22 Facts About Cheech Marin

Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin was born on July 13,1946 and is an American comedian, actor, musician, and activist.

Marin's trademark is his characters' strong Chicano accents, although Marin himself is not fluent in Spanish.

Cheech Marin was born on July 13,1946 in South Los Angeles, California, to Mexican-American parents Elsa, a secretary, and Oscar Cheech Marin, a police officer for the LAPD.

Cheech Marin was born with a cleft lip, which was surgically repaired.

Cheech Marin then went to high school at Bishop Alemany High School, during which he started to attend folk music events at the Ash Grove on Melrose Avenue as a teenager.

Not being offered the gig during his audition, a day later Cheech Marin moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in order to evade the draft during the Vietnam War.

Cheech Marin met his future comedic partner, Tommy Chong, in Calgary, Alberta.

Cheech Marin made a cameo appearance as a dockworker in Ghostbusters II.

Cheech Marin is a frequent collaborator of the director Robert Rodriguez, who has worked with Cheech Marin seven times; the last two installments of the Mexico trilogy, the Spy Kids trilogy, From Dusk Till Dawn and Machete.

Cheech Marin played Pancho in The Cisco Kid, and reprised the Banzai role in the video game Kingdom Hearts II.

In 2005, Cheech Marin lent his voice to the animated children's series Dora the Explorer.

Cheech Marin appeared in the episode "A Crown for King Juan el Bobo", as the Puerto Rican folk hero Juan Bobo.

In late 2006, Cheech Marin participated in Simon Cowell's Celebrity Duets, having sung with Peter Frampton, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Aaron Neville, and Al Jarreau.

Cheech Marin had a recurring role in the hit television series Lost, playing David Reyes, Hurley's father.

Cheech Marin was a co-host for WWE Raw on March 1,2010, with his comedy partner Tommy Chong, in Oklahoma City.

Cheech Marin was eliminated in the third week of the competition.

Cheech Marin is an avid collector of Chicano art and started his collection in the 1980s.

Cheech Marin feels that it's important to "use his celebrity status to call attention to what he saw as an under-appreciated and under-represented style of art".

Cheech Marin will be donating his collection of over 700 pieces of Chicano art, the largest collection of such art in the world.

Cheech Marin is an avid golfer, although he initially disliked the sport until he co-starred in the golf-themed comedy Tin Cup.

Cheech Marin married artist Patti Heid in 1986; they had two children and have since divorced.

Cheech Marin married his longtime girlfriend, Russian pianist Natasha Cheech Marin, on August 8,2009, in a sunset ceremony at their home.