Behind every smokin' funny man, there is a smokin' hot funny woman.

Or at least in the case of ex-Calgarian turned world-famous, pot-inhaling comedian Tommy Chong.

Chong and his wife, Shelby, share the stage this week in Calgary as they present their new show at the Laugh Shop.

While Chong is used to the limelight, wife Shelby has just recently been flexing her funny bone as a stand-up comedian.

"We work almost every other weekend now, so I'm getting to be an old pro," says Shelby laughing. "It's a real high, nearly as good as going shoplifting and almost getting caught."

Chong says he's not surprised his wife has excelled at live comedy. "She's always had a real spark," he says.

"I was on the road by myself for years and it got very lonely. So I decided to try to get her to come with me. She was always busy, she didn't want to come. Well, finally I offered her a job in the show," says Chong.

"And she's an actress, so of course she couldn't refuse a gig."

The two have been perfecting their performance for the past few years and after Calgary they plan to tour the show through larger North American venues.

Chong says they touch on everything from marital bliss to the months he spent in prison after the American Feds nabbed him on a charge involving drug paraphernalia. The charge involved a business Chong started with his son.

"We always have a sense of humour about everything, but it was not easy to laugh then. We were in shock for a good year, let me tell you," says Shelby.

"For a bong, over a bong ... it was just like, this is unbelievable. You just don't think stuff like that is going to happen to you in America. It was an eye opener to what is happening with the Bush administration."

Shelby says with those days behind them she and Tommy are looking forward to touring the show and hopefully having it appear as a TV special.

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