Richard "Cheech" Marin and Thomas Chong were one of the most popular and successful comedy teams of the 1970s. In much the same way W. C. Fields had made alcohol the focus of his comedy act, Cheech and Chong championed and made fun of the drug culture of the 1970s. They were undeniably counterculture heroes and their comedy defined an era.

The two first met in the late 1960s. Chong had been working as a guitarist in a rock band when he formed a comedy troupe named "City Works". Cheech joined the troupe and when "City Works" broke up, Cheech and Chong continued to work together as a musical comedy act. The popularity of their spaced out comedy eventually overshadowed the music. Producer Lou Alder saw them one evening after having produced Carole King's million selling 1970 LP "Tapestry" and signed the duo to Ode Records.

Cheech and Chong released their self-titled debut album in 1971. It was a tremendous success, as was their follow-up LP "Big Bambu" (packaged with a gigantic rolling paper for a marijuana joint). Their third LP, "Los Cochinos', won the duo a grammy as well as giving them their first novelty hit "Basketball Jones" (featuring ex-Beatle George Harrison on Lead Guitar). They had many other novelty hits over the years such as "Earache My Eye", "Black Lassie", "Framed" and "Bloat On". They made a leap into feature films in 1978 with the film "Up In Smoke".

Cheech and Chong continued to work together on films and albums throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. They released their final LP, "Get Out Of My Room" (featuring the hit "Born In East L. A.") in 1985. They made their final film appearance together in the Martin Scorcese film "After Hours" in 1985. In 1986, Cheech and Chong went their separate ways. Cheech made his solo film debut with "Born In East L. A. ", which hit the theaters in late 1986. Cheech has ventured out beyond drug humour and carved out a notable film career for himself over the years. He was also Don Johnson's sidekick on the CBS-TV cop show "Nash Bridges" for a number of years starting in 1996. Chong goes on comedy club tours and appears in a stand-up comedy act with his wife, Shelby. Chong still embraces drug humour and has made only one film on his own ("Far Out Man" in 1990).

The two were briefly reunited around 1997 when Chong made a guest appearance with Cheech on the "Nash Bridges" TV show. In the year 2000, they reunited again once more for the animated show "South Park" on Comedy Central.  In the year 2002, Rhino Records released a new compilation CD titled "Where There's Smoke, There's Cheech and Chong". Now, in the year 2008, Cheech and Chong have reunited for their first comedy tour together since the 1980s. Some 35-plus years after they released their first album, Cheech and Chong are still making newer and younger generations of fans laugh until it hurts!  

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