Richard Anthony "Cheech"
Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American
comedian and actor who gained
recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and
early 1980s, and as Don Johnson's
quick-and-scheme partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez on
Nash Bridges. He has also
voiced characters in several Disney movies, including
Oliver and Company,
The Lion King, and
Cars.
Biography
Early life
Marin, a
Mexican American, was born in
Pacoima,
California
, the son of Elsa (née Meza), a secretary, and Oscar
Marin, a policeman in the LAPD. He is
Roman Catholic.
Marin is a graduate of
California State University
Northridge
where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa. Fleeing from the
U.S.
draft during
the height of the
Vietnam War in
September of 1967, Marin settled in
Vancouver, British Columbia,
where he met his future comedic partner
Tommy Chong.
Career
As a part of the duo
Cheech and
Chong he participated in a number of comedy albums and feature
film comedies. After he and Tommy went their separate ways, he
starred in a number of films as a solo actor, most notably
Born in East L.A.,
Tin Cup and
Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
His nickname "Cheech" is short for "
Chicharron", a fried pork skin which is a popular
snack in Mexican cuisine and the alliteration with Chong's name
made for a great name together. The name of this character gave
rise to the popular term 'cheeched' which means "under the
influence of marijuana, usually at a relatively high dose".
Marin made the transition to full-time television work when he
co-starred on the short-lived
The
Golden Girls spinoff
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. His last television
work included a supporting role in
Judging Amy, where he played an
independently wealthy
landscape
designer. He is a favorite of 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 the
"Machete" trailer for
Grindhouse. He provided his voice for
several
Disney animated films,
most notably Tito in
Oliver
& Company (1988),
Banzai in
The Lion King (1994) and Ramone in
Cars (2006). He also reprised
the Banzai role in
Kingdom Hearts
II. He made a small appearance as a dockworker in the movie
Ghostbusters 2. 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, Cheech Marin added children's
book author to his list of accomplishments with the release of
Cheech the School Bus Driver, illustrated by Orlando L. Ramirez
(Published by HarperCollins).
Marin is
one of the foremost collectors of Chicano
art in the United
States, and his private collection is claimed to be the
world's largest. Two national touring exhibitions have
featured works from his collection. He is also an avid golfer,
although Marin initially disliked the sport until he co-starred in
Tin Cup. Marin was born with a
cleft lip, which has long since
been repaired. He speaks fluent
Spanish and uses it in some of his movies.
Marin's trademark is his character's Mexican-accented voice.
The actor
took a cue from his Nash Bridges counterpart as he resides in the
San Francisco
Bay Area
year round, as a resident of the city's ritzy
Sea Cliff
neighborhood. While residering in Sea Cliff durning the
years of 2001, and 2002 he was elected the presides position of
Mayor.
Marin was going to do the voice role of Cesar Vialpando from
Grand Theft Auto: San
Andreas but it went to
Clifton Collins Jr.. 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. In that same year,
he voiced as Gaspar Gomez in
Scarface: The World is
Yours.
In recent years, Marin has had a recurring role in the hit
television series
Lost,
playing David Reyes,
Hurley's father.
Cheech also sings on the hidden track "
Earache My Eye" on
Korn's
album
Follow the
Leader
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 later divorced in 1984. Marin married
Patti Heid in 1986, they had two children and have since divorced.
Marin announced in a radio interview that he is marrying long-time
girlfriend and Russian pianist Natasha Rubin.The couple were
married on August 8, 2009 in a sunset ceremony at their Malibu
home.
Filmography
References
External links
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