Trey Parker

Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969 in Conifer,Colorado)is one of the creators of the television series South Park.

Biography

Randolph Severn Parker the third (hence the nickname) was born and raised in Conifer, Colorado. He is the youngest child of Randy and Sharon and has an older sister Shelley. Parker attended West Jefferson Junior High and Evergreen High in Colorado, where he was voted class clown.

Related Topics:
Conifer, Colorado - West Jefferson Junior High - Evergreen High - Colorado

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Parker went to Berklee College of Music in Boston before transferring to the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he met Matt Stone. He was majoring in music, and with a goal to someday score films, and took classes to learn more about the film process. He made several animated shorts including "American History" which won a Student Academy Award, and "The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs Frosty" with Stone.

Related Topics:
Berklee College of Music - Boston - University of Colorado - Boulder - Matt Stone - The Spirit of Christmas - Jesus vs Frosty

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Parker's first film was a feature length film about Alfred Packer, a Colorado miner who was the only person convicted of cannibalism in America. A trailer was shot over the summer, and was used to help raise enough funds to shoot the film. Alferd Packer, The Musical (it was renamed Cannibal! The Musical when picked up in 1996 for distribution by Troma) began filming during spring break in 1993. Family, friends and fellow students all took part in the film. Students who participated received intern credit, except for Parker, who was kicked out of the university due to excessive absences from working on the film.

Related Topics:
Alfred Packer - Cannibalism - America - Cannibal! The Musical - Troma

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Parker's college film caught the eye of Brian Graden, a then FoxLab executive. In 1995, Graden commissioned Trey and Matt to create a video Christmas card based on their animated college short. "The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Santa" was the result -- a five minute short that featured an uncensored Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick watching Jesus and Santa battle it out for ownership of the Yule holiday. One of the recipients of the video (rumored to be George Clooney) made several hundred copies, and the animation became a must-see passed around Hollywood and the internet.

Related Topics:
FoxLab - The Spirit of Christmas - Jesus vs. Santa - Stan Marsh - Kyle Broflovski - Eric Cartman - Kenny McCormick - Jesus - Santa - George Clooney - Internet

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That same year, Parker created a pilot for FoxLab called "Time Warped" -- a "musical romp through time" featuring a story about Aaron and Moses. FoxLab felt the idea would work better as a children's show so a new pilot, "Rom & Jul" was made for FoxKids -- a Romeo and Juliet-esque story about a Homo erectus and Australopithecus who fall in love despite the conflict between their species. FoxKids passed on the show.

Related Topics:
Moses - FoxKids - Romeo and Juliet - Homo erectus - Australopithecus

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Parker wrote, directed and starred in his second feature film Orgazmo in 1997, about a wholesome Mormon who becomes a celebrity in Los Angeles' adult film world. Due to the NC-17 rating given by the MPAA, it did not have a wide release.

Related Topics:
Orgazmo - Mormon - Los Angeles - NC-17 - MPAA

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Parker and Stone were hired by Comedy Central to create a show based on the animated characters they created in college. Though it didn't test well with audiences, Comedy Central decided to pick it up for six episodes anyway. South Park made its debut on August 13 1997, and has since gone on to be the highest rated original series in the network's history.

Related Topics:
Comedy Central - South Park - August 13 - 1997

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In 1998, Parker starred with Stone and Dian Bachar in BASEketball, directed by David Zucker of Airplane! and Naked Gun fame. The story follows a group of friends who take their homemade game from neighborhood driveways to the professional sports world.

Related Topics:
Dian Bachar - BASEketball - David Zucker - Airplane! - Naked Gun

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In the summer of 1999, Parker and Stone released their critically acclaimed feature length film, ', which was, naturally, a musical. "Blame Canada," a song written by Parker and Marc Shaiman, was nominated for Best Song at the Academy Awards. The award was lost to Phil Collins, which was spoofed in a later episode of South Park.

Related Topics:
Musical - Blame Canada - Marc Shaiman - Best Song - Academy Awards - Phil Collins

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After a contract renegotiation in 2000, three more seasons were added to South Park and Parker and Stone had a deal to create a live action sitcom. In 2001, That's My Bush! premiered -- a sitcom that portrayed the Commander in Chief as the lovable main character. It was not brought back for a second season due to its high costs (reportedly $700,000 per episode) and meager ratings. Another contract negotiation in 2003 picked up South Park for a ninth season, with an option to pick up a tenth.

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', the most recent creation from the duo, is a puppet movie about a special police force dedicated to saving the world from terrorists, and was released in October 2004.

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Parker and his creative partner, Matt Stone, have received criticism and acclaim from both sides of the political spectrum, making them hard to pin down politically, except that they display irreverence for almost any authority figure. The term South Park Republican has been coined to refer to those who claim that South Park reflects a Republican, although non-traditional, viewpoint. Historically, though, Parker has described himself as "middle-ground", and he is a registered member of the United States Libertarian Party.

Related Topics:
South Park Republican - United States Libertarian Party

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Parker resides in the Los Angeles area and is currently on hiatus from South Park, which resumes its ninth season on Comedy Central on October 19 2005.

Related Topics:
October 19 - 2005

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On September 9, 2005 Comedy Central struck a deal with Parker and Stone for three more seasons of the show. The network has committed to 42 episodes (including those of the second half of season 9), or three more seasons, of South Park over the next three years, which means that the show will run till 2009. Parker and Stone will continue to write, direct and edit every episode of the show. The order brings the series total to 182 episodes. A sanitized version of the South Park bowed in syndication on September 19.

Related Topics:
September 9 - 2005 - September 19

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