He went to live with his aunt and uncle, who were fugitives from felony mail fraud charges in New Jersey, masquerading as Amish wheat farmers in rural Pennsylvania.
Blondell first turned to crime when he was sixteen (holding up a bank with a pitchfork), eventually becoming a corrupt, though popular, city official in a small Pennsylvania town.
One wrongly-prescribed medication produced a lasting effect which "looked as if someone had glued Rice Krispies to every square centimeter of his face" and led to his nickname, "Chemo" (since many people wrongly assumed he was undergoing chemotherapy).
He carves out a small specialty for himself as a life coach for those with self-destructive addictions, since he has no awe whatsoever of fame, is immune to seduction, and not at all averse to beating his charges to pulp if they misbehave themselves.
Aside from his facial condition (which never completely recovers after the electrolysis mishap) and the weed trimmer attached to his arm, Chemo's appearance is also frightening because of his pallid, almost-reptilian complexion, the sparse hair on his scalp, and the fact that he stands 6'9" tall.