Review: A CONVERSATION WITH CHEECH MARIN Reveals His Amazing Life from Pot to Pottery via the Streets of South Central

No doubt those of us who survived protesting the Vietnam War in the mid-60s will remember CHEECH AND CHONG, the comedy duo featuring two very different L.A. street kids who bucked the rules and openly smoked and promoted the use of marijuana at a time when doing so guaranteed a stint in jail. As one member of that comedy duo, Cheech Marin came of age at an interesting time in America, starting out as a South Central L.A. street kid raised on 36th and San Pedro in the heart of the most violent area of our city, a place where by age 7 he had seen two homicides on his front lawn. But he was smart and destined to get off the mean streets and make a name for himself.

After graduating from CSUN, Cheech Marin became a self-made counterculture legend with his other half, Tommy Chong, including making eight feature films together. It's a time he documents in his new memoir entitled "Cheech Is Not My Real Name... But Don't Call Me Chong." In it, Cheech delves into how he dodged the draft, formed one of the most successful comedy duos of all time, became the face of the recreational drug movement with the film "Up in Smoke," forged a successful solo career with roles in film and television including "The Lion King," "Jane the Virgin," "Tin Cup," "Nash Bridges" and "Lost," and has become the owner of the most renowned collection of Chicano art in the world.

In addition, in 2005, Cheech directed the Broadway production of Latinologues, a collection of comedic and poignant monologues revealing the Latino experience in America, and is the author of many children's books, written to share with his own kids at bedtime.

On March 30, I attended an intimate evening at The Broad Stage's Edye Theater (co-presented by DIESEL, A Bookstore) during which Cheech shared anecdotes from his new memoir with Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, where she covers art, architecture, design and music for the Culture High & Low blog. Prior to this, she served as staff reporter at TIME magazine, as well as an independent journalist. After their discussion, Cheech answered a few questions about his life from the audience and signed copies of his book.

Cheech seemed very relaxed and at ease from the moment he took the stage, referring to the space as reminding him of many small bars in which the comedy duo appeared before making it big. Just imagine what it must have been like at a rundown South Central bar where the comedy duo performed improv 4 hours a night, 6 days a week, with the threat of violence always nipping at their heels. "The only thing missing is the alcohol," he quipped, setting off much applause and laughter from the audience gathered at the tables closest to the stage.

John Evans, owner of DIESEL, A Bookstore, located at 225 26th Street, Santa Monica 90402, said, "We are always looking for ways to expand our ability for the public to interact with authors, and to bring them and their ideas and thoughts to a larger community." Certainly, this was the case for me as I learned so much more about Cheech Marin outside of his life as a counter-culture icon. His stories were interesting and informative, especially since I also grew up in Los Angeles and attended CSUN, so many of the events he discussed were ones I also attended. And like me, Cheech cares about our city and always seeks to represent it with love in his work, which led to his decision to start collecting Chicano street art here, recognizing its value long before anyone else.

During the evening, Cheech made fun of his life, calling his journey "from pot to pottery," an artistic endeavor that allows him to "feel centered" as he works with and creates artistic pieces with clay. It's a shame none of his pieces were on display during the evening as I would have loved to have experienced them close up, as is also true about his collection of Chicano art.

During his description of moving to Calgary for his pottery work, a city he said reminded him of Bakersfield but with snow and colder than a deep freeze, it was easy to imagine how this streetwise kid lived such a rustic life without any conveniences other than electricity (imagine having to use an outhouse with bears waiting all around in the dark forest and constantly having to stoke a pot-bellied stove for heat) in order to focus on "the purity of pottery" so important to his soul, even with only 7 other people in the vicinity.

Each of his tales added to the aura of brilliance that surrounds Cheech Marin, and I hope you get to be part of his next intimate appearance onstage or experience the finest private collection of Chicano art, much of it at the core of his traveling exhibition Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, which broke attendance records during its groundbreaking 15-city tour during 2001-2007 to major art museums across the United States. He states, "Chicano art is American art. My goal is to bring the term 'Chicano' to the forefront of the art world."

There are two more scheduled performances of An Evening with Cheech Marin on April 19 at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills and on April 20 at the Rose in Pasadena. Tickets can be ordered by calling 866-448-7849 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Limited VIP tickets include a signed copy of his new memoir "Cheech Is Not My Real Name... But Don't Call Me Chong."

On Sunday, April 23 from 2:30-3:10pm, catch Cheech during his free author talk followed by a book signing on the Main Stage (Signing Area B) at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the USC campus. Please note no other memorabilia will be signed at this event. More information at www.latimes.com/festivalofbooks

Follow Cheech Marin on Facebook, Twitter or online at http://cheechmarin.com/

Photo credit: Allen Amato

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