View attachment 2178378
The car that Tommy Chong drives at the beginning of "Up in Smoke" (1978) was actually owned by Jack Nicholson. Producer/director Lou Adler screened the film privately for Nicholson, who had just been in a car accident and had a dislocated shoulder. It proved to be a painful experience for Nicholson, for his shoulder hurt him every time he laughed - which was often.
Cheech & Chong had been a counterculture comedy team for about ten years before they started reworking some of their material for their first film. As this was the comedy team's first film, Paramount wanted the initial screenings to be filled with their most ardent fans. Cheech (Marin) and Chong also came up with the novel (and ultimately successful) idea of advertising the film through comic strips, which they left on bus benches. The film opened first in Texas to huge business, and also later in Canada boosted by strong word of mouth. While negatively received upon its release, "Up in Smoke" is credited with establishing the stoner comedy genre and is now considered a classic.
This film was banned by the South African Publications Control Board as it "might encourage the usage of marijuana by the impressionable youth of South Africa."
The dog that ate the burrito after it was thrown onto the ground was not a trained dog, but a local stray. He simply walked into frame, took the burrito, and walked away. Cheech and Chong ad-libbed around this, and it was left in the movie.
According to Chong and various sources, the duo's followup film, "Cheech and Chong's Next Movie" (1980) made more money on a second-run on double-bill with "The Blues Brothers" (1980) than it did on its first release.
Chong was originally considered for the part of Shenzi alongside Marin in "The Lion King" (1994), but the directors couldn't get hold of him, so the part went to Whoopi Goldberg.
True to his comedy image, Chong and his family ran Nice Dreams Enterprises, an internet company that sells marijuana bongs and pipes. He was arrested in 2003 on federal drug paraphernalia charges, and his cubemate in prison was Jordan Belfort, who would regale Chong with wild tales of his career as a stockbroker. Chong encouraged Belfort to write a book, which was turned into "The Wolf of Wall Street". (IMDb/Wikipedia)
Happy Birthday, Tommy Chong!.