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Cheech Marin
Cheech Marin by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Cheech Marin at WonderCon in 2022
Birth name Richard Anthony Marin
Born (1946-07-13) July 13, 1946 (age 78)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Medium Film, stand-up, television
Alma mater California State University, Northridge (AB)
Years active 1971–present
Genres Character comedy, musical comedy, political satire, sketch comedy
Subject(s) Latin American culture, everyday life
Spouse
Darlene Morley
(m. 1975; div. 1984)
Patti Heid
(m. 1986; div. 2009)
Natasha Rubin
(m. 2009)
Children 3
Occupation
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • musician
  • activist

Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is a famous American comedian and actor. He is well-known for being part of the comedy team Cheech & Chong in the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong. He also played Inspector Joe Dominguez on the TV show Nash Bridges.

Cheech Marin has lent his voice to many characters in Disney movies. These include Oliver & Company, The Lion King, the Cars movies, Coco, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. He is known for his characters often speaking with strong Chicano accents.

Who is Cheech Marin?

Cheech Marin is an actor, comedian, and musician. He is also a big supporter of Chicano art. He has collected many pieces of art over the years.

Early Life and His Nickname

Richard Anthony Marin was born on July 13, 1946, in South Los Angeles, California. His parents, Elsa and Oscar Marin, were Mexican Americans. His father was a police officer. When Cheech was born, he had a cleft lip, which was fixed with surgery.

Cheech identifies as Chicano, which means he is of Mexican American heritage. He uses some Spanish in his movies. His nickname "Cheech" comes from the Spanish word "chicharron". This is a popular snack made from fried pork rind. His uncle gave him the nickname when he was a baby.

In 1955, his family moved to Granada Hills, California. He went to Catholic school and then Bishop Alemany High School. As a teenager, he enjoyed going to folk music events. He later studied at California State University, Northridge. After college, he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. There, he met Tommy Chong, who would become his comedy partner.

Comedy and Acting Career

Cheech Marin has had a long and successful career in comedy, movies, and television.

Cheech & Chong: A Comedy Duo

Cheech Marin became very famous as half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. They made many popular comedy albums and movies in the 1970s and 1980s. Tommy Chong directed four of their movies. They both wrote and starred in all seven films together.

CheechChong1979
Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong in 1979

Movies and TV Shows

After Cheech & Chong stopped working together in 1985, Cheech Marin started acting on his own. He starred in movies like Born in East L.A., which he also directed. Other films include Tin Cup and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. He also had a small role in Ghostbusters II.

On television, he was a main actor in the police show Nash Bridges. He played Inspector Joe Dominguez alongside Don Johnson. He has also appeared in shows like Judging Amy and Rob.

Voice Acting in Animated Films

Cheech Marin is well-known for his voice work in animated movies. He has voiced characters in several Disney films:

He also voiced characters in the animated series Dora the Explorer. He played King Juan el Bobo in one episode.

Music for Kids

Cheech Marin has released two popular children's music albums. They are called 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 in two languages. In 2007, he also released a book called Cheech the School Bus Driver.

Cheech Marin's Art Collection

Cheech Marin loves collecting Chicano art. He started his collection in the 1980s. He believes it's important to show this art to more people. He wants to highlight this art style, which he feels is not always given enough attention.

He worked with the city of Riverside, California, and the Riverside Art Museum. Together, they opened The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture & Industry on June 18, 2022. Cheech Marin is donating his collection of over 700 pieces of Chicano art to the center. This is the largest collection of its kind in the world. The center will be a place to study and display Chicano art.

Other Fun Facts

Cheech Marin enjoys playing golf. He also practices horse archery on his own land. In 2019, he performed as Chef Louis in a live concert of The Little Mermaid at the Hollywood Bowl.

He is a fan of the Los Angeles Rams (NFL) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) sports teams.

Filmography

Movies

Year Title Role Notes
1978 Up in Smoke Pedro de Pacas
1980 Cheech and Chong's Next Movie Cheech/Dwayne "Red" Mendoza
1981 Nice Dreams Cheech
1982 Things Are Tough All Over Cheech/Mr.Slyman/Narrator
1983 Still Smokin' Cheech
Yellowbeard El Segundo
1984 Cannonball Run II Tire Store Employee
Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers Corsican Brother
1985 Get Out of My Room Cheech/Ian Rotten
After Hours Neil
1986 Charlie Barnett's Terms of Enrollment Elvis Friend & Fan
Echo Park Sid
1987 Born in East L.A. Rudy Robles Also director and writer
Fatal Beauty Bartender
1988 Mickey's 60th Birthday Disney Janitor
Oliver & Company Tito the Chihuahua (voice)
1989 Ghostbusters II Dock Supervisor
Rude Awakening Jesus Monteya
Troop Beverly Hills Himself
1990 Far Out Man Cheech
The Shrimp on the Barbie Carlos Munoz
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme Carnival Barker
1992 Ferngully: The Last Rainforest Stump (voice)
1994 Charlie's Ghost Story Coronado
The Magic of the Golden Bear: Goldy III Master Borgia
A Million to Juan Shell Shock
The Lion King Banzai (voice)
1995 Desperado Short Bartender
1996 From Dusk till Dawn Border Guard/Chet Pussy/Carlos
The Great White Hype Julio Escobar
Tin Cup Romeo Posar
1998 Paulie Ignacio
1999 The Nuttiest Nutcracker Mac (voice) Direct-to-video
2000 See You in My Dreams Estaban
Luminarias Jesus
Picking Up the Pieces Mayor Machado
2001 Spy Kids Felix Gumm The Fake Uncle
2002 Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams Cameo
Pinocchio The Fox (voice)
2003 Masked and Anonymous Prospero
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over Felix Gumm The Fake Uncle Cameo
Once Upon a Time in Mexico Belini
Good Boy! The Henchmen (voice)
2004 The Lion King 1½ Banzai (voice) Direct-to-video
Christmas with the Kranks Officer Salino
2005 Sian Ka'an Unknown role (voice)
Fall Down a School Erick Matthew, 202, 26, 57, 211 Bus Motorists (voices)
Underclassman Captain Victor Delgado
2006 Cars Ramone (voice)
Mater and the Ghostlight Ramone (voice) Short film
2007 The Union: The Business Behind Getting High Himself
Grindhouse Padre Benicio Del Toro
2008 Beverly Hills Chihuahua Manuel (voice)
2009 Race to Witch Mountain Eddie Cortez The Auto Mechanic
2010 The Perfect Game Padre Esteban
Tales from Earthsea Hare (voice) US version only
Machete Padre Benicio Del Toro
2011 Cars 2 Ramone (voice)
Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil Mad Hog (voice)
2012 El Santos vs. La Tetona Mendoza Narrator, El Charro (voices) (Spanish-language Mexican animated film)
Tad, The Lost Explorer Freddy (voice) US English dub
2013 Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie Cheech/Pedro de Pacas (voice)
2014 The Book of Life Pancho Rodriguez (voice)
2016 El Americano: The Movie Martin (voice)
Dark Harvest Ricardo
2017 Cars 3 Ramone (voice)
Coco Corrections Officer (voice)
2019 The Cheech: An American Icon's Crusade for the Chicano Art Movement Himself A documentary about Marin's work for Chicano art.
2020 The War with Grandpa Danny
2022 Angry Neighbors Hector Voice only
Shotgun Wedding Robert
2023 Champions Julio
The Long Game Pollo
2025 Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip Gil Garcia Post-production

Television Shows

Year Title Role Notes
1987 The Tracey Ullman Show Azai 1 episode
1990 Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme Carnival Barker
1991 Great Performances El Cosmico 1 episode
1991–94 Married... with Children Buck's Voice 3 episodes
1992 Ring of the Musketeers [de] Burt Aramis
1992–93 The Golden Palace Chuy Castillos 24 episodes
1993 Tales from the Crypt Dr. Beneloy Episode: "Half-Way Horrible"
1994 The Cisco Kid Pancho
Dream On Waiter 1 episode
Sesame Street Genie Episode 3259
1995 Santo Bugito Lencho the Flea Unknown episodes
The Courtyard Angel Steiner
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child Alberto (voice) Episode: "Hansel and Gretel"
1996 Latino Laugh Festival Host
1996–98 Tracey Takes On... Carlos 2 episodes
1996–2001 Nash Bridges Inspector Joe Dominguez Main cast; 120 episodes
2000 Funny Flubs & Screw-Ups V Host
The 26th Annual People's Choice Awards Host
Resurrection Blvd. Hector Archuletta
South Park Carlos Ramirez (voice) Episode: "Cherokee Hair Tampons"
2003 The Ortegas Henny Ortega Unaired TV series
Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales Himself
George Lopez Lalo Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Honey"
2004–05 Judging Amy Ignacio Messina 20 episodes
2005 Dora the Explorer King Juan el Bobo (voice) Episode: "A Crown for King Juan el Bobo"
2007 Storm Hawks Cyclonian Pilot
2007–09 Lost David Reyes 3 episodes
2008 Mind of Mencia Gay man's father
2008 Grey's Anatomy Otis Episode: "Where the Wild Things Are"
2009 MADtv Himself
2009 Outnumbered Television film
2009 Expecting a Miracle Father Arturo Television film
2010 WWE Raw Himself (Guest Host)
2011 Off the Map Papa
The Simpsons Himself (voice) Episode: "A Midsummer's Nice Dream"
Lopez Tonight Himself
2012 American Dad! Horatio (voice) Episode: "Stanny Tendergrass"
Psych Deacon Jones
Rob Fernando
Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off Himself (celebrity contestant)
2014 Anger Management Hector
2015 Jane the Virgin Edward
2017 Disjointed Cheech Episode: "The Worst"
2017–20 Elena of Avalor Quita Moz (voice)
2018 Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy Condor De Bogota
2018–19 Lodge 49 El Confidente
2020 Broke Don Dominguez Episode: "The Test"
2021 Maya and the Three Hura / Can / Teca (voice) 5 episodes
Bubble Guppies Fogzilla (Voice) Episode: "Fogzilla!"
Nash Bridges Joe Dominguez Television film
2022 Home Economics Roberto Episodes: "Round-Trip Ticket SAN-OAK, $234", "Wedding Bouquet, $125"
Cars on the Road Ramone (voice) Episode: "Dino Park"
2023 Lopez vs Lopez Carlos Recurring Cast
The Legend of Vox Machina Trinket (voice) Episode: "The Fey Realm"
The Muppets Mayhem Himself Episode: "Track 4: The Times They Are A-Changing"
2024 Primos Pop Ramirez (voice) Recurring role
TBA The Eric Andre Show Himself (guest) Upcoming episode

Video Games

  • Animated Storybook: The Lion King (1994) - Banzai (voice)
  • Blazing Dragons (1996) - Sir George / Guido the Pizza Chef / Loudmouth Guard
  • Kingdom Hearts II (2006) - Banzai (voice)
  • Cars (2006) - Ramone
  • Cars Mater-National Championship (2007) - Ramone
  • Cars Race-O-Rama (2009) - Ramone
  • Cars 2 (2011) - Ramone
  • Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure (2012) - Ramone
  • Disney Infinity (2013) - Ramone
  • Cars: Fast as Lightning (2014) - Ramone
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2024) - Cheech

Theme Park Rides

  • It's Tough to Be a Bug! (1998) - Chilic
  • Radiator Springs Racers (2012) - Ramone

Music Albums

  • Cheech and Chong (1971)
  • Big Bambu (1972)
  • Los Cochinos (1973), won Best Comedy Recording at the 16th Annual Grammy Awards
  • Cheech & Chong's Wedding Album (1974)
  • Sleeping Beauty (1976)
  • Up in Smoke (1978)
  • Get Out Of My Room (1985)
  • My Name Is Cheech the School Bus Driver (Released October 27, 1992)
  • Follow the Leader (1998) (He sings on a hidden track)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Cheech Marin para niños

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