CHEECH MARIN (Officer Salino) is an actor, director, writer, musician, art collector and humanitarian. He is best known as one half of the hilariously irreverent, satirical, counter-culture, no-holds-barred comedy duo of Cheech & Chong.
He is currently working on an addition to the Cheech & Chong film franchise, with the script being penned by both Marin and his partner Tommy Chong. The previous feature in the franchise was released more than 20 years ago (Cheech and Chong’s The Corsican Brothers). Their films remain top video rentals to this day.
Marin recently wrapped production on Underclassman. Last year he teamed up once again with director Robert Rodriguez on two successful feature films — Spy Kids 3-D and Once Upon A Time in Mexico. Other notable film credits include Tin Cup, Paulie, The Great White Hype, Picking up the Pieces and Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, From Dusk Till Dawn and Desperado.
For the last few years he co-starred with Don Johnson in the CBS one-hour drama “Nash Bridges,” now in syndication. He recently returned to CBS in a recurring role on “Judging Amy.”
With his entry into the “kid’s set,” Marin’s smallest fans know him because of his work in children’s music and animation including the voice of Banzai, one of the hyenas in The Lion King, as well as the streetwise Chihuahua in Oliver and Company. Marin’s voice was heard as Lencho the Flea on the CBS show, “Santo Bugito” and will lend his voice, alongside Placido Domingo, to the first Hispanic themed and produced animated film “Sian Ka’an.” He also recorded two highly successful bilingual children’s albums “My Name is Cheech, The School Bus Driver” and “My Name is Cheech, The School Bus Driver Coast to Coast.” Currently, Marin’s vision of Chicano art and expression are being brought to life in a blockbuster museum exhibit duo collectively entitled “Chicano.” Marin’s own personal Chicano art collection, one of the largest in the world, forms the core “Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge.”
Marin was born in South Central Los Angeles and raised in Granada Hills, a suburb of the San Fernando Valley. After attending Cal State Northridge to study English, he left eight credits short of a degree to “pursue pottery and avoid the draft.”
Moving to Vancouver, British Columbia as a political refugee, Marin soon met Tommy Chong, who owned a topless club. He worked there for nine months combining music and improvisational comedy. Eventually, Cheech and Chong teamed up and moved back to Los Angeles. They performed their standup/ music act at clubs all over L.A. until they were discovered at The Troubadour by music industry magnate Lou Adler.
Cheech and Chong were a critically acclaimed duo for 15 years, but have worked separately for the past 10 years. They teamed together for eight feature films. The first, Up in Smoke, was the highest grossing comedy of 1978, topping $100 million at the box office. It was followed by Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie, Cheech and Chong’s Nice Dreams, Things Are Tough All Over, Cheech and Chong: Still Smokin’ and Cheech and Chong’s The Corsican Brothers. They also made guest appearances in Yellowbeard and Martin Scorsese’s After Hours. After splitting with Chong, Marin wrote, directed and starred in Universal’s hit comedy, Born in East L.A. Other film credits include The Cisco Kid, Rude Awakening, Fatal Beauty and Shrimp on the Barbie.
When he is not working, Marin devotes a great deal of time to such organizations as El Rescate and the Inner City Arts Council, and was the recipient of the 2000 Creative Achievement Award from the Imagen Foundation and the 1999 Council of La Raza/Kraft Foods ALMA Community Service Award for his work on behalf of the Latino community.
Marin and his wife, a painter, and their three children divide their time between homes in Los Angeles and Park City, Utah.
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