Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin Net Worth: Comedic duo Cheech & Chong’s fortune explored amid $25K salary revelation

Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin, together known as Cheech & Chong, have shaped the comedy and cultural landscape of the 1970s and beyond. Being the forerunners of stoner comedy, they have influenced live performances, music, and movies. However, their recent revelation that they earned only a mere $25k apiece when their movie, Up in Smoke, made $104 million has shocked the people.

The rock and roll comedians Cheech & Chong gained notoriety for their cannabis-infused humor. They dominated the comedy scene with popular tours and humorous albums, such as Earache My Eye, which reached No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 list in 1974.

They cemented their legacy in 1978 when they made their big cinematic debut with Up in Smoke. Despite having a tiny budget (rumored to be less than $2 million), the picture was written by the two and directed by Lou Adler, a music mogul. It generated an incredible $104 million worldwide. Today, that amount jumps to around $151 million when adjusted for inflation.

Nevertheless, Cheech and Chong were left penniless despite Up in Smoke's overwhelming popularity. The two were paid a total of $50,000 to divide between them, or only $25,000 apiece, for writing, acting, and promoting the movie.

This was disclosed in their new documentary, Cheech & Chong's Last Movie. In a previous interview with Geraldo Rivera, Cheech made a joke about how bad their first contract was, saying,

"We got a pair of lime-green shoes out of the deal.... And a hundred dollars."

Rivera was shocked and inquired more about their original deal. To which Cheech Marin replied,

"We got 50 thousand to split."

To which Tommy Chong added:

"Twenty-five thousand each."

Both in unison, then answer:

"To write, direct and to star and promote."

The agreement also featured a poorly defined 10% back-end contract that didn't generate any more money, as well as a 90-10 revenue share that favored others.

With all this now revealed, just how much is Cheech & Chong's net worth?

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Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin's net worth

Despite having financial trouble at the beginning of their career, both Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin have built a very successful fortune not just through acting but multiple business ventures, voice acting, and writing.

Tommy Chong

Tommy Chong has established a steady and increasing income through acting, the cannabis business, and tours.

It is believed that Tommy Chong has a net worth of $20 million. Following the height of Cheech & Chong, Chong was able to attract a new generation of fans by portraying Leo on That '70s Show. After serving time for trafficking cannabis paraphernalia, he also wrote the best-selling book The I Chong: Meditations from the Joint. During his time in prison, which he served for 9 months, he was the cellmate of Jordan Belfort.

Tommy Chong also owns a cannabis business called "Chong's Choice," which is his largest source of income. It capitalized on the expanding legalized industry by providing high-quality cannabis goods.

Cheech Marin

The estimated net worth of Cheech Marin is $30 million. Unlike Chong, Marin started his career in acting early on, securing roles in movies like Tin Cup and Desperado in addition to well-known acting roles in Cars and The Lion King. Besides acting, he also directed and released best-selling albums for children.

Along with being an actor, he collects art and is a philanthropist. In addition to his entertainment influence, he helped establish the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture & Industry. Over the years, his wealth has been gradually increased by his art investments, ongoing film work, and speaking engagements.

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Cheech & Chong's financial struggles and setbacks

Cheech & Chong were 'cash poor' as their only source of revenue at that time was live touring, and they had to put it on hold to make Up in Smoke. In the documentary, Chong said:

"The movie comes out, and it's a giant hit. Nobody thought Up in Smoke was going to do anything but [be] a bust. But the problem was, we had a hit movie and both Cheech and I were literally broke, cash poor."

He added:

"Our income depended on our live performances. And all the time we shot Up in Smoke, we stopped touring on the road. We had no income. We started looking very closely at the contract that we had signed with our lawyer. That was a huge horrible deal for us. The 90-10 split.

Despite Up in Smoke's popularity, they were unable to renegotiate their terms as they were bound by a contract for six movies with Paramount Pictures. They were able to renegotiate their contracts to get a $1 million advance apiece at the time of their second picture, Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980).

Though their next movies didn't do well in return, they have already cemented their legacy.

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Cheech & Chong's biggest deals that they turned down

Throughout their career, Cheech & Chong were offered deals left and right that would have increased their net worth, but they declined.

In a Forbes interview in 2018, Cheech Marin revealed that he was offered to provide the voice for Super Mario Bros.' Mario. Cheech declined the offer, not understanding the franchise's future success. He admitted that he would have received royalties if he had agreed.

To which Tommy Chong replied:

"Holy ****! You could have been Mario?"

Answering Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin said:

"Yeah, for real. They were going to give me a cut of the royalties and everything."

Tommy Chong revealed that he had passed up the opportunity to participate in The Lion King, meanwhile, his best friend, Cheech Marin, took up the role of Banzai in the movie, one of the Hyenas.

Tommy Chong also revealed that they turned down the opportunity to make a sitcom called Chico and the Man to create Up in Smoke.

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Cheech & Chong's longstanding friendship

Cheech & Chong have been close friends for a very long time, despite splitting up back in 1985 after the release of Get Out of My Room. The duo met in Canada when Cheech Marin fled to avoid getting drafted into the Vietnam War and immediately bonded over their love for marijuana.

Both have joked about their longstanding friendship. Cheech jokingly said:

"Me and Tommy have been together longer than I've been with any woman. He's my best friend."

Adding to that, Tommy Chong said:

"It's ying and yang, Cheech & Chong. I'm passive. He's very aggressive. And it works perfectly. We complement each other. That's why we're together."

They still continue to tour, and collaborate on projects, and now, for their new documentary, Cheech & Chong's Last Movie, they are going to be reuniting with Lou Adler.

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