About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Isaac Hayes

Encyclopedia : I : IS : ISA : Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes performs at the International Amphitheater in Chicago as part of the annual PUSH `Black Expo`, October 1973
Enlarge
Isaac Hayes performs at the International Amphitheater in Chicago as part of the annual PUSH `Black Expo`, October 1973

Isaac Lee Hayes (born August 20, 1942, in Covington, Tennessee, United States) is an actor, and influential soul singer, songwriter, musician and arranger. He also voiced the character "Chef", a singing ladies' man and elementary school cook, on the popular animated sitcom South Park from 1997 until 2006.

In 1992, Hayes was crowned an honorary king of Ghana's Ada district thanks to his humanitarian deeds.

On June 9, 2005, Hayes was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame alongside Bill Withers, Steve Cropper, Robert B. Sherman, Richard M. Sherman, John Fogerty and his longtime writing partner David Porter.

Contents

Music Career

Hayes began his recording career in 1962, soon playing saxophone for The Mar-Keys. After writing a string of hit songs at Stax Records with songwriting partner David Porter, including "Soul Man" and "Hold On I'm Comin" for Sam and Dave, Hayes released his debut album Presenting Isaac Hayes. A moderate success, the album was recorded immediately following a wild party.

The top-selling Hot Buttered Soul (1969) was a breakthrough album, and established his image (gold jewelry, sunglasses, etc) which eventually became a template for much of the fashion of gangsta rap and similar trends in the 1980s and 90s. Hayes' biggest hit was 1971's soundtrack to Shaft. The title song won an Oscar (the first for an African American composer), and clearly presaged disco. Black Moses (1971) became almost as successful.

By 1975, Hayes left Stax Records and formed his own label called Hot Buttered Soul Records. A series of unsuccessful albums led to Hayes' bankruptcy in 1976. The late 1970s saw a major comeback for Hayes, following the release of A Man and a Woman (1977, with Dionne Warwick). In spite of moderate success as a singer, Hayes' records did not sell very well.

Hayes has also forged a career as an actor in TV shows and feature films. When Shaft was being filmed, Hayes wanted the lead role, which went to Richard Roundtree; director Gordon Parks was impressed with Hot Buttered Soul where Hayes ended up scoring the film's music.

Hayes was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Live Action Roles

In the 1970s and 1980s he had appeared in some TV shows, including The Rockford Files and The A-Team. He appeared as the title role in Truck Turner (1974) (the only film he ever had a leading role), The Duke of New York in Escape from New York (1981), "Asneeze" in and as "Hammer" in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988).

In 2004, Hayes appeared in a recurring minor role as the Jaffa Tolok on the television series Stargate SG-1. The following year, he appeared in the critically acclaimed independent film Hustle & Flow.

Scientology Activism

Hayes is also an outspoken Scientologist, frequently identified by Scientology as a success story. He has called Scientology the "gateway to eternity" and "the path to happiness and total spiritual freedom."

Hayes has contributed endorsement blurbs for many Scientology books. The frontispiece page for Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought (1997 paperback edition) quotes Hayes as saying:

"If you really want to know about the mind, the spirit and life itself, read Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought. It will put you on the right path!"

In February 2006, Hayes appeared in a Scientology music video called "United". Fox News entertainment reporter Roger Friedman reported receiving a copy in the mail sent personally from Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, along with a framed set of Scientology maxims such as "Never fear to hurt another in a just cause"[link].

South Park's Chef

By the late 1990s, he was best known as the voice of Chef on the Comedy Central series South Park. A song from the series performed by Chef, "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)", received some international radio airplay in 1999. It reached Number One on the UK singles chart. The track subsequently appeared on the album in 1998.

Scientology controversy

Hayes quit South Park on March 14, 2006, after voicing the Chef character for nine seasons. His stated reason was that he was angry with the show's take on religion. [IndyStar article on his quitting South Park][NME Article on his quitting South Park] Critics — including Matt Stone in a statement — charge that Hayes never had any problems with South Park's take on religion, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or Mormonism, until Scientology was criticized in the episode "Trapped in the Closet". In fact - Isaac Hayes's answer to a question on XM radio show "Opie and Anthony" about a month after the episode aired "What did you think about when Matt and Trey did that episode on scientology?" was "One thing about Matt and Trey, they lampoon everybody, and if you take that shit serious, I'll sell you the Brooklyn bridge for two dollars. That's what they do." This leads to suspicion that Hayes was somehow coerced following his stroke, into quitting.

In the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet", a satire and exposé of Scientology, Hayes did not appear in his role as Chef. In an interview for The A.V. Club on January 4, 2006, Hayes was asked about the episode. Hayes said that he told the creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, "Guys, you have it all wrong. We're not like that. I know that's your thing, but get your information correct, because somebody might believe that shit, you know?" He then told them to take a couple of Scientology courses to understand what they do.[link]

Hayes's Departure and Criticism

On March 13, 2006March 13, L. Ron Hubbard's Birthday., Hayes announced he was asking to be released from his contract with Comedy Central, citing recent episodes which satirized religious beliefs as being intolerant. "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," he was quoted in a press statement. Hayes, however, did not directly mention Scientology. A response from Stone said that Hayes' complaints stemmed from the show's criticism of Scientology and that he "has no problem -- and he's cashed plenty of checks –– with our show making fun of Christians."[link]. Stone adds, "[We] never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin." A March 23, 2006 BBC News story quoted Stone as saying, "In 10 years and over 150 episodes of South Park, Isaac never had a problem with the show making fun of Christians, Muslims, Mormons or Jews. He got a sudden case of religious sensitivity when it was his religion featured on the show."[link]

Stone and Parker agreed to release Hayes from his contract per his request.[link].

In contrast to the press release, Hayes stated in a radio interview on the XM Radio show Opie and Anthony, approximately a month after the "Trapped in the Closet" episode aired, that he was not particularly offended by the episode because of the level of satire people have come to expect from the show. "Matt and Trey, they lampoon everybody, and if anybody takes that shit serious, then I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge for two dollars," Hayes said.

Additionally, on January 4, 2006, Hayes defended South Park's style of controversial humor to the Onion's AV Club, noting that he was not pleased with the show's treatment of Scientology, but conceding that he "understand[s] what [Matt and Trey] are doing." [link] On March 22, 2006, the season opening of South Park brought Hayes' character, Chef, back for one more skewering (literally) at the Scientologists. In the episode, they offer their own explanation as to why Mr. Hayes may have quit the show.

On March 20, 2006, Roger Friedman of Fox News reported having been told that the statement was made in Hayes's name, but not by Hayes himself, as he suffered a stroke in January and has not been seen in public since. He wrote: "Isaac Hayes did not quit South Park. My sources say that someone quit it for him. ... Friends in Memphis tell me that Hayes did not issue any statements on his own about South Park. They are mystified." [link].

\"The Return of Chef\" Episode

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The South Park season 10 premiere (aired March 22, 2006) featured The Return of Chef. The episode addressed Hayes' departure using sound clips from Chef's past appearances. It depicts Chef as brainwashed by the Super Adventure Club, and, as a result, becoming a budding child molester. There are many striking resemblances between the Church of Scientology and the Super Adventure Club, which pulls Chef away from South Park using brainwashing. It is a thinly-veiled telling of the Hayes/South Park break up story from the point of view of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who use the church/club metaphor to attack Scientology even more openly and harshly than in the episode that supposedly caused Hayes' departure.

The episode ends with Chef choosing to stay with the club rather than returning to South Park, and then dying a painful and graphically violent death. At his funeral, Kyle urges the town of South Park to "remember Chef as the jolly old guy who always broke into song," and that they not let "the events of the last few days take away the memories of how much Chef made us smile." He also tells them that they should not blame Chef for his defection, but rather "be mad at that fruity little club for scrambling his brains." The final scene depicts Chef being resurrected in the image of Darth Vader by the Super Adventure Club.

Discography

Filmography

Wikinews has news related to:

References

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: