In The Event That...

You've Seen Up in Smoke ... but Don't Remember It

by Molly Eichel

Tommy Chong | Thu., Aug. 14, 7 p.m., free, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322, freelibrary.org

Tommy Chong has just told me that the comedy duo that made him famous, Cheech & Chong, is going to reunite. In fact, he's driving back from rehearsal while we talk (actually, he pulls over because he's not allowed to talk on his cell while driving). Like, the Cheech and Chong. The guys who smoked a monster joint filled with dog shit, the guys who created the stoner genre with movies Up in Smoke, Cheech & Chong's Next Movie and Still Smokin. And, according to Chong, it's all because of his new book, Cheech & Chong: The Unauthorized Autobiography (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $23.95), which he will present at the Free Library on Thursday. "Cheech realized I was cashing in on it," says Chong, "and the book was the final straw."

Reading Cheech & Chong is like having a conversation with Tommy himself. His thoughts are a little scattered, but he's sweet, candid and always gets to the point. He pulls no punches concerning his relationship with Richard "Cheech" Marin, about how hurt and pissed he was when Cheech set out on his own. But bridges have been mended. "It's like having my best friend back," Chong says. He doesn't plan on changing the ending of this book, though. That's for the next one.

The Cheech & Chong Light Up America tour begins its run Sept. 12 at Tower Theater in Philly, a city close to Chong's heart: "It's home of the DEA [a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office]," he says. "If they were gonna bust me I didn't want to make them drive so far."