concern was the acquisition and consumption of superior marijuana. They perfected a vulgar, lowbrow, undeniably funny act that invariably placed the cheery and enthusiastic Cheech, together with the burned-out Chong, in ludicrous situations, often vis-a-vis the police. Their 1972 album "Big Bambu" became the largest-selling comedy recording of all time, retaining that distinction for many years, and they followed that with "Los Cochinos" which won the 1973 Grammy for Best Comedy Recording.
Cheech and Chong made a fluid transition to films with the hit comedy "Up in Smoke" (1978). Budgeted at a modest $2 million, the movie grossed $47.5 million domestically, making it both the highest grossing comedy and the most profitable film released that year, and went on to earn more than $100 million worldwide. The surprising success of this initial venture led to five subsequent "joint" film projects, and though none approached the quality of the first, some did brisk business. Marin and Chong co-wrote each of the films with Chong receiving sole directing credit for several despite Marin's uncredited co-direction.
Marin took his first directorial credit with the comic music video for his own hit single "Born in East L.A." He made his TV directing debut with the cinema-verite styled framing sequence for "Cheech and Chong Get Out of My Room" (Showtime, 1985), a TV special showcasing four comic music videos featuring the team. Following the dissolution of Cheech & Chong in 1985, Marin made his official feature directorial debut with the expanded version of "Born in East L.A." (1987), which he also wrote and in which he starred as a third generation Mexican American who gets caught up in an immigration raid without proper identification. The reviews were lukewarm but business was respectable.
Marin made his TV producing debut as the executive producer (as well as co-writer and star) of a busted sitcom pilot entitled "The Cheech Show" (NBC, 1988) and provided the voice of Buck the Dog on several episodes of Fox's "Married. . . With Children" beginning in 1991 and resuming in the 1993-94 season. He also did his first stint as a sitcom regular, playing the recently divorced Mexican chef Chuy Castillos, on the sitcom spin-off "The Golden Palace" (CBS, 1992-93) before segueing to TV drama as the friend of Don Johnson's detective "Nash Bridges" (CBS, 1996-2001).
Marin's post-Cheech & Chong film career has provided fewer leads in high-profile projects. Both "Rude Awakening" (1989) and the US-New Zealand co-production "The Shrimp on the Barbie" (1990) offered starring roles but lacked box-office impact. The latter--in which he played an American who opens Australia's first Mexican restaurant--has became a cable staple while the former afforded him a variation on his former persona as he played a resurfaced 60s drop-out opposite Eric Roberts. With his winning portrayal of a peppy Chihuahua in Disney's animated "Oliver and Company" (1988), Marin began lending his distinctive vocal talents to cartoon characters, reuniting with Chong in "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" (1992) as the riotous Beetle Boys, then teaming with Whoopi Goldberg and Jim Cummings to play hyenas in the Disney animated blockbuster "The Lion King" (1994). Widely seen in the small but indelible character role as the bartender in Robert Rodriguez's "Desperado" (1995), Marin again collaborated with the hot young Chicano filmmaker to play three roles in the vampire action comedy "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996). That same busy year, he played a sleazy boxing promoter in "The Great White Hype" and provided sturdy support to pro-golfers Kevin Costner and Don Johnson in the sports drama "Tin Cup.” He also appeared in "Paulie: A Parrot's Tale" (1998), starring Gena Rowlands.
In 2002, the cast of "Spy Kids" (2000) were reunited to film "Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams.” Marin returned for an encore performance as Uncle Feliz Gumm in the second sequel, “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” (2003). He worked with director Robert Rodriguez again on “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” (2004), playing a talkative bartender who helps a CIA agent (Johnny Depp) track down El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas). After being one of many celebrities to pass in and out of the messy “Masked & Anonymous” ( 2003), Marin went back to voice work on “Goody Boy!” (2003) and the straight-to-video release, “The Lion King 1 1/2” (2004). He played a dumb beat cop in the miserable “Christmas with the Kranks” (2004), starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. In “The Underclassman” (2005), Marin underplayed his role as a police captain who tries to give a loose cannon cop (Nick Cannon) helpful advice despite routine screw-ups.