A South Park Fan Remembers Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes, beloved R&B singer and voice of Chef on South Park, has just passed away on Sunday, August 10. When South Park premiered in 1997, the Academy Award winner impressed audiences all over again with his character, Chef. During Chef's 9 years on the show, Matt Stone and Trey Parker painted him as the only reasonable adult living in South Park.

Chef feeds the children of South Park Elementary; in the pilot he tells Stan, Kenny, Kyle, and Cartman that it's Salisbury steak day. During lunch period he often dishes out advice in addition to overtly sexual songs ("I'm gonna make love to you woman...") and his culinary creations. Outsiders didn't find his cooking so great; visitors to the first South Park Film Festival declined his infamous chocolate salty balls as well as his not-as-infamous Fudge 'ems.

Chef had great moments throughout those first 9 years of South Park. He helped the boys rescue Kyle's younger brother in the pilot episode (Cartman Gets an Anal Probe) and later in the first season seduces Kathy Lee Gifford with one of his notoriously sexy songs. We find out later that Chef's mother is a witch doctor when she frees Kenny's spirit from Cartman's body in the episode, The Biggest Douche in the Universe. In the South Park movie, Chef gives Stan inappropriately adult advice on how to make girls like him ("You just gotta find the clitoris"). My personal favorite is Chef episode is The New Terrance and Philip Trailer when his brand new plasma screen TV grows legs and lasers. Chef spends the rest of the episode on the phone with customer service trying to figure out how to turn it off.

In 2005 Hayes left the show after South Park aired the Scientology-bashing episode, "Trapped in the Closet." A devout Scientologist, Hayes resigned in protest (although some think that the Scientology Church pressured the singer to leave). In response, South Park aired "The Return of Chef," which killed of the lovable character while spoofing the cultish aspects of Scientology. The episode aptly ends with Kyle proclaiming that the town shouldn't be mad at Chef. He instead claims, "We should be mad at that fruity little club for scrambling his brains."

While South Park remains a smart and innovative force in cable television, viewers still miss the pudgy voice of reason. And now 2 years later we've lost his iconic voice. For those of you who want to relive Chef's greatest moments, you can log on to the South Park site and check out all 12 seasons of the series.