Tommy Chong

Early Years

Tommy Chong was born to Scots-Irish mother Lorna Jean Gilchrist and Stanley Chong, an immigrant from China (see Scottish Canadians; Irish Canadians; Chinese Canadians). The family moved to a neighbourhood near Calgary when Tommy Chong was young. The racism he witnessed and experienced while growing up had a noticeable influence on his career.

In 1956 Chong formed his blues band The Shades, a name inspired by the racial mix of the group. The Shades played in Edmonton and Calgary before departing to Vancouver, and separated without making a record, but some of its members would reunite as Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers in the 1960s. The band recorded two albums and the song "Does Your Mamma Know About Me", co-written by Chong, reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Collaboration with Cheech Marin

Tommy Chong returned to Canada and worked in his brother’s club where, inspired by the standup acts he saw, he began writing comedic skits and eventually performed himself with an improv troupe. Richard “Cheech” Marin joined the group, beginning a professional relationship that would lead to 9 comedy albums, 8 movies (some directed by Chong) and many live standup performances.

Cheech and Chong’s first movie, Up In Smoke (1978), follows the pair while they chase down some marijuana in a van they are unaware is made of it. On the way they satirize police and the government, which was also a common theme in their act. This early “stoner” film led to more in the same style and was hugely popular despite not being taken seriously by critics. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong dissolved their partnership in 1985 and embarked upon solo careers.

Criminal Charges

In 2003 Tommy Chong was charged with conspiring to transport drug paraphernalia across state lines (he co-owned “Chong Glass,” an online water-pipe retailer), and he spent 9 months in federal prison. In 2006 The I Chong: Meditations from the Joint, his account of the experience, was published and Josh Gilbert released his award-winning documentary about it, a/k/a Tommy Chong.

The incarceration had interrupted Chong's ongoing role as hippie Leo on That 70’s Show, but he returned to the TV series and to standup. He reunited with Cheech Marin for Cheech and Chong’s Animated Movie in 2012 and the duo created a new standup act that includes Chong’s wife Shelby.

Honours

Cheech and Chong won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording in 1973 for the album Los Cochinos. Tommy Chong was inducted into the Canadian Alternative Hall of Fame in 2005.