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Trey Parker
Born
Randolph Severn Parker III
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, director, producer

Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor. He is the the co-creator of the animated television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone. Parker continues to be involved in all major creative aspects of the show's production, including voicing protagonists Stan Marsh and Eric Cartman, among many other characters.

While attending college in 1992, Parker collaborated with Stone on making the first of their two The Spirit of Christmas animated shorts featuring a group of four elementary school students. The pair then created the second The Spirit of Christmas short in 1995, and after it became one of the earliest examples of viral video, Comedy Central commissioned for it to be developed into an animated series: South Park, which has aired 13 seasons since its debut in 1997. Parker has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on South Park In 1999, he co-wrote and directed South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, the full-length film based on the series, earning an Academy Award for Best Original Song nomination for co-writing "Blame Canada", one of the songs from the movie.

Parker and Stone also created the live-action comedy series That's My Bush!, which was canceled after airing eight episodes in 2001. Prior to South Park and his other work in television, Parker wrote, directed, and starred in the independent films Cannibal! The Musical and Orgazmo. He also directed Team America: World Police, starred in BASEketball, co-created the short-lived Flash animation series Princess, and performs as part of the band DVDA.

Biography

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Early life

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Parker was born in Conifer, Colorado, the son of Sharon Parker, an insurance broker, and Randy Parker, a geologist.[1] He has an older sister, Shelley. Parker grew up in the Denver, Colorado area, and attended Berklee College of Music before transferring to the University of Colorado, where he majored in music.[2] While attending film class in 1992, he met fellow student Matt Stone. When the students were tasked with making a short film with a partner, he and Stone collaborated to make The Spirit of Christmas. The short was created with cutout animation and filmed with an 8 mm camera. It featured four child characters witnessing an evil snowman coming to life and doing battle with a baby Jesus.

That same year, Parker was engaged to be married. According to Parker, the wedding was called off when he discovered his fiancée was having an affair with another man. In early 1993, Parker raised $70,000 and began filming Alferd Packer: The Musical, a full-length black comedy/musical. Parker directed, wrote, and starred in the film, which featured several of his friends and classmates, including Stone. Parker missed nearly an entire semester of classes while working on the film, and as a result, he received a dismissal from the University of Colorado before graduating.[3] After Stone received his degree, he and Parker moved to Los Angeles, California in search of a career in filmmaking.

Early career

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Shortly after arriving in California, Parker and Stone befriended Brian Graden, then an executive for the Fox Broadcasting Company. After watching Alferd Packer: The Musical, Graden hired Parker and Stone to create a show for the Fox Kids programming block called Time Warped, which was set to be a musical satire of historic events. The pilot episode featured a love story about a Homo erectus and an Australopithecus, and Fox declined to develop it into a series. In late 1995, Graden gave Parker and Stone $1200 to create an updated version of their The Spirit of Christmas short that Graden could send out as a video Christmas card. The look of the short and its characters resembled those of South Park more closely, and featured the main child characters this time witnessing Jesus and Santa Claus engaging in hand-to-hand combat.[4] Graden sent copies of the video to several of his friends, and from there it was copied and distributed, including among the Internet, where it became one of the first viral videos.[5][6] Around this time, Parker wrote, directed, and starred in another independent comedy film, Orgazmo, about a Mormon missionary who reluctantly takes non-sexual roles in a series of pornographic films in order to earn money before marrying his fiancée. The movie debuted at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival, and received a limited theatrical release in the U.S. a year later after receiving an NC-17 rating.

As the short became more popular, Parker and Stone began talks of developing the short into a television series. Fox refused to pick up the series, not wanting to air a show that included the character Mr. Hankey, a talking piece of feces.[7]

After the duo released Cannibal! The Musical, they were asked to make another animated short. They came down to two ideas; one a sequel to Jesus vs. Frosty, entitled Jesus vs. Santa, and one about a character that would later be recurring in South Park, Mr. Hankey.[8] They chose to write about the four boys, and their decision ultimately opened the door for them to present a show, South Park, to Comedy Central.[9] Stone and Parker produced 13 episodes for season 1. South Park is currently still under contract to produce new episodes through 2011.[10]

In 1997, they also released Orgazmo, a movie rated NC-17. In 1998, they starred in (but did not write or direct) BASEketball, another feature film, while being renewed for a second season of South Park. In 1999, Parker and Stone made South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, which gave the series prominence.[11] The film's music was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost. In 2001, the duo announced they would do 39 shorts between the lengths of 2 and 5 minutes. Although originally thought to be South Park related, they decided they would do something different. The result was the shorts Princess.[12] The content was so extreme that it was cancelled after two shows aired. In 2001, they also created That's My Bush!, another television series. Despite great reviews, the show was cancelled after one season for the cost per episode. In 2004, they made a film, titled Team America: World Police.[13][14] The film was not a considered a box-office success, grossing 51 million dollars in theaters, despite largely positive reviews (78% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com).[15] As of 2009, South Park is in its thirteenth season.

Parker is also a member of the band DVDA with Stone, for which he plays keyboards and sings. DVDA's songs have appeared in many of the duo's productions. They include Orgazmo, BASEketball , South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and Team America: World Police.[16][17][18][19]

Trey claimed to have been on acid with Matt Stone at the time of the 2000 Academy Awards, where they wore dresses popularized by Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow at previous awards shows.[20]

On September 28, 2007, Parker and Stone acquired the rights to the Canadian-made Kenny vs. Spenny, which premiered November 14, 2007 on Comedy Central with ten old and new episodes.[21]

Parker and Stone are collaborating with Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez on a musical about Mormons, has a working title of Mormon Musical, which will star Cheyenne Jackson, and is planned for a 2009 opening.[22] [[:Image:StanMarsh.png|right|thumb|180px|Stan Marsh, a South Park character largely based on Trey.]]

Voices on South Park

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Trey Parker voices Eric Cartman and Stan Marsh, two of the main characters on the show. He also voices recurring characters Randy Marsh, Marvin Marsh, Starvin' Marvin, Clyde Donovan, Mr. Garrison, Ned Gerblansky, Dr. Alphonse Mephesto, Stephen Stotch, Mr. Hankey, Santa Claus, Mr. Mackey, Officer Barbrady, Ms. Choksondik, Timmy, Jimmy Vulmer, Tuong Lu Kim, Phillip, and Satan, as well as many other minor speaking roles.

Religion

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On a September 2006 airing of the ABC news program Nightline, Parker articulated his position on religion. He stated that he believes there is more going on than we even know about and cautioned that it would take a long time to explain exactly what he meant by his belief in God. Stone subsequently added, "I still don't understand it."[23]

Regarding atheism, Parker stated the following:[24]

"Basically ... out of all the ridiculous religion stories which are greatly, wonderfully ridiculous—the silliest one I've ever heard is, 'Yeah ... there's this big giant universe and it's expanding, it's all gonna collapse on itself and we're all just here just 'cause ... just 'cause'. That, to me, is the most ridiculous explanation ever."

Discography

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Filmography

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Year Production Role Other notes
1992 Jesus vs. Frosty Actor, Producer, Writer
1994 Cannibal! The Musical Director, Actor, Producer, Writer
1995 Jesus vs. Santa Actor, Producer, Writer
Time Warped (un-aired television series) Creator, Actor
1996 Your Studio and You Actor, Writer, Director Cameo
1997 South Park (Television Series; 1997-present) Co-Creator, Voice Actor, Writer, Director, Executive Producer
Orgazmo Actor, Writer, Producer
1998 BASEketball Actor
1999 South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Director, Voice Actor, Writer, Producer
2000 Even If You Don't Director Music Video
2001 Princess (Flash series) Director, Writer, Voice Actor, Producer Animation Shorts
That's My Bush! (Television Series; 2001) Co-creator, Writer, Executive Producer Cameo
2004 Team America: World Police Director, Writer, Voice Actor, Producer
2005 The Aristocrats Guest Appearance

References

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  1. ^ "Trey Parker Biography". tv.com. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  2. ^ "University of Colorado Alumni". University of Colorado, Boulder. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  3. ^ "South Park Studios News Archives". South Park Studios. 2001-09-05. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  4. ^ Gregoris, Michael (2007-11-09). "The evolution of South Park". www.gazette.uwo.ca. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference fortune was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Jeffrey Ressner and James Collins (1998-03-23). "Gross And Grosser". Time. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  7. ^ Trey Parker, Matt Stone (1998). The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Television show). NBC. Interview with Jay Leno
  8. ^ "The South Park Timeline". spscriptorium.com. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  9. ^ "The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Santa". spscriptorium.com. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  10. ^ "South Park Renewed for Three". animationmagazine.net. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  11. ^ "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut". bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  12. ^ "Princess". spschat.com. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  13. ^ "Trey Parker and Matt Stone talk Team America: World Police". movieweb.com. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  14. ^ "Interview with Matt Stone". BBC Movies. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  15. ^ "Team America: World Police (2004)". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  16. ^ "Soundtracks for South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  17. ^ "Soundtracks for Orgazmo". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  18. ^ "Soundtracks for BASEketball". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  19. ^ "Soundtracks for Team America: World Police". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  20. ^ Otto, Jeff. "Interview: Trey Parker and Matt Stone". IGN. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  21. ^ Associated Press. "Cdn. show hits Comedy Central thanks to South Park creators". cbcnews.ca. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  22. ^ Adams, Guy (2008-11-19), "Mormons to get 'South Park' treatment", Independent
  23. ^ Secrets of 'South Park', Sept, 2006.
  24. ^ Secrets of 'South Park', Sept, 2006.
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[[Category:1969 births]] [[Category:American animators]] [[Category:American film directors]] [[Category:American libertarians]] [[Category:American screenwriters]] [[Category:American skeptics]] [[Category:American television producers]] [[Category:American voice actors]] [[Category:Berklee College of Music alumni]] [[Category:Emmy Award winners]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Peabody Award winners]] [[Category:People from Denver Metro Area]] [[Category:South Park]] [[Category:University of Colorado alumni]]

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