| Leo Chingkwake | |
|---|---|
| That '70s Show character | |
| First appearance | "Sleepover" (episode 2.08) |
| Last appearance | "That '70s Finale" (episode 8.22) |
| Created by | Mark Brazill |
| Portrayed by | Tommy Chong |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | The Hippie, Dirty Old Hippie, Mr. Hippie, Hophead, Smokey The Bear, Dopehead |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Record store employee Foto Hut owner (out of business) |
| Family | Theo (cousin) Eli (cousin) Larry (cousin) unnamed (brother) |
| Spouse(s) | Unnamed wife |
| Children | Unnamed son |
| Nationality | American |
Leonard King Mickey "Leo" Chingkwake is a fictional character on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, portrayed by Tommy Chong. The character is an aging hippie and the owner of a Foto Hut at which Steven Hyde worked. Leo himself does not have a strong work ethic, often putting play before work and maintaining an easy-going attitude in all things, business included. He once promoted Hyde to manager of Foto Hut.
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Leo is introduced in the episode "Sleepover." In his first scene in the show he interviews Hyde for a job at the Foto Hut. Leo asks, "You like photos man?" and, Hyde says yes, and Leo gives him the job.
Leo was written out of the series, due to Tommy Chong serving a jail sentence. However, Leo is absent throughout season 5 with no explanation. During his long absence, he is not mentioned until the episode "The Battle of Evermore" when Hyde gets worried about Leo because he hasn't seen him in a long time. Searching for Leo, Hyde recruits Kelso, Fez and Jackie and they look all over Point Place to find him. They go by the Foto Hut and it's closed down with everything gone. They go to Leo's apartment but Leo's cousin Eli gives Hyde a letter from Leo that says: "Dear Hyde, man. One day I stopped in Point Place for some gas, before I knew it eight years had passed. Whoa, that rhymes. Anyway, I should get home to my wife. Take care, you're a good kid, man. You're a good kid, man".
As a farewell gift, Leo left Hyde and the rest of the gang, a large supply of marijuana (or as they call it, "film").
During his absence in seasons 5 and 6, he was somewhat replaced by another character named Roy Keen, who was portrayed by comedian Jim Gaffigan. Roy and Leo were similar in some ways. Roy was goofy and quite dimwitted like Leo was. After season 6, Roy was never seen or mentioned again, mainly due to the return of Leo in Season 7.
Leo returns to the show in the seventh season episode "Down The Road Apiece" after nearly a three season absence. Leo is reintroduced when he finds Eric on a road trip, to which he asks, "Do I know you, man?" This trend continues with everyone he knows, until he sees Hyde again, to which he says, "Wait a minute. You're Hyde, man!" Shortly after his return, Hyde has Leo manage the record store owned by Hyde's father. At the beginning of season eight, when Hyde returns from Vegas, a bunch of hippies are sitting around smoking pot, and when Hyde tries to enter his office, he discovers an orgy is taking place (to which Leo immediately jumps in to join).
After Ashton Kutcher (Michael Kelso) failed to renew his contract for the 8th season, the show was without a resident "idiot" character, so Leo began to take on a more major role in that capacity.
However, despite having a main role, he was still a recurring character in Season 8 due to him being absent in several episodes such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Misfire", "We Will Rock You", along with other episodes.
In the first half of the series finale, he and the others try to convince Hyde to start back smoking (who had quit a short while prior and felt miserable). He is subsequently fired from Grooves by Hyde's father, but he wasn't aware of it. It can be assumed that he doesn't actually lose his job. However, in the second half of the finale, he plays a very minor role as he only has one scene with only one line. When Kitty tells everyone in the room why she loves them, she tells Leo that he always makes her day when he waves and smiles "hello" even when he is urinating on her mailbox.
Leo is a very confused individual, possibly because he got stoned too many times. Leo is strongly opposed to alcohol consumption saying, "that stuff will mess with your mind, man," and that beer is "evil". In the episode "Who Wants It More?" he finds Hyde, Fez and Kelso looking for UFOs. Hyde asks Leo what he is doing. Leo responds with, "Wow, that's a really good question man!" and does not know the answer. In the same episode, Leo says that he once saw a UFO at a football game that told him to have a good year (actually the Goodyear blimp). A further indicator of Leo's confusion is when he says, "He's making us look bad in front of the boss!" at the Foto Hut, forgetting that he is the boss. In one episode, he also reveals that he thinks he met God on the bus, who told him the meaning of life and gave him a pretzel. Leo forgot the meaning of life, but says it was a pretty good pretzel. In the episode "Moon Over Point Place", Leo says he "thinks" he is Chinese.
Leo has a bad memory. When he and Hyde are reunited, he talks with him for a while before proclaiming "Wait a minute. You're Hyde man!" Leo later revealed he does not remember that he owned a Foto Hut, though he does remember what the building looked like and its location. It is revealed in the episode "Stone Cold Crazy" that drugs can refresh Leo's memory.
Leo also revealed to Hyde while playing The Game of Life that he had kids who "split on me man;" it's notable as the only time Leo reflects on something in his past as being painful, including fighting in a war. Hyde is touched by this, letting Leo know his parents also abandoned him, Leo cements their bond by asking, "so you wanna be my father, man?", which Hyde agrees to. Leo also mentions having a son when he gives Hyde an El Camino, stating that he intended to give the car to his son on his 16th birthday, but his wife left with his kids. He calls Hyde the son he never had (as opposed to the son he does have).
In the eighth season episode, "You're My Best Friend", Leo reveals that he believes it's 1963, having in his possession a ticket to the '64 World's Fair ("One more year. I can't wait.")
Leo sometimes dislikes Kelso because Kelso is dim-witted; however, Leo is much more stupid than Kelso. When Leo and the boys were on their way to Canada to get cheaper beer, Leo notices that Kelso is coming with them and he remarks "Don't tell me crapshoes is coming!" referring to a past prank gone awry.
In the episode "Long Away," Leo reveals that he is a war veteran who drove a supply truck in World War II and at one point saved several soldiers from attack. This earns him a modicum of grudging respect from Red. In that same episode, Leo said that he got a medal. Not remembering what it's called, he said that "it looked like a purple heart." Also in this episode it is implied that Leo discovered marijuana after WWII. Upon being honorably discharged at Fort Dix, New Jersey he hitched a ride with Jazz musicians who were smoking marijuana. Leo gets into the car with them, and when the scene flashes back to the present he tells Red and Kitty, "And that's the last thing I remember until you handed me this cup of coffee." His veteran status was hinted at because Leo was often seen wearing dog tags. In the episode "Eric and Kitty's Night Out" Leo, while playing a game of Battleship, suspects that he might have been in the Navy. Leo also states that he spent time in Canada during the Vietnam War. Eric asks if he was a conscientious objector to which Leo replies, "No, I didn't mind." However Leo's veteran status and his age would have made him exempt from the draft anyway.
Leo has a cousin named Theo, (played by Richard Karn) who is a contractor, as well as a cousin Eli (played by Bobcat Goldthwait) and a cousin Larry. Leo also has made reference to a "big brother" that likes to interfere with his business (when Leo told Hyde this, Hyde thought Leo was referring to the government, but then Leo said he literally meant his big brother). Leo also has a dog (Dr. Zhivago) that he once accidentally fed illegal drugs ("Ice Shack"). Upon discovering that he took his dog's food bag with him, he says,"Oh, man! I better get home to check on my dog!" Leo has mentioned he was married and his wife left him with their kids. When selling the car to Kelso, he says he was going to give the car to his son on his sixteenth birthday. He also called Hyde the son he never had in the same episode. Leo was married, but his wife was never mentioned by name.
Leo once told Hyde and Fez that he used to steal money from the cash register when his boss wasn't watching. When Hyde reminds him that Leo is his own boss, Leo is happy about this because he knows that he is never watching the register.
In one episode, Hyde and Leo are playing The Game of Life at the Foto Hut when a customer requires attention. Leo tells Hyde that if he helps the customer, he will be fired. In another episode, Leo temporarily hires Fez, but then fires him when he displays a stronger work ethic than either Leo or Hyde. Leo proclaimed, "that dude's making all of us look bad. I'm afraid the boss is gonna fire me." To which Hyde responded "Once again, Leo, you are the boss."
Leo also forgot he was the boss when Kelso visited Hyde at the Foto Hut and caught Hyde getting high. Kelso asked if Hyde would get in trouble if the boss caught him, and Leo, who was participating with Hyde, panicked and said "Oh no!, is the boss here?!...Oh wait, I'm the boss, man."
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