Cheech Marin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cheech Marin |
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![]() Cheech Marin at WonderCon in 2022
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Birth name | Richard Anthony Marin |
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
July 13, 1946
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 |
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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.
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:
- Tito the Chihuahua in Oliver & Company (1988)
- Banzai the hyena in The Lion King (1994)
- Ramone in the Cars movies (2006, 2011, 2017)
- Manuel in Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008)
- A Corrections Officer in Coco (2017)
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 | 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
In Spanish: Cheech Marin para niños