Characters in the show, according to Parker and Stone, are inspired by people they met when they were kids. Stan Marsh is made based on Parker himself while Kyle Broflovski is based on Stone himself.[5][6][7] Eric Cartman is partially named after and based on Matt Karpman, a high school classmate of Parker who remains a friend of both Parker and Stone.[8] Cartman is also inspired by All in the Family patriarch Archie Bunker, of whom Parker and Stone are fans. They state that creating Cartman as a "little eight-year-old fat kid" made it easier for the two to portray a Bunker-like character after the introduction of political correctness to late-20th century television.[9][10]Kenny McCormick was based on the creator's observation that most groups of childhood friends in small middle-class towns always included "the one poor kid" and decided to portray Kenny in this light.[11]Butters Stotch is loosely based on South Park co-producer Eric Stough.[12]
Some of the original voice actors left the show. Mary Kay Bergman voiced the majority of the female characters until her suicide on November 11, 1999. Mona Marshall and Eliza Schneider succeeded Bergman, with Schneider leaving the show after its seventh season (2003). She was replaced by April Stewart, who, along with Marshall, continues to voice most of the female characters. Isaac Hayes, who voiced the character Chef, left the show after Parker and Stone's depiction of the cult of Scientology, to which Hayes belonged, in the episode Trapped in the Closet.[13]
Current cast
Parker and Stone voice most of the male South Park characters.[2][1][3]Mary Kay Bergman voiced the majority of the female characters until her death on November 11, 1999. Mona Marshall and Eliza Schneider succeeded Bergman in 2000, with Schneider leaving the show after its seventh season (2003). She was replaced by April Stewart, who, along with Marshall, continues to voice most of the female characters. Bergman was originally listed in the credits under the alias Shannen Cassidy to protect her reputation as the voice of several Disney and other kid-friendly characters.[14] Stewart was originally credited under the name Gracie Lazar,[15] while Schneider was sometimes credited under her rock opera performance pseudonym Blue Girl.[16]
Other voice actors and members of South Park's production staff have voiced minor characters for various episodes, while a few staff members voice recurring characters; supervising producer Jennifer Howell voices student Bebe Stevens,[3] storyboard artist Adrien Beard voices the school's only black student, Tolkien Black,[17] producer Vernon Chatman voiced an anthropomorphic towel named Towelie,[3] and supervising producer John Hansen voices Mr. Slave, the former gay lover of Mr. Garrison.[18] Series developer Eric Stough also voices Kenny McCormick "un-muffled," in the few episodes where the character does not wear his trademark parka that normally muffles his voice.[19] Throughout the show's run, the voices for toddler and kindergarten characters have been provided by various small children of the show's production staff.[20]
When voicing child characters, the voice actors speak within their normal vocal range while adding a childlike inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with Pro Tools, and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound more like that of a fourth grader.[21][22][23]
Isaac Hayes voiced the character of Chef, a black, soul-singing cafeteria worker who was one of the few adults the boys consistently trusted.[24][25] Hayes agreed to voice the character after being among Parker and Stone's ideal candidates which also included Lou Rawls and Barry White.[26] Hayes, who lived and hosted a radio show in New York during his tenure with South Park, would record his dialogue on a digital audio tape while a respective episode's director would give directions over the phone, then the tape would be shipped to the show's production studio in California.[27] After Hayes left the show in early 2006, the character of Chef was killed off in the season 10 (2006) premiere "The Return of Chef".
Mary Kay Bergman voiced the majority of the female characters until her death on November 11, 1999. Mona Marshall and Eliza Schneider succeeded Bergman in 2000, with Schneider leaving the show after its seventh season (2003). She was replaced by April Stewart, who, along with Marshall, continues to voice most of the female characters. Isaac Hayes, who voiced the character Chef, left the show after Parker and Stone's depiction of his religion Scientology in the episode "Trapped in the Closet".
Left after the season 9 episode "Trapped in the Closet", which mocked his religion Scientology.[13] The character appeared again in the first episode of season 10, but his voice consists entirely of older recordings spliced together for comical effect, the character was killed off in the same episode. Hayes passed away in 2008.
Due to the unusually small cast (majority of characters voiced by Parker and Stone) only Bergman, Schneider, and Hayes have left the cast as aforementioned in 1999, 2003, and 2008 respectively.
^"South Park FAQ". South Park Studios. February 10, 2009. Archived from the original on May 11, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
^Jeffrey Ressner and James Collins (March 23, 1998). "Gross And Grosser". Time. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
^"FAQ: June 2001". southparkstudios.com. June 28, 2001. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
^Trey Parker, Matt Stone. Goin' Down to South Park (Television documentary). Comedy Central.
^Reed, Jasper (June 15, 1998). "Where Seinfeld's a turkey". London: www.independent.co.uk. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
^Trey Parker, Matt Stone (2003). "South Park" - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD). Comedy Central. Mini-commentary for episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000"
