Immigrant of the Day: Tommy Chong (Canada)

Tommy Chong (born May 24, 1938) is an actor and musician. He is most widely known for his role as Chong in the Cheech & Chong comedy movies with Cheech Marin. He more recently played Leo on the television series "That '70s Show."

Chong was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Chong's father was of Chinese descent and his mother was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. When Chong was still young, the family moved to Calgary. By age eleven Chong was playing guitar, chiefly country-and-western music. Soon, he was introduced to rhythm and blues and became a professional musician.

Cheech and Chong was a successful comedy act.  But the duo experienced creative differences and split in 1985.  To hear the "Dave's Not Here" routine," click here.

Chong was a recurring character and later a regular character as the hippie "Leo" in the television series "That '70s Show." 

In the late 1980s, Chong became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

In 2003, Chong was targeted in two drug investigations. Chong pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to 9 months in a federal prison, forfeiture of $103,000, and a year of probation.  Chong served his sentence. In 2006, Chong wrote a book about his experiences in jail and his interest in meditation, called The I Chong: Meditations From The Joint.

KJ