Cheech Marin brings batch of comedians to the Nugget

Cheech Marin leads a select cast of comedians into the Celebrity Showroom at John Ascuaga's Nugget May 4 and 5. Marin, reprising half of the infamous comedic team "Cheech and Chong," has virtually limitless material from which to deliver stand-up. Mix in a live band dishing classics, including "Born in East L.A." and "Mexican-American," and it adds up to a great show.

A popular, diminutive and once mustachioed Mexican-American character lead and comic, Cheech gained fame as half of Cheech and Chong, one of the top comedy acts of the 1970s and '80s. Fleeing from the U.S. draft during the height of the Vietnam War in 1968, the Los Angeles-born Marin settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he met future partner Tommy Chong.

The pair co-founded City Works, an improv group that combined comedy and music, at a Vancouver nightclub owned by Chong's brother. Forming Cheech and Chong at the end of the decade, they started out with nightclub appearances in Toronto and Los Angeles, graduated to opening for major rock acts (including the Allman Brothers Band and the Rolling Stones) and eventually recorded a hugely popular series of comedy albums beginning in the early 70s.

Marin took his first directorial credit with the comic music video for his own hit single "Born in East L.A." He made his TV directing debut with the cinema-verite styled framing sequence for "Cheech and Chong Get Out of My Room" (Showtime, 1985), a TV special showcasing four comic music videos featuring the team. Following the dissolution of Cheech & Chong in 1985, Marin made his official feature directorial debut with the expanded version of "Born in East L.A." (1987), which he also wrote and in which he starred as a third generation Mexican American who gets caught up in an immigration raid without proper identification.

Joining Cheech for a full slate of comedy are Gilbert Esquivel (Comedy Central), Loni Love (Comedy Central), Jill Michelle Meleon (Mad TV) and Bret Ernst (Vince Vaughn stand-up tour).

Tickets are $59, and are available by calling (800) 648-1177 or (775) 356-3300 or by visiting www.janugget.com.



-- Provided to Lake Tahoe Action