Actors - Isaac Hayes

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	Actors - Isaac Hayes

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", the ladies' man/school cook, on animated sitcom South Park from 1997 until his resignation from the show in March 2006. Hayes suffered a stroke on January 17, 2006.

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, Hayes released 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 1970's and 1980's 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 Robin Hood: Men in Tights
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."

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".

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 Chef Aid: The South Park 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. Critics — including Matt Stone in a statement — charge that Hayes never had any problems with South Park's take on religion, including Christianity, until Scientology was criticized in the episode "Trapped in the Closet".

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.

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