South Park is an American animated sitcom created byTrey Parker andMatt Stone who also do the majority of the voices.^[1][2][3] Both Parker and Stone do most of the male characters on the show along withApril Stewart andMona Marshall, who do the female characters on the show. Guest stars have lent their voices to the show includingJay Leno,George Clooney,Jennifer Aniston,Bill Hader,Robert Smith and the comedy duoCheech & Chong voiced characters representing their likenesses for theseason four (2000) episode "Cherokee Hair Tampons", which was the duo's first collaborative effort in 20 years.^[4] The entirety of the Nu-Metal bandKorn also provided their voices and likenesses in theseason three episode "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery".

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 whileKyle 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 byAll in the Family patriarchArchie 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 ofpolitical 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 onSouth Park co-producerEric Stough.^[12]

Parker and Stone voice most of the maleSouth Park characters.^[2][1][3]Mary Kay Bergman voiced the majority of the female characters until hersuicide on November 11, 1999.Mona Marshall andEliza Schneider succeeded Bergman in 2000, with Schneider leaving the show after itsseventh season (2003). She was replaced byApril 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 severalDisney and other kid-friendly characters.^[13] Stewart was originally credited under the name Gracie Lazar,^[14] while Schneider was sometimes credited under herrock opera performancepseudonym Blue Girl.^[15]

Other voice actors and members ofSouth Park's production staff have voiced minor characters for various episodes, while a few staff members voice recurring characters; supervising producerJennifer Howell voices studentBebe Stevens,^[3] storyboard artistAdrien Beard voices the school's only black student,Tolkien Black,^[16] producerVernon Chatman voiced ananthropomorphic towel namedTowelie,^[3] and supervising producer John Hansen voicesMr. Slave, the former gay lover of Mr. Garrison.^[17] Series developerEric Stough also voicesKenny McCormick "un-muffled", in the few episodes where the character does not wear his trademark parka that normally muffles his voice.^[18] 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.^[19]

When voicing child characters, the voice actors speak within their normal vocal range while adding a childlike inflection. The recorded audio is then edited withPro Tools, and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound more like that of a 10-year-old.^[20][21][22]

Isaac Hayes voiced the character ofChef, a black,soul-singing cafeteria worker who was one of the few adults the boys consistently trusted.^[23][24] Hayes agreed to voice the character after being among Parker and Stone's ideal candidates which also includedLou Rawls andBarry White.^[25] Hayes, who lived and hosted a radio show in New York during his tenure withSouth 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.^[26] After Hayes left the show in early 2006, the character of Chef waskilled off in theseason 10 (2006) premiere "The Return of Chef".

Celebrities who appear on the show are usually impersonated, though some celebrities lend their voice to their characters. Celebrities who have voiced themselves includeMichael Buffer,^[27][28]Brent Musburger,^[29]Jay Leno,^[30]Robert Smith,^[31] and the bandsRadiohead andKorn.^[32][33]Comedy teamCheech & Chong voiced characters representing their likenesses for theseason four (2000) episode "Cherokee Hair Tampons", which was the duo's first collaborative effort in 20 years.^[4]Malcolm McDowell appears in live-action sequences as the narrator of theseason four episode "Pip".^[34]

Jennifer Aniston,^[35]Richard Belzer,^[36]Natasha Henstridge,^[31]Norman Lear,^[37] andPeter Serafinowicz^[38] have guest starred as other speaking characters. DuringSouth Park's earliest seasons, several high-profile celebrities inquired about guest-starring on the show. As a joke, Parker and Stone responded by offering low-profile, non-speaking roles, most of which were accepted;George Clooney provided the barks for Stan's dog Sparky in theseason one (1997) episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride",^[39] Leno provided the meows for Cartman's cat in the season one finale "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut",^[39] andHenry Winkler voiced the various growls and grunts of a kid-eating monster in theseason two (1998) episode "City on the Edge of Forever".^[40]Jerry Seinfeld offered to lend his voice for theThanksgiving episode "Starvin' Marvin", but declined to appear when he was only offered a role as "Turkey #4".^[41]

Trey Parker voices four of the main characters:Stan Marsh,Eric Cartman,Randy Marsh andMr. Garrison. He also provides the voices of several recurring characters, such asClyde Donovan,Mr. Hankey,Mr. Mackey,Stephen Stotch,Jimmy Valmer,Timmy Burch,Tuong Lu Kim andPhillip.

Matt Stone voices three of the main characters:Kyle Broflovski,Kenny McCormick andButters Stotch. He also provides the voices of several recurring characters, such asGerald Broflovski,Stuart McCormick,Craig Tucker,Jimbo Kern,Terrance,Saddam Hussein,Tweek Tweak,Mr. Adler andJesus.

Mona Marshall voicesSheila Broflovski,Linda Stotch, andYentl Cartman.

April Stewart voicesLiane Cartman,Sharon Marsh,Carol McCormick,Shelly Marsh,Mayor McDaniels,Principal Victoria andWendy Testaburger.

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The recurring guest voices includeJohn Hansen,Vernon Chatman,Adrien Beard andJennifer Howell.

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".

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 2006 respectively.

• Lists of actors by comedy television series
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