Isaac Hayes

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

Isaac Lee Hayes (born 20 August, 1942, in Covington, Tennessee) 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.

Biography

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. 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), and as "Hammer" in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988).

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. 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 he never had any problems with South Park's take on religion until Scientology was mocked in the episode Trapped in the Closet.

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

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

Hayes is also an outspoken scientologist, frequently identified by scientology as a success story and great example of the positive effects that Scientology can bring. 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"[1].

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.[2] ^video

On March 13, 2006, 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."[3]. 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." Stone and Parker agreed to release Hayes per his request.[4].

About a month after "Trapped in the Closet" aired, during a radio interview on the XM Radio show Opie and Anthony, Hayes said he was not particularly offended by the episode because of the level of satire people have come to expect from the show.

Filmography

• Soul in Cinema: Filming 'Shaft' on Location (1971) (short subject)
• Save the Children (1973) (documentary)
• Wattstax (1973) (documentary)
• Truck Turner (1974)
• Three Tough Guys (1974)
• It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975)
• Escape from New York (1981)
• Counterforce (1987)
• Dead Aim (1987)
• I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
• Fire, Ice & Dynamite (1989) (Cameo)
• Guilty as Charged (1991)
• Prime Target (1991)
• Final Judgement (1992)
• Deadly Exposure (1993)
• CB4 (1993)
• Posse (1993)
• Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
• Oblivion (1994)
• It Could Happen to You (1994)
• Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored (1995)
• Oblivion 2: Backlash (1996)
• Orientation: A Scientology Information Film (1996) (short subject)
• Flipper (1996)
• Illtown (1996)
• Uncle Sam (1997)
• Six Ways to Sunday (1997)
• Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) (Cameo)
• Ninth Street (1999)
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) (voice)
• Reindeer Games (2000)
• Shaft (2000) (Cameo)
• Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) (voice)
• Chelsea Walls (2001) (Cameo)
• Only the Strong Survive (2002) (documentary)
• Soulsville (2003) (documentary)
• Dodge City: A Spaghetto Western (2004)
• Stargate SG-1 (2004)
• Dream Warrior (2004)
• Return to Sleepaway Camp (2005)
• Hustle & Flow (2005)
• United (2005) (short subject)

Upcoming:

• Return to Sleepaway Camp (2006)

External links

• IsaacHayes.com
• Isaac Hayes at IMDb
• MP3 audio interview with Stax Records expert Rob Bowman on the radio program The Sound of Young America, including information on Hayes' performance at Wattstax