Sometimes stoners fuck up - like this past Saturday at the 420 Expo in New Jersey when Tommy Chong was suppposed to be on stage for an interview with this reporter, but a last-minute snafu prevented that from happening.
Fortunately, I had a 4:20 smoke session with Chong during which he made a big reveal:
Cheech & Chong Are Never Going to Perform Their Live Act Again Onstage
I know they stopped doing their stand-up shows when Covid-19 canceled everything in 2020. But I didn't know they have since turned down gigs. Cheech & Chong first started performing together in Vancouver in the late '60s.
Why the big decision? Well, first of all Chong is 84 and his partner, Cheech Marin, is 76. At one of their last shows, Marin tripped on a wire backstage. He required a knee replacement.
"Plus, we can't remember all our lines," Chong admitted. "Cheech can't remember 'Mexican Americans.'" It's a song he performs as part of their act.
Tommy Chong: "Let’s get high and enjoy our existence."
Chong seems content to attend shows like the one at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center in Edison on Sept. 16-18 where he signed autiographs, posed for photos and even smoked out with fans, all for a price. But when it came time to hit the main stage, Chong learned his flight home to Los Angeles had been booked at the same time. So no interview, disappointing those who came to hear him speak.
Chong sent me the followng note the next day: "The Cannabis celebration in Edison, NJ was a resounding success as far as I was concerned. The venue was first class and so well run considering this was a Cannabis event! I was treated like a star by everyone but especially the event folks. The next one will be even more successful and I’m looking forward to becoming a fixture when it comes to attending and enjoying the New Jersey hospitality. In other words: Let’s get high and enjoy our existence."
