Parker, Trey
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Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'' (1997) and ''
The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...
'' (2011) with his creative partner
Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his cre ...
. Parker was interested in film and music as a child and at high school and attended the
University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...
, where he met Stone. The two collaborated on various short films and co-starred in Parker’s feature-length musical ''
Cannibal! The Musical ''Cannibal! The Musical'' (originally known as ''Alferd Packer: The Musical'') is a 1993 American musical Western black comedy film directed, written, produced, co-scored by and starring Trey Parker in his directorial debut while studying at th ...
'' (1993). Parker and Stone moved to Los Angeles, and Parker made his second feature-length film, ''
Orgazmo ''Orgazmo'' is a 1997 American superhero sex comedy film written, directed and edited by Trey Parker and produced by Matt Stone, Jason McHugh, and Fran Rubel Kuzui. It stars Parker, Stone, Dian Bachar, Robyn Lynne, and Michael Dean Jacobs ...
'' (1997). Before the premiere of the film, ''South Park'' premiered on
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
in August 1997. The duo possess full creative control of the show, and have produced music and video games based on it. A film based on the series, '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'' (1999), was well-received by both critics and fans. Parker went on to write, produce, direct, and star in the satirical action film '' Team America: World Police'' (2004), and, after several years of development, ''The Book of Mormon'' premiered on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
to positive reviews. Parker has received five
Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
for his work on ''South Park'', four
Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...
and a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for ''The Book of Mormon'', and an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nomination for the song " Blame Canada" from the ''South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'' movie, co-written with
Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman ( ; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman, actor Billy Crystal, and director Rob Reiner. Shaiman ha ...
.


Early life

Parker was born in
Conifer, Colorado Conifer is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Conifer is located along U.S. Route 285 in the foothills west of Denver. History A post office called Conifer was established in 1894. Some say the communit ...
, the son of insurance saleswoman Sharon and
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
Randolph "Randy" Parker II. He was a shy child who received "decent" grades and was involved in honors classes. He idolized
Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...
, which he began watching on television in the
third grade Third grade (also 3rd Grade or Grade 3) is the third year of formal or compulsory education. It is the third year of primary school. Children in third grade are usually 8–9 years old. Examples of the American syllabus In mathematics, student ...
. His later ventures into animation would bear considerable influence from
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...
. In the sixth grade, Parker wrote a sketch titled ''The Dentist'' and appeared in his school's talent show. He played the dentist and had a friend play the patient. The plot involved what can go wrong at the dentist; due to the amounts of fake blood involved, Parker's parents were called and were upset, with Parker later recalling that "the kindergartners were all crying and freaking out". Parker has described himself as "the typical big-dream kid" who envisioned a career in film and music. He made
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
s on the weekends with a group of friends, beginning when he was 14. His father had purchased him a video camera and the group continued making films until graduation. He became interested in pursuing music at 17, but only comedy-centered songs; he wrote and recorded a full-length comedy album, ''Immature: A Collection of Love Ballads For The '80's Man'', with friend David Goodman during this time. As a teenager, Parker developed a love for
musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
and joined the Evergreen Players, a venerable mountain community theater outside of Denver. At 14, he performed his first role as chorus member in ''
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grang ...
'' and ''
Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...
'' and went on to also design sets for the community theater's production of ''
Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 American film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986 film), a 1986 American film based on th ...
''. In high school, he also played piano for the chorus and was president of the choir counsel. As Evergreen was nationally known for its choir program, Parker was a very popular high school student, connected to his position as the head of the choir. He was typically the lead in school plays and was also prom king. While in school, Parker had a part-time job at a
Pizza Hut Pizza Hut, LLC is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. The chain, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 19,866 restaurants worldw ...
and was described as a film geek and music buff. Following his graduation from Evergreen High School in 1988, Parker spent a semester at
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...
before transferring to the
University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...
. Parker majored in both film and
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
. During his time there, he took a film class in which students were required to collaborate on projects. In the course, he met
Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his cre ...
—a math major from the nearby town of Littleton—and the two immediately bonded over provocative, anti-authoritarian humor and Monty Python. Parker's first film was titled ''Giant Beavers of Southern Sri Lanka'' (1989), parodying
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
-style rampages with beavers; fellow student
Jason McHugh Jason McHugh (born October 10, 1968) is an American television producer and actor, best known for his work with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He produced both '' Cannibal! The Musical'' and ''Orgazmo'' and played Frank Miller in ''Cannibal!'' and pa ...
later remarked that the idea nearly got him laughed out of class. McHugh, Jason (2011). ''Shpadoinkle: The Making of Cannibal! The Musical''. Certified Renegade American Publishing. Parker and Stone wrote and acted in many short films together, among those ''First Date'', ''Man on Mars'' and ''Job Application''. Parker later remarked that he and Stone would shoot a film nearly every week, but he has since lost most of them. Parker first used a construction paper animation technique on ''American History'' (1992), a short film made for his college animation class. It became an unexpected sensation, resulting in Parker's first award—a Student Academy Award. Parker recalled sitting in the auditorium in front of students from animation schools such as
CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the ...
, saying, "And there are all these Cal Arts kids behind me who had submitted these beautiful watercolor and pencil things. And here's my shitty construction-paper thing, which makes South Park look like
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, by the way, and they're all fuming." He graduated with a double-major
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in 1993.


Career


Career beginnings


''Cannibal! The Musical'' (1992–1994)

In 1992, Parker, Stone, McHugh, and Ian Hardin founded a production company named the Avenging Conscience, named after the
D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...
film by the same name, which all four actively disliked. Parker again employed the cutout paper technique on Avenging Conscience's first production, ''Jesus vs. Frosty'' (1992), an animated short pitting the religious figure against
Frosty the Snowman "Frosty the Snowman" is a song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante in that year. It was written after the success of Autry's ...
. The quartet created a three-minute trailer for a fictional film titled ''Alferd Packer: The Musical''. The idea was based on an obsession Parker had with
Alferd Packer Alfred Griner Packer (January 21, 1842 – April 23, 1907), also known as the "Colorado Cannibal", was an American prospector and self-proclaimed wilderness guide who confessed to cannibalism during the winter of 1874. Though no clear or defini ...
, a real nineteenth-century
prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...
accused of
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...
. During this time, Parker had become engaged to long-time girlfriend Liane Adamo, but their relationship fell apart shortly before production on the trailer had begun. "Horribly depressed", Parker funneled his frustrations with her into the project, naming Packer's "beloved but disloyal" horse after her. The trailer became somewhat of a sensation among students at the school, leading Virgil Grillo, the chairman and founder of the university's film department, to convince the quartet to expand it to a feature-length film. Parker wrote the film's script, creating an ''
Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...
''-style musical featuring ten original
show tunes A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Th ...
. The group raised $125,000 from family and friends and began shooting the film. The film was shot on
Loveland Pass Loveland Pass is a high mountain pass in north-central Colorado, at an elevation of above sea level in the Rocky Mountains of the Western United States. Background It is located on the Continental Divide in the Front Range, west of Denver on ...
as winter was ending, and the crew endured the freezing weather. Parker—under the pseudonym Juan Schwartz—was the film's star, director and co-producer. ''Alferd Packer: The Musical'' premiered in
Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
in October 1993; "they rented a limousine that circled to ferry every member of the cast and crew from the back side of the block to the red carpet at the theater's entrance." The group submitted the film to the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
, who did not respond. Parker told McHugh he had a "vision" they needed to be at the festival, which resulted in the group renting out a conference room in a nearby hotel and putting on their own screenings.
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
did a short news segment on ''The Big Picture'' regarding the film, and they made industry connections through the festival. They intended to sell video rights to the film for $1 million and spend the remaining $900,000 to create another film. The film was instead sold to
Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production company, production and film distributor, distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz in 1974. They are the longest running independent film ...
in 1996 where it was retitled ''Cannibal! The Musical'', and upon the duo's later success, it became their biggest-selling title. It has since been labeled a "
cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
" and adapted into a stage play by community theater groups and even high schools nationwide.


''The Spirit of Christmas'' and ''Orgazmo'' (1995–1997)

Following the film's success, the group, sans Hardin, moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. Upon arrival, they met a lawyer for the
William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best-known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ...
who connected them with producer
Scott Rudin Scott Rudin (born July 14, 1958) is an American film, television and theatre producer. His films include the Academy Award Best Picture-winning ''No Country for Old Men'', as well as '' Uncut Gems'', '' Lady Bird'', '' Fences'', ''The Girl with ...
. As a result, the duo acquired a lawyer, an agent, and a script deal. Despite initially believing themselves to be on the verge of success, the duo struggled for several years. Stone slept on dirty laundry for upwards of a year because he could not afford to purchase a mattress. They unsuccessfully pitched a children's program titled ''Time Warped'' to
Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized in all caps) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a j ...
, which would have involved fictionalized stories of people in history. The trio created two separate pilots, spaced a year apart, and despite the approval of
Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...
development executive Pam Brady, the network disbanded the Fox Kids division.
David Zucker David Samuel Zucker (born October 16, 1947) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized for collaborating with Jim Abrahams and his brother Jerry as part of Zucker, Ab ...
, who was a fan of ''Cannibal!'', contacted the duo to produce a 15-minute short film for
Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...
to show at a party for its acquisition of
Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...
. Due to a misunderstanding, Parker and Stone
improvised Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
much of the film an hour before it was shot, creating it as a spoof of 1950s instructional videos. The result, '' Your Studio and You'', features numerous celebrities, including
Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...
,
Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...
, and
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
. "You could probably make a feature film out of the experience of making that movie because it was just two dudes from college suddenly directing Steven Spielberg", Parker later remarked, noting that the experience was difficult for the two. During the time between shooting the pilots for ''Time Warped'', Parker penned the script for a film titled ''
Orgazmo ''Orgazmo'' is a 1997 American superhero sex comedy film written, directed and edited by Trey Parker and produced by Matt Stone, Jason McHugh, and Fran Rubel Kuzui. It stars Parker, Stone, Dian Bachar, Robyn Lynne, and Michael Dean Jacobs ...
'', which later entered production. Half of the budget for the picture came from a Japanese porn company called Kuki, who wanted to feature its performers in mainstream Western media. Independent distributor
October Films October Films, Inc. was a major U.S. independent film production company and distributor founded in 1991 by Bingham Ray and Jeff Lipsky as a means of distributing the 1990 film '' Life Is Sweet''. A series of mergers and acquisitions began wh ...
purchased the rights to the film for one million dollars after its screening at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
. The film received an
NC-17 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...
rating from the
Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios, five major film studios of the Cinema of the United States, United States, the Major film studios#Mini-majors, mini-major Amazon MGM Stud ...
, which resulted in the poor box office performance of the film. Parker and Stone attempted to negotiate with the organization on what to delete from the final print, but the MPAA would not give specific notes. The duo later theorized that the organization cared less because it was an independent distributor which would bring it significantly less money. Parker and Stone also made a short film called ''The Spirit of Christmas'' (although it is now usually called ''Jesus vs. Frosty'').
Brian Graden Brian Graden (born March 23, 1963) is an American television executive and founder and CEO of Emmy-winning Brian Graden Media, founded in 2013. Its series include ''Create Together'' (Emmy winner), ''Escape the Night, HitRECord on TV'' (Emmy winne ...
(then at Fox) liked this short and asked Parker and Stone to produce a video greeting card (for which he paid with his own money) that he could send to friends. Both ''Jesus vs. Frosty'' and ''Jesus vs. Santa'' had '' The Spirit of Christmas'' as opening credits. Graden sent the film on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
to several industry executives in Hollywood; meanwhile, someone digitized the short film and put it on the internet, where it became one of the first
viral video Viral videos are video, videos that become popular through viral phenomenon, a viral process of Internet sharing, primarily through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhon ...
s. As ''Jesus vs. Santa'' became more popular, Parker and Stone began talks of developing the short into a television series called ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
''. They first pitched the show to Fox, but the network refused to pick it up due to not wanting to air a show that included the talking poo character
Mr. Hankey ''South Park'' is an American adult animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. The ongoing narrative revolves around four boys, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and ...
. The two were initially skeptical of possible television deals, noting that previous endeavors had not turned out to be successful, but then entered negotiations with both
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
and Comedy Central. Parker preferred the show be produced by Comedy Central, fearing that MTV would turn it into a kids' show. When Comedy Central executive
Doug Herzog Doug Herzog (born July 16, 1959) is an American television executive. He was formerly the president of Viacom Music and Entertainment Group, he oversaw MTV, VH1, Logo TV, Comedy Central, Palladia, TV Land and Spike. Herzog has been credited ...
watched the short, he commissioned for it to be developed into a series.


''South Park''


Premiere and initial success (1997–1998)

The pilot episode of ''South Park'' was made on a budget of $300,000 and took between three and three and a half months to complete; animation took place in a small room at Celluloid Studios, in
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, Colorado, during the summer of 1996.Back cover. (Included with purchase of the following at
Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...
, USA: )
Similarly to Parker and Stone's Christmas shorts, the original pilot was animated entirely with traditional cut paper
stop-motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...
animation techniques. The idea for the town of South Park came from the real Colorado basin of the same name, where, according to the creators, a lot of folklore and news reports originated about "UFO sightings, and cattle mutilations, and Bigfoot sightings." At the time, Comedy Central had a low distribution of just 21 million subscribers. The company marketed the show aggressively before its launch, billing it as "why they created the
V-chip V-chip is a technology used in television set receivers in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States, that allows the blocking of programs based on their ratings category. It is intended for use by parents to manage their children's telev ...
". The resulting buzz led to the network earning an estimated $30 million in T-shirts sales alone before the first episode was even aired. ''South Park'' premiered in August 1997 and immediately became one of the most popular shows on cable television, averaging consistently between 3.5 and 5.5 million viewers. The show transformed the fledgling network into "a cable industry power almost overnight". Due to the success of the series' first six episodes, Comedy Central requested an additional seven; the series completed its first season in February 1998. An affiliate of the
MTV Network MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
until then, Comedy Central decided, in part due to the success of ''South Park'', to have its own independent sales department. By the end of 1998, Comedy Central had sold more than $150 million worth of merchandise for the show, including T-shirts and dolls. Over the next few years, Comedy Central's viewership spiked, largely due to ''South Park'', adding 3 million new subscribers in the first half of 1998 alone, and allowed the network to sign international deals with networks in several countries. Parker and Stone became celebrities as a result of the program's success; Parker noted that the success of ''South Park'' allowed him to pursue, for a time, a lifestyle that involved partying with women and "out-of-control binges" in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. Their philosophy of taking every deal (which had surfaced as a result of their lack of trust in the early success of ''South Park'') led to their appearances in films, albums, and outside script deals. Among these were ''
BASEketball ''BASEketball'' is a 1998 American sports comedy film cowritten and directed by David Zucker, starring ''South Park'' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and costarring Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy, Robert Vaughn, Ernest Borgnine and Dian ...
'', a 1998 comedy film that became a critical and commercial flop, and rights to produce a prequel to ''
Dumb and Dumber ''Dumb and Dumber'' is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise. Starring Jim Carrey and ...
'', which was never completed.


''Bigger, Longer & Uncut'' and continued success

Parker and Stone signed a deal with
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
in April 1998 that contracted the duo to producing ''South Park'' episodes until 1999, gave them a slice of the lucrative spinoff merchandising the show generated within its first year, as well as an unspecified seven-figure cash bonus to bring the show to the big screen, in theaters. During the time, the team was also busy writing the
second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
and
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
seasons of the series, the former of which Parker and Stone later described as "disastrous". As such, they figured the phenomenon would be over soon, and they decided to write a personal, fully committed musical. Parker and Stone fought with the MPAA to keep the film R-rated; for months the ratings board insisted on the more prohibitive
NC-17 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...
. The film was only certified an R rating two weeks prior to its release, following contentious conversations between Parker/Stone, Rudin, and
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
. Parker felt overwhelmed and overworked during the production process of the film, especially between April and the film's opening in late June. He admitted that press coverage, which proclaimed the end of ''South Park'' was near, bothered him. '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'' opened in cinemas in June 1999 and received critical acclaim while grossing $83 million at the box office. Parker and Stone continue to write, direct, and voice most characters on ''South Park''. Over time, the show has adopted a unique production process, in which an entire episode is written, animated and broadcast in one week. Parker and Stone state that subjecting themselves to a one-week deadline creates more spontaneity amongst themselves in the creative process, which they feel results in a funnier show. Although initial reviews for the show were negative in reference to its crass humor, the series has received numerous accolades, including five
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
s, a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
, and numerous inclusions in various publications' lists of greatest television shows. Though its viewership is lower than it was at the height of its popularity in its earliest seasons, ''South Park'' remains one of the highest-rated series on Comedy Central. In 2012, ''South Park'' cut back from producing 14 episodes per year (seven in the spring and seven in the fall) to a single run of 10 episodes in the fall, to allow the duo to explore other projects the rest of the year. The show's twenty-third season premiered on September 25, 2019. ''South Park'' has continued, becoming an enterprise worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The franchise has also expanded to music and video games. Comedy Central released various albums, including '' Chef Aid: The South Park Album'' and ''Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics'', in the late 1990s. The song "
Chocolate Salty Balls "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" is a song from the American animated sitcom ''South Park'', performed by the character Chef and featured on the soundtrack album '' Chef Aid: The South Park Album''. The song's vocals are performed by Isa ...
" (as sung by the character Chef) was released as a single in the UK in 1998 to support the ''Chef Aid: The South Park Album'' and became a number one hit. Parker and Stone had little to do with the development of video games based on the series that were released at this time, . but took full creative control of '' South Park: The Stick of Truth'', a 2014 video game based on the series that received positive reviews and for which they shared (with Eric Fenstermaker) the 2014 ''Writing In A Comedy'' and Parker won the ''Performance in a Comedy, Supporting'' award by National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR).
Broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...
rights to ''South Park'' were sold in 2003, and all episodes are available for free full-length
on-demand On-demand or on demand may refer to: Manufacturing * Build-on-demand * Just-in-time manufacturing, a methodology for production * Print on demand, printing technology and business process in which new copies of a document are not printed until an ...
legal streaming on the official South Park Studios website. (Link not accessible from outside the U.S..) In 2007, the duo, with the help of their lawyer, Kevin Morris, cut a 50–50 joint venture with Comedy Central on all revenue not related to television; this includes digital rights to ''South Park'', as well as films, soundtracks, T-shirts and other merchandise, in a deal worth $75 million. In August 2021, Parker and Stone signed a $900 million deal with ViacomCBS to renew the series for six additional seasons and 14 projects on Paramount+.


Television and film projects


''That's My Bush!'' (2000–2001)

In 2000, Parker and Stone began plotting a television sitcom starring the winner of the 2000 presidential election. The duo were "95 percent sure" that Democratic candidate
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
would win, and tentatively titled the show ''Everybody Loves Al''. Parker said the producers did not want to make fun of politics: the main goal was to parody sitcom tropes, such as a lovable main character, the sassy maid, and the wacky neighbor. They threw a party the night of the election with the writers, with intentions to begin writing the following Monday and shooting the show in January 2001 with the inauguration. With the confusion of whom the President would be, the show's production was pushed back. The show was filmed at
Sony Pictures Studios Sony Pictures Studios is an American television and film studio complex located in Culver City, California, at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded by Culver Boulevard (south), Washington Boulevard (north), Overland Avenue (west) and ...
, and was the first time Parker and Stone shot a show on a production lot. Although ''
That's My Bush! ''That's My Bush!'' is an American television sitcom that aired on Comedy Central from April 4 to May 23, 2001. The show was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, a comedy-duo best known for creating ''South Park''. Despite the political over ...
'', which ran between April and May 2001, received a fair amount of publicity and critical notice, according to Stone and Parker, the cost per episode was too high, "about $1 million an episode." Comedy Central officially cancelled the series in August 2001 as a cost-cutting move; Stone was quoted as saying "A super-expensive show on a small cable network...the economics of it were just not going to work." Comedy Central continued the show in reruns, considering it a creative and critical success. Parker believed the show would not have survived after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
anyway, and Stone agreed, saying the show would not "play well". During this time, the duo also signed a deal with Shockwave.com to produce 39 animated online shorts, in which they would retain full artistic control; the result, ''
Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...
'', was rejected after only two episodes.


''Team America'' (2002–2004)

In 2002, the duo began working on '' Team America: World Police'', a satire of big-budget
action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
s and their associated
cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...
s and stereotypes, with particular humorous emphasis on the global implications of the politics of the United States. The film was inspired by the 1960s British marionette series, ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds''. Starring puppets, ''Team America'' was produced using a crew of about 200 people, which sometimes required four people at a time to manipulate a marionette. Although the filmmakers hired three dozen highly skilled marionette operators, execution of some very simple acts by the marionettes proved to be very difficult, with a simple shot such as a character drinking taking a half-day to complete successfully. The deadline for the film's completion took a toll on both filmmakers, as did various difficulties in working with puppets, with Stone, who described the film as "the worst time of [my] life", resorting to coffee to work 20-hour days and sleeping pills to go to bed. The film was barely completed in time for its October release date, but reviews were positive and the film made a modest sum at the box office.


Broadway and film studio


''The Book of Mormon''

Parker and Stone, alongside writer-composer Robert Lopez, began working on a musical centering on Mormonism during the production of ''Team America''. Lopez, a fan of ''South Park'' and creator of the puppet musical ''Avenue Q'', met with the duo after a performance of the musical, where they conceived the idea. The musical, titled ''The Book of Mormon: The Musical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'', was worked on over a period of several years; working around their ''South Park'' schedule, they flew between New York City and Los Angeles often, first writing songs for the musical in 2006. Developmental workshops began in 2008, and the crew embarked on the first of a half-dozen workshops that would take place during the next four years. Originally, producer Scott Rudin planned to stage ''The Book of Mormon'' off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop in summer 2010, but opted to premiere it directly on Broadway, "[s]ince the guys [Parker and Stone] work best when the stakes are highest." After a frantic series of rewrites, rehearsals, and previews, ''
The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...
'' premiered on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on March 24, 2011. ''The Book of Mormon'' received broad critical praise for the plot, score, actors' performances, direction and choreography. A The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording, cast recording of the original Broadway production became the highest-charting Broadway cast album in over four decades. The musical received nine
Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...
, one for Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Musical, and a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, Best Musical Theater Album. The production has since expanded to two national tours, a Chicago production, United Kingdom, UK production, and as of 2014 Parker and Stone had confirmed that a film adaption was in pre-production.


Future projects

With sufficient funds from their work on ''South Park'' and ''The Book of Mormon'', the duo announced plans to create their own production studio, Important Studios, in January 2013. The studio will approve projects ranging from films to television to theatre. On April 13, 2016, Universal Pictures announced Trey Parker would voice the villain Balthazar Bratt in ''Despicable Me 3.'' The film, released in June 2017, was Parker's first voice role not scripted by either him or Matt Stone. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Parker, Stone, and Peter Serafinowicz created a web series, ''Sassy Justice''. The series uses deepfake technology to insert unrelated celebrities and politicians into the fictional world of a television reporter. The first episode was posted to YouTube on October26, 2020. The team was originally assembled for a film project that was interrupted due to the pandemic, who made the video based on a series of impressions that Serafinowicz developed of a "sassy" Donald Trump. The creators have a handful of shorter videos alongside a 15-minute first episode that may be turned into an ongoing series, film, or other type of project. In August 2021, Parker and Stone signed a $900 million deal with Paramount Global to make six additional seasons of ''South Park'' and 14 movies in the ''South Park'' universe for streaming. In September 2021, Parker and Stone reached an agreement to purchase Casa Bonita for $3.1 million. A group named "Save Casa Bonita" filed an objection to Parker and Stone's purchase, pointing out that they had in fact made an offer first. Their objection was later withdrawn, and the sale was completed by November 19. They spent $40 million renovating the restaurant and hired Chef Dana Rodriguez to update the menu. The restaurant had a Soft launch, soft opening on May 26, 2023. In early June, Casa Bonita began taking reservations although a formal opening date had not been set. Parker and Stone amended the employee compensation system at Casa Bonita, removing the need for wait staff to earn tips, instead paying every employee $30 per hour, much higher than the Colorado minimum wage, $13.65. In January 2022, it was announced Parker will produce an untitled film with Stone through their now-renamed production company, Park County, and Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free's multi-disciplinary media company, PGLang. In March 2023, it was reported that Parker will direct the film. It will be distributed by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
. The live-action film comedy, written by Vernon Chatman, addresses racial issues. Production was expected to begin in the spring of 2023.


Personal life

Parker married Emma Sugiyama in 2006. Their marriage was Marriage officiant, officiated by 1970s sitcom producer Norman Lear. The marriage ended in divorce in 2008. Parker subsequently began a relationship with Boogie Tillmon, whom he later married in 2014. Parker gained a stepson through this relationship. Their daughter was born in 2013. The couple filed for divorce in 2019, citing irreconcilable differences. While they remain divorced, they have since reconciled to co-parent their child. Parker resides in Los Angeles, California. He owns properties in Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Kauai, Kauai, Hawaii; Seattle, Seattle, Washington; and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. In a September 2006 edition of the ABC News (United States), ABC News program ''Nightline'', Parker expressed his views on religion, stating that he believes in "a God" and that "there is knowledge that humanity does not yet possess" while cautioning that it would take a long time to explain exactly what he meant by his belief in God. Parker believes all religions are "silly". He stated: "All the religions are super funny to me... The Historicity of Jesus, story of Jesus makes no sense to me. God sent His only Son. Why could God only have one son and why would He have to die? It's just bad writing, really. And it's really terrible in about the second act." Parker further remarked,
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 Expansion of the universe, expanding, it's all gonna Big Crunch, collapse on itself and we're all just here just 'cause... just '''cause. That, to me, is the most ridiculous explanation ever.
A 2001 ''Los Angeles Times'' article described Parker as "Apoliticism, not overly political" and quoted him as saying he was "a registered Libertarianism in the United States, Libertarian". In 2004, Parker summed up his views with the comment:
What we're sick of—and it's getting even worse—is: you either like Michael Moore or you wanna fuckin' go overseas and shoot Iraqis. There can't be a middle ground. Basically, if you think Michael Moore's full of shit, then you are a super-Christianity, Christian Right-wing politics, right-wing whatever. And we're both just pretty middle-ground guys. We find just as many things to rip on on the Left-wing politics, left as we do on the right. People on the Far-left politics, far left and the Far-right politics, far right are Horseshoe theory, the same exact person to us.


Discography


Albums


Soundtrack albums


Cast recording


Songwriting and other appearances


Filmography and accolades

* ''
Cannibal! The Musical ''Cannibal! The Musical'' (originally known as ''Alferd Packer: The Musical'') is a 1993 American musical Western black comedy film directed, written, produced, co-scored by and starring Trey Parker in his directorial debut while studying at th ...
'' (1993) * ''
Orgazmo ''Orgazmo'' is a 1997 American superhero sex comedy film written, directed and edited by Trey Parker and produced by Matt Stone, Jason McHugh, and Fran Rubel Kuzui. It stars Parker, Stone, Dian Bachar, Robyn Lynne, and Michael Dean Jacobs ...
'' (1997) * ''
BASEketball ''BASEketball'' is a 1998 American sports comedy film cowritten and directed by David Zucker, starring ''South Park'' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and costarring Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy, Robert Vaughn, Ernest Borgnine and Dian ...
'' (1998) * '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'' (1999) * ''Terror Firmer'' (1999) * ''Run Ronnie Run!'' (2002) * '' Team America: World Police'' (2004) * ''The Aristocrats (film), The Aristocrats'' (2005) * ''Despicable Me 3'' (2017) * ''Untitled Trey Parker film'' (2026)


See also


References


External links


Trey Parker and Matt Stone
at th
Official South Park Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Trey 1969 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male artists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American screenwriters American animated film directors American animated film producers American comedy musicians American comedy writers American libertarians American male film actors American male screenwriters American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American male television writers American male video game actors American male voice actors American music video directors American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers American musical theatre librettists American musical theatre lyricists American parodists American satirists American satirical film directors American satirical musicians American satirical television show creators American showrunners American surrealist artists American television directors American television producers American television show creators American television writers Animation composers Animators from Colorado Annie Award winners Berklee College of Music alumni Broadway composers and lyricists Broadway theatre directors Business duos American comedy film directors Comedians from Colorado American critics of religions Drama Desk Award winners Film directors from Colorado Film producers from Colorado Filmmaking duos Grammy Award winners Laurence Olivier Award winners Male actors from Colorado Musicians from Colorado New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winners Parody film directors Parody musicians Peabody Award winners People from Conifer, Colorado Postmodernist filmmakers Primetime Emmy Award winners Screenwriting duos Screenwriters from Colorado Showrunners of animated series Singer-songwriters from Colorado Surrealist filmmakers The Game Awards winners Tony Award winners University of Colorado Boulder alumni