Cheech Marin (Actor)

About his breakup with Tommy Chong: "We ran out of drug jokes, and it wasn't politically correct anymore. I didn't want to play those chords--it was boring. I wanted to get the characters involved in dramatic situations. Tommy was real resistent." --Cheech Marin in Entertainment Weekly. February 4, 1994.

An avid art collector, Marin actively works to build his collection of Chicano art, reportedly the largest owned by a private citizen.

Comparing his 10-year process escaping his stoner persona to surfing: "Sometimes, no waves, man. So you pretend the little ripple is a wave, and you ride that. But if you're not in the water, you're not gonna be there when the big wave comes." --From New York Post, August 15, 1996.

His first memories of Cheech and Chong in L.A.: "We stayed with Tommy's wife, and we'd come in at four in the morning and crash on the couch. A couple of hours later, Tommy's daughter, Rae (Dawn Chong) would turn on the TV, full blast, next to my head. Rae would look at me like, 'Don't you dare say anything!'" --From Movieline, July 1996.

Marin volunteers time to such organizations as El Rescate and the Inner City Arts Council.

Marin won the 1992 "Celebrity Jeopardy!" championship on the popular syndicated gameshow.