Cheech and Chong reunite, taking their act on the road


Growing up in the early 80s, Cheech and Chong were one of those forbidden acts that my parents didn’t want me to know about. But when they were away or in bed, I would sneak to the den and listen to my dad’s Cheech and Chong albums and laugh my middle-school ass off. So when I read that Cheech Marin and Tommy chong were getting back together and touring, naturally I was gleeful.

Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong are seizing the moment.

Thirty years after firing up the stoner comedy genre with their first feature, “Up in Smoke,” the duo are reuniting for their first comedy tour in more than 25 years.

If the B.O. success of the “Harold and Kumar” pics and the anticipation for Judd Apatow’s pot-fueled romp “Pineapple Express” are any indication, pop culture would welcome a fresh dose of Cheech and Chong. And given the strong biz that top comedy tours are harvesting these days, the B.O. potential for such a legendary team is no pipe dream.

Plans for the Live Nation-promoted comedy tour, dubbed “Hey, What’s That Smell?,” will be unveiled Wednesday at a news conference at West Hollywood’s Troubadour, where Cheech and Chong’s druggie buddy act first gained traction in the early 1970s. From 1972-85, the pair released nine comedy albums and eight features, all of which were helmed by Chong.

Since they parted ways in the 1980s, Marin has carved out a niche as a character thesp and become a prominent Latino arts advocate. Chong’s career has been choppier, hitting a low ebb in 2003 when he was arrested and subsequently served a nine-month prison stint after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute drug paraphernalia through his Nice Dreams-branded water-pipe business.

[From Variety]

I always thought that Chong’s bust was a farce. There are head shops all over the country selling bongs – for tobacco use only, wink, wink- but because Chong is such a high profile advocate of marijuana use, he was used to make an example. I am glad the guys are back together because they really are funny – drugs or no drugs. Maybe if the tour goes well, they’ll make another movie!

Cheech Marin is shown on 6/21/08 at the Wall E premiere. Tommy Chong and his wife are shown on 4/7/08 at the Bra Boys premiere. He is also shown alone on 6/28/07. Credit: WENN

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27 Responses to “Cheech and Chong reunite, taking their act on the road”

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  1. xiaoecho says:

    God, Nooooooo

    Havn’t they got brain damage yet from all that dope?

    Funny in the seventies. Not funny now

  2. daisy424 says:

    Msat, I agree, they made me laugh my ass off too. Priceless comedy team. Big part of that era’s culture at least in the US.
    Sargent Stadanko, Dave, Evelyn Woodhead Speed Reading Course, hysterical. Remember the huge rolling paper you got as an extra in their album. Can’t remember which one tho…
    xiaoecho, if Amy lasts another 30 years, would you see her in concert?

  3. Bodhi says:

    I’d TOTALLY pay to see them! I wonder if they’ll come anywhere near me…

  4. Ceenitall says:

    Class…. class …. class SHUT UP!

    I still have the rolling paper in the LP. We used to laugh our asses off to them.

  5. xiaoecho says:

    Daisy…. OK, point taken but I still say you have to be stoned to appreciate them

    p.s. how are you making bold? Please tell me

  6. ri23 says:

    Yay! Love them. And xiaoecho: “you have to be stoned to appreciate them” — you’re right. I give you another round of YAY!!

  7. daisy424 says:

    I guess it is an age thing xiaoecho , don’t know how old you are, but you didn’t have to be stoned to enjoy their comedy. Although it helped. Guess it would be like seeing Pink Floyd straight come to think of it. Wasn’t straight when I saw Led Zeppelin in 1977. God those were the good old days……

    Before the word I want bold I use the less than arrow, which is on my comma key, then lower case b, then the greater than arrow on the period key. Type the word(s) you want bold. When you want to end the bold, use the less than sign again with /in front of the b , then the greater sign.
    Easier to show, hard to explain. My sons showed me how. :mrgreen:
    There will be a test, let’s see how you do.

    Ceenitall:You’re spot on!!I bet you could sell it on eBay!

  8. xiaoecho says:

    thanx Daisy, I’ll give it a try……I think we’re probably around the same age 😉
    .
    .er, think it will take me a couple of goes to get it right as you can see by the bold not ending LOL

  9. daisy424 says:

    xiaoecho 😀 , I laughed out loud when I clicked on this thread again! You got it! Put the slash in front of the b (/b) when ending the bold.

    I’m 49, now show me yours.

  10. xiaoecho says:

    😆 😆 😆 ….now show me yours

  11. daisy424 says:

    Saw that!

  12. xiaoecho says:

    Baby, I’m older than everyone I know 😆
    I just deleted my birthdate above, btw but I see you’re a Taurus

    Seriously, thats what I like about celebitchy – a lot of the regular commenters are more…..er, mature…and so have the life experience to see the big picture and not make snap judgements.
    That, for me is what makes debate on this site a bit more informed and interesting rather than comments being only snide sarcastic little asides as they are on the majority of gossip sites,
    I’m sure that other posters would agree.

  13. xiaoecho says:

    😆 #11

  14. Trashaddict says:

    Check out their old videos on youtube. Wasn’t in any altered state when I saw them and laughed my ass off.
    And yeah, it’s nice to be here with the rest of the over 40 crowd. Personally I think we’ve lived through more interesting times….

  15. These guys are comedian Gurus or icons,,, of their time…. they are original wrote their own stuff and directed most of it…

    We love them!
    they are so cool and hip!
    i grew up to these guys,,, they played a big part in my life,,, and my cousins, they are still funnier than most of this gay stuff or white lies politically correct sit com crud… it is so phony not funny!
    so i would say keep on being cheech and chong,,, cause we love you guys!

  16. Ramirez says:

    cheech seems to have become ‘whitened’ since the last time him and chong grouped up…cheech is all about family now, education and learning english no matter what…talk about a traitor to his chicano roots.

    chong atleast kept it real and hasnt given in fully to white society [he is half chinese].

  17. Keese my cakes says:

    YEAH!!!!!!!!

  18. Ashley says:

    To the “over 40 crowd” of course you’ve lived more interesting times, you’ve lived twice as long as us 20 year olds so you’re bound to have experienced some more interesting things.

  19. cocoloco says:

    Tommy Chong was at SXSW a couple of years ago with the producer of “The People Vs. Tommy Chong” a great documentary about Tommy Chong going to federal prison and yes it was a total set-up. Anyway Tommy talked to the audience for about an hour and a half after the movie and he was THE funniest shit I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to see him perform. Cheech is kind of a sell out and will probably just steal George Lopez jokes.

  20. Zazoo says:

    Hopefully, it won’t be a ‘Greatest HIT’ tour. The material is classic but I would rather see something new. They’re remembered for the ‘Pedro and Mon’ characters but there was a lot more that was funny. Those characters would require some tweaks to not come off as being dated.

    I listened to them cold sober as a pre-teen and thought they were funny as shite.

  21. Jaundice Machine says:

    You know what this means . . . Roadie!!

  22. Jay Leno says:

    “Cheech is kind of a sell out and will probably just steal George Lopez jokes.”

    Oh god I hope not. Just no. GOD NO. George Lopez is total and complete shit!!!

  23. pablito-san says:

    The people who don’t like cheech and chong are probably people who used to like them but now have kids and feel they cant allow themselves to like them OR they are
    onservative republican christians who feel its “bad” and prefer jeff foxworthy. Soooo If you don’t like cheech and chong…..you just might be a redneck 🙂

  24. Joe says:

    In response too the comment at the top of this page . Geewiz , I guess it goes to show that all the pitiful lies spread about marijuana are soo true. NOT ! They are both very sucessful & brains are sharp as a tack. But it does bring up the question, What gov. drugs aka perscriptions your taking that’s killing your braincells. The beautiful green ‘Natural’ god given plant, isn’t near as harmful as the drugs prescribed & sold by the true drug dealers, the pharmecy’s.

  25. Joe says:

    G. Lopez sooo sux. He probbly stole all his material from CH & CH. They’re hasn’t been a latino act to even come close too CH & CH and probbly never will. On that note, the only thing that has ever been funny about J Leno is his chin, definitly not his poor jokes. You people need to liten up and smile & laff more, because lifes way too short to be tight A**es, just ask B. Mac, may he R.I.P.

  26. Smokey says:

    I would pay a lot of money to see them!!!! I hope they come my way!

  27. Derbra says:

    Yes yes yes! great news.