Cheech Marin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cheech Marin
Marin in 2025
Birth name	Richard Anthony Marin
Born	(1946-07-13) July 13, 1946 (age 79) 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 an American comedian and actor. He is famous for being part of the comedy group Cheech & Chong in the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong. He also played Insp. Joe Dominguez, Don Johnson's partner, on the TV show Nash Bridges.

Cheech Marin has lent his voice to characters in many Disney films. These include Oliver & Company, The Lion King, The Lion King 1½, the Cars movies, Coco, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Marin is known for his characters often speaking with strong Chicano accents.

Early Life and Beginnings

Marin was born on July 13, 1946, in South Los Angeles, California. His parents, Elsa and Oscar Marin, were Mexican. His father was a police officer and a veteran of World War II. Marin was born with a cleft lip, which was fixed with surgery. He identifies as Chicano and sometimes uses Spanish in his movies.

Marin's nickname "Cheech" comes from "chicharrón". This is a fried pork rind, a popular snack in Latin American cuisine. His uncle gave him the nickname when he was a baby.

Marin went to Trinity Street Elementary School in South Central. In 1955, his family moved to Granada Hills, California. He then attended St. John Baptist de la Salle Catholic School and Bishop Alemany High School. As a teenager, he enjoyed folk music events. He later studied at California State University, Northridge. After college, Marin moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He later met his comedy partner, Tommy Chong, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Comedy and Film Career

The Cheech & Chong Duo

Marin became very successful as part of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. They released many popular comedy albums and starred in feature films in the 1970s and 1980s. Tommy Chong directed four of their films. Both Marin and Chong wrote and starred in all seven movies together.

Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, 1979

Solo Acting and Voice Work

After Cheech & Chong stopped working together in 1985, Marin began acting on his own. He starred in films like Born in East L.A., which he also directed. Other notable films include The Shrimp on the Barbie, Tin Cup, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. He also had a small role in Ghostbusters II. In 2004, he played Officer Salino in Christmas with the Kranks. He appeared as an auto mechanic in Race to Witch Mountain in 2009. In 2017, he voiced a Corrections Officer in the Pixar film Coco.

Marin also worked a lot in television. He voiced Buck, the Bundys' dog, in Married... with Children. He co-starred in The Golden Palace (1992–1993). Later, he joined Don Johnson in the police show Nash Bridges (1996–2001). They played police-detective partners in San Francisco. A movie based on this series was made in 2021. He often plays supporting roles and does voice overs for animated movies. He also starred in the CBS sitcom Rob with Rob Schneider.

Marin often works with director Robert Rodriguez. He has been in seven of Rodriguez's films. These include the last two Mexico movies, the Spy Kids movies, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Machete. He has voiced characters in several Disney animated films. These include Tito the Chihuahua in Oliver & Company (1988). He was Banzai the hyena in The Lion King (1994). He voiced Ramone in Cars (2006) and its sequels Cars 2 (2011) and Cars 3 (2017). He also voiced Manuel in Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008). Marin played Pancho in The Cisco Kid (1994). He also voiced Banzai again in the video game Kingdom Hearts II.

Cheech appeared in several episodes of AMC's Lodge 49. He played El Confidente, a member of Lodge 55 in Mexico.

Children's Music and Books

Marin has released two popular children's music albums. They are 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 July 2007, he released the book Cheech the School Bus Driver. Marin wrote the book, and Orlando L. Ramirez illustrated it.

In 2005, Marin voiced a character in the animated children's series Dora the Explorer. He was the Puerto Rican folk hero Juan Bobo in the episode "A Crown for King Juan el Bobo".

Other Television Appearances

In late 2006, Marin was on Simon Cowell's Celebrity Duets. He sang with famous musicians like Peter Frampton and Randy Travis. He was the fourth person to be eliminated from the show.

Marin had a recurring role in the TV series Lost. He played David Reyes, who was Hurley's father. He was a co-host for WWE Raw on March 1, 2010, with Tommy Chong.

In 2009, he appeared in the Hallmark Channel movie Expecting a Miracle. On March 18, 2010, Marin won against journalist Anderson Cooper and actress Aisha Tyler on Celebrity Jeopardy!'s Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational. He had also won the first Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament in 1992. In January 2012, he was a contestant on the Food Network reality series Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off.

The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art

Marin is a big collector of Chicano art. He started his collection in the 1980s. He believes it is important to use his fame to highlight this art style. He felt it was not getting enough attention.

Marin worked with the city of Riverside, California, and the Riverside Art Museum. Together, they created The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture & Industry. It opened on June 18, 2022, in Riverside. Marin is donating his collection of over 700 pieces of Chicano art to the center. This is the largest collection of such art in the world. The center will be a place to show and study Chicano art. It is expected to attract visitors from all over the world.

Honors and Awards

• On June 20, 2025, the L.A. City Council announced June 20 as Cheech Marin Day.

Other Interests

Marin enjoys golfing. He started to like the sport after starring in the golf movie Tin Cup. He also practices horse archery on his land. In 2019, he played Chef Louis in The Little Mermaid: An Immersive Live-to-Film Concert Experience at the Hollywood Bowl.

Personal Life

Marin married Darlene Morley in 1975. They had one child and later divorced in 1984. Marin then married artist Patti Heid in 1986. They had two children and later divorced. On August 8, 2009, Marin married Natasha Rubin, a Russian pianist.

Marin lives in Malibu, California. He is a fan of the Los Angeles Rams (NFL football team) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (Major League Baseball team).

Filmography

Film

Television

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 attractions

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

Discography

• 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)
• Let's Make a New ... Deal (1980)
• Get Out Of My Room (1985)
• My Name Is Cheech the School Bus Driver (Released October 27, 1992)
• Follow the Leader (1998)

See also

In Spanish: Cheech Marin para niños