Anthony Keith Book is a retired English footballer and manager who was born in Bath, 4 September 1934. Book spent a large part of his career in Non-League football with his home town club Bath City, before entering league football with Plymouth Argyle. At the age of 31, he joined First Division Manchester City, where he became captain. Under Book's captaincy, Manchester City won four trophies, making him the most decorated Manchester City captain of all-time. Book had a five year tenure as Manchester City manager from 1974–1979, and subsequently held various coaching roles at the club until 1996.

Early life and non-league career[link]

Tony Book was born in Bath, but at the age of four moved to India when his father, an officer in the Somerset Light Infantry, received an overseas posting.^[1] During World War II, Book's father served in Burma, and Book lived with his mother and brothers in army quarters in a number of places in British India, including Mumbai and Multan. In September 1945, the Book family returned to England. Tony started secondary school in Bath, and gained his first experience in competitive football when he was selected to play for both Bath boys and Somerset boys.^[2]

After leaving school at 16, Book became an apprentice bricklayer and played amateur football as an inside-forward for Peasedown Miners, until he was called up for national service in 1952.^[3] While playing for his army team Book converted to the full-back position and had a trial with Chelsea courtesy of a recommendation from army team-mate Frank Blunstone, but was not taken on.^[4] Following the completion of his national service, Book returned his bricklaying job in Bath and started playing for Frome Town.^[2] During the 1955–56 season Frome suffered financial difficulties, and sent letters to all their players permitting them to leave if they wished. Book showed his letter to a work colleague, who played for Bath City of the Southern League. He in turn informed the Bath chairman, and Book signed for the club in January 1956.^[5] He spent seven and a half years at Bath, becoming captain in the latter part of his Bath career, and winning the Southern League title in 1960. In the 1962 close season, Malcolm Allison became Bath manager, beginning a long association between the two.

Professional career[link]

At the close of the 1962–63 season, Allison received an offer to coach Canadian team Toronto City over the summer and took Book with him. Though Allison left after a short time to take up a position at Plymouth Argyle, Book stayed three months, in which time he was voted the best full-back in Canada.^[6]

Upon his return to England, Book was signed for Plymouth by Allison for a fee of £1,500, and Book entered the Football League for the first time at the age of 30, though Plymouth believed him to be 28 – Allison had advised Book to doctor his birth certificate as he thought the Plymouth board would not pay £1,500 for a 30 year old.^[7] After making 81 league appearances, Book followed Malcolm Allison again to Manchester City two years later, this time for a transfer fee of £17,000.^[8] Manager Joe Mercer was initially reluctant to spend such a fee on a player over 30 years old, but was persuaded after Allison pointed out that Mercer's career had included a successful move at a similar age, when he joined Everton from Arsenal aged 32.^[9]

Book prospered under the management of Mercer and Allison. He made his Manchester City debut in the opening match of the 1966–67 season, a 1–1 draw with Southampton,^[8] and became a near-permanent fixture in the team. In his first season at the club he missed just one game,^[10] becoming the inaugural winner of the club's Player of the Year award^[11] in a season in which the club consolidated their position following promotion.

In the 1967 close season, Book was named captain following the transfer of previous captain Johnny Crossan to Middlesbrough, and was henceforth nicknamed Skip by his teammates. His first season as captain was a very successful one, leading Manchester City to their second league championship and playing every game. An Achilles injury sidelined Book for the first four months of the 1968–69 season, but he returned to the team in time for the start of their FA Cup run. In the week preceding the cup final, Book was named the 1969 Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year Award, sharing the accolade with Dave Mackay.^[12] The following Saturday Manchester City played Leicester in the FA Cup final. Manchester City won 1–0, and captain Book lifted the trophy. The following season City became the first team to win a European and domestic trophy in the same season, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the League Cup. Book retired from playing in 1974,^[10] passing the captaincy to Colin Bell. He made 242 football league appearances for the club, and is City's most successful captain in terms of trophies won.

Management career[link]

In November 1973, Manchester City manager Johnny Hart resigned due to ill health, and Book took temporary responsibility for first-team affairs, and was named assistant manager when Ron Saunders became the next permanent manager. At this point Book retired from playing to concentrate on management. Saunders was sacked after less than six months, and Book again took on the caretaker role, and was appointed permanent manager one game later. The first notable victory of Book's management was a 1–0 Manchester derby win, best known for the back-heel scored by Denis Law.^[13] Book's first full season as manager resulted in an eighth place finish, an improvement upon the previous season, when the team finished 14th.^[13] In 1976, Book's City side won the League Cup final, making him the first person to win the competition as both player and manager. Book remained manager until 1979, when he was replaced by his former mentor Malcolm Allison. He then became a loyal stalwart to the club in several other roles until 1997, including as caretaker manager again in 1993.^[14] He joined Huddersfield Town in 1997 as Chief Scout under Brian Horton.

As of 2008 Book is retired, but holds two honorary positions; he is Honorary President of Manchester City^[15] and Life President of the Manchester City Official Supporters Club.^[16] He was inducted into Manchester City's Hall of Fame in January 2004.^[17]

His brother Kim Book was a goalkeeper for Bournemouth, Northampton Town, Mansfield Town and Doncaster Rovers while Kim's son Steve was also a goalkeeper, principally with Cheltenham Town.

Honours won[link]

Manchester City (as player and manager)

• European Cup Winners' Cup
  • Winner: 1970

• First Division
  • Champions: 1967–68
  • Runner-up: 1976–77

• FA Cup
  • Winner: 1969

• Football League Cup
  • Winner: 1970, 1976

• FA Charity Shield
  • Winner: 1968, 1972

• FWA Footballer of the Year
  • Joint winner (with Dave Mackay): 1969

Footnotes[link]

This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality, and to make it neutral in tone. (February 2012)

Tony Iommi
Background information
Birth name	Anthony Frank Iommi
Born	(1948-02-19) 19 February 1948 (age 64) Birmingham, United Kingdom
Genres	Heavy metal, blues rock, hard rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1964–present
Labels	Warner Bros., I.R.S., Rhino
Associated acts	Mythology, Velvett Fogg, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Glenn Hughes, Heaven & Hell
Website	Official website
Notable instruments
Tony Iommi Signature SG

Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi^[1][2] (born 19 February 1948, Heathfield Road Hospital, Handsworth, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom) is an English guitarist and songwriter, best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, its main composer and sole continual member through multiple personnel changes. Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in heavy metal music. According to Allmusic, "Iommi is one of only two guitarists (the other being Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page) that can take full credit for pioneering the mammoth riffs of heavy metal."^[3]

In 2004, Iommi was ranked number one on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time",^[4] and in 2011, ranked 25th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".^[5] On 13 October (Europe) and 1 November (United States) 2011 Iommi's autobiography was published, entitled Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath.^[6] On 9 January 2012, it was announced that Iommi had been diagnosed with early stage lymphoma.^[7]

Career[link]

Early history[link]

The son of first generation British Italians, Tony Iommi originally wanted to play the drums, but due to the noise they produce he picked up the guitar as a teenager, after being inspired by the likes of Hank Marvin and The Shadows.^[8] He plays guitar left-handed. In an industrial accident at the age of 17 on his last day of work in a sheet metal factory, he lost the tips of the middle and ring finger of his right hand.^[9]

After the injury Iommi contemplated abandoning the guitar. However, his manager encouraged Iommi to pursue music by playing a recording of famed jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. As Iommi would later write:^[10]

My friend said, "Listen to this guy play," and I went, "No way! Listening to someone play the guitar is the very last thing I want to do right now!" But he kept insisting and he ended up playing the record for me. I told him I thought it was really good and then he said, "You know, the guy's only playing with two fingers on his fretboard hand because of an injury he sustained in a terrible fire." I was totally knocked back by this revelation and was so impressed by what I had just heard that I suddenly became inspired to start trying to play again.

To compensate for his injury Iommi attempted to learn to play right-handed,^[11] but eventually returned to left-handed playing and strung his guitars with lighter strings and made thimbles to extend his fingers.^[12]

Pre-Black Sabbath[link]

Iommi had played in several blues/rock bands, the earliest of which was The Rockin' Chevrolets from 1964 to 1965. The band had regular bookings and when they were offered work in Germany, Iommi decided to leave his factory job to take up the opportunity. From 1966 to 1967 Iommi played in a band named The Rest. This was the first time Iommi played with future Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward.

From January 1968 until July 1968 Iommi was guitarist in Mythology, with Ward joining a month later in mid-February. In May 1968 police raided the group's practice flat and found cannabis resin, which resulted in a £15 fine and a two-year conditional discharge for Iommi, Ward, Smith and Marshall. Mythology split up after a gig in Silloth on 13 July 1968.

In August 1968 at the same time as the breakup of Mythology, a band called Rare Breed also broke up. Rare Breed vocalist John "Ozzy" Osbourne and rhythm guitarist Terry "Geezer" Butler joined with Iommi and Ward from Mythology and also slide guitarist Jimmy Phillips and saxophonist Alan "Aker" Clarke. The six-piece band, now with Butler as bassist, were named the Polka Tulk Blues Company. After just two gigs (the last of which was at the Banklands Youth Club in Workington), Phillips and Clarke were dismissed from the band, which soon after shortened its name to Polka Tulk.

Earth and Jethro Tull[link]

Iommi, Butler, Ward and Osbourne renamed the band Earth in September 1968. They carried on under this moniker until December 1968 when Iommi briefly departed to join Jethro Tull. However after only one performance (an appearance on "The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus" in which the band mimed "A Song for Jeffrey", which Ian Anderson sang live), Iommi was back with Earth once more.

Iommi on his brief working relationship with Jethro Tull vocalist Ian Anderson:

I learned quite a lot from him, I must say. I learned that you have got to work at it. You have to rehearse. When I came back and I got the band (Earth) back together, I made sure that everybody was up early in the morning and rehearsing. I used to go and pick them up. I was the only one at the time that could drive. I used to have to drive the bloody van and get them up at quarter to nine every morning; which was, believe me, early for us then. I said to them, "This is how we have got to do it because this is how Jethro Tull did it." They had a schedule and they knew that they were going to work from this time till that time. I tried that with our band and we got into doing it. It worked. Instead of just strolling in at any hour, it made it more like we were saying, "Let’s do it!"

Black Sabbath[link]

Black Sabbath: Iommi (left) with Ozzy Osbourne in 1973

In August 1969, following the confusion with another group named Earth (who had minor success in England), the group renamed themselves Black Sabbath. His aforementioned factory accident affected the Black Sabbath sound later on, as Iommi detuned his guitar from E to C# (a minor third down), in order to ease the tension on his fingers; Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler did the same to match Iommi. Sabbath were among the first bands to detune, and the technique became a mainstay of heavy metal music. The first two Black Sabbath albums are actually in E tuning, however, as Iommi didn't start tuning down to C# until 1971's Master of Reality. Iommi combined blues-like guitar solos and dark, minor-key riffing with a revolutionary high-gain, heavily distorted tone with his use of a modified treble-boosting effect-pedal and a Gibson SG, as well as plugging his guitar into his amp's bass input.

By the mid-1970s, incessant drug usage, managerial problems and constant touring had taken its toll on the band and Ozzy Osbourne was fired in 1979 by Iommi. Osbourne was replaced with Ronnie James Dio, the former vocalist for Rainbow (a band formed by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore). With Dio Black Sabbath produced Heaven and Hell, prior to replacing Bill Ward with Vinny Appice. With Iommi and Geezer Butler the only original members, this line-up produced Mob Rules. During the '80s and '90s Iommi rebuilt the band with many lineup changes with vocalists including Ian Gillan (formerly of Deep Purple), Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin and Ray Gillen. After Ian Gillan departed the band in 1984 Iommi recorded his first solo album, entitled Seventh Star. The album featured Glenn Hughes (formerly of Deep Purple) on vocals, but due to label pressures, it was billed as a release by "Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi."

In 1992 Iommi appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, playing four songs with the remaining members of Queen and other guest artists. In the following year Iommi teamed up with fellow Black Country band Diamond Head and co-wrote the song "Starcrossed (Lovers in the Night)" for their 1993 Death and Progress album. At Ozzy's "farewell" concert at Costa Mesa in 1992, Dio refused to perform and abruptly left the band. As a result Rob Halford was recruited to perform as the vocalist for two gigs (Halford also sang at one of the dates on the 2004 Ozzfest tour, when Ozzy couldn't perform due to bronchitis). Following Osbourne's solo set, the show concluded with Ozzy bringing out the other members of the original Black Sabbath line-up for a 4-song reunion.

Black Sabbath went on to record two further albums with Tony Martin before the original line-up reunited as a touring band in 1997. While Bill Ward played at the two initial reunion shows at Birmingham NEC in December 1997, he was not present for the following two reunion tours, his second absence due to a heart attack. Ward was replaced by Mike Bordin and then Vinny Appice.

Rob Halford, vocalist for Judas Priest, when filling in for Ozzy Osbourne during an August 2004 concert in Philadelphia, introduced Tony Iommi to the audience as "The man who invented the heavy metal riff".

On 11/11/11, the original band members announced that they were reuniting and recording a new album.^[13] The band are scheduled to play at Download Festival in 2012, followed by a world tour.^[14]

Solo career[link]

In 2000 Iommi released his first legitimate solo album, titled Iommi. The album featured several guest vocalists including Ian Astbury, Henry Rollins, Serj Tankian, Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan, Phil Anselmo, Peter Steele and Ozzy Osbourne. Also in the vocal mix was Skin (of Skunk Anansie). In late 2004 Iommi's second solo album was released, entitled The 1996 DEP Sessions. This album was originally recorded in 1996 but was never officially released. However, a copy with a drum track by Dave Holland was available as a bootleg called Eighth Star. Glenn Hughes performed vocals on the album and he furthered his collaboration with Hughes with the release of his third solo album, Fused. Released on 12 July 2005, John Mellencamp drummer Kenny Aronoff completed the trio on the album.

Iommi has signed with Mike Fleiss's movie production company Next Films to score a series of horror films entitled Black Sabbath.^[15]

Heaven & Hell[link]

Star on Birmingham Walk of Stars

In October 2006 it was reported that Iommi would tour with Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ronnie James Dio again, but under the moniker Heaven & Hell. Later it was announced that Ward had decided not to participate and Vinny Appice was hired as his replacement.^[16] Rhino Records released "The Dio Years" (under the 'Black Sabbath' moniker) album on 3 April 2007. The album showcased older tracks with Dio and also included three brand new songs recorded with Dio and Appice.

The band started an American tour in April 2007 with Megadeth and Down as opening acts. The tour finished in November in England with the prospect of an album to follow in 2008. During this period the band's show at the New York Radio City Music Hall was released as both a live DVD and CD with a vinyl release in the UK in 2008. During the summer of 2008 the band embarked on the Metal Masters Tour along with Judas Priest, Motörhead and Testament.^[17] The band's first and only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on 28 April 2009.^[18]

In November 2008 Iommi had a star revealed on the Birmingham Walk of Stars. Dio died of stomach cancer in May 2010 and on 14 June 2010, Iommi announced that Heaven & Hell would perform a one-off tribute to Ronnie James Dio at the High Voltage Festival, London on 24 July 2010. This was the band's last performance under the name.

Personal life[link]

Iommi has been married four times.^[19]

• During the 1970s Iommi was married to Susan Snowdon, who was related to British Royal photographer Lord Snowdon.^[20] This relationship lasted for some eight years, and Iommi said in a 1991 Guitar World interview that the troubled recording and mixing of Black Sabbath's 1976 album Technical Ecstasy caused the end of his marriage.
• Iommi married an American model named Melinda in 1980. They had a daughter, Toni-Marie Iommi, divorced in the mid-1980s.^[21]
• In 1986-7 Iommi met a Englishwoman named Valery, and after a six year relationship they married. She had a son from a previous relationship named Jay. They divorced in the late 90s.^[21] Iommi confirmed in the same Guitar World interview referenced above (a co-interview with Metallica's James Hetfield) that he has a son. He told Hetfield regarding the band's so-called "Black Album," that "my son gave me a copy of your latest album..."
• In 1999, Iommi married Maria Sjöholm, formerly vocalist for the metal band Drain STH.^[22] He has a daughter from a previous marriage, Toni-Marie, who was the vocalist for the now-defunct band LunarMile.^[23] Mikko "Linde" Lindström, guitarist with Finnish band HIM became engaged to Toni-Marie Iommi in August 2010.^[24]

During the mid-1980s Iommi was romantically involved with, and briefly engaged to, Lita Ford.^[25][26] He co-produced her album The Bride Wore Black, which to date remains unreleased. Ford said in a 1989 Kerrang! interview, "there's a certain amount of bad blood between Tony Iommi and I."

Iommi, along with fellow Sabbath member Geezer Butler, is a passionate supporter of Aston Villa, his home town football club.^[27]

Arrest and Following Lawsuit[link]

Iommi was arrested in November 1992 during the US leg of the 'Dehumanizer' world tour and incarcerated in the Modesto, California, jail for supposed non-payment of child support (again referenced in Cross Purposes' liner notes).^[28][29]

Years later, Ozzy sued Iommi for $75,000, claiming Iommi owed him the bail for this arrest. Iommi denied owing Ozzy any money.^[30] Iommi maintains that bail was posted by his managers Ralph Baker and Ernest Chapman.^[31]

In 2009 Iommi was again sued by bandmate Ozzy Osbourne over ownership of the "Black Sabbath" name.^[32] A Manhattan federal judge ruled in February 2010 that Osbourne could proceed with the suit, but urged both sides to consider resuming mediation.^[33] In June 2010, the legal battle between Osbourne and Iommi over the trademarking of the Black Sabbath name ended, but the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.^[34]

Illness[link]

In early 2012, Iommi was diagnosed with early stages of lymphoma.^[7]

Equipment[link]

Iommi's deep and heavy sound was partly born out of necessity—his "revolutionary signature sound" being the result of the accident and the subsequent downtuning by three semi-tones. He said that his "extreme volume" was likewise necessary, "because we were fed up with people talking over us while we were playing."^[12]

Guitars[link]

• Jaydee Custom SG's^[36]

Built in Birmingham by luthier John Diggins sometime between 1975 and 1978, the guitar was first used for overdubs on the 'Heaven and Hell' album and later became one of Iommi's main guitars. The guitar is equipped with a 24 fret neck with custom cross inlays, four control knobs (three of which are functional), a disconnected second output jack, a hole for a master volume knob on the pick guard covered up with a black stopper and a highly distressed finish. He had two more built for him. One was made to the same specifications of his first Jaydee SG with a red finish. Another one was made and used during the Born Again era, which can be seen on the music videos for "Trashed" and "Zero the Hero." The differences are the finish, headstock, use of a stoptail brige, and use of rail humbuckers, as opposed to the 18-pole humbuckers on his two other versions.

• Gibson SG, aka "Monkey"^[37]

A 1965 Gibson SG Special in red finish fitted with a Gibson P-90 pickup in the bridge position and a custom-wound John Birch Simplux, a P-90 style single coil in the neck position. The guitar became Iommi's main instrument after his white Stratocaster's neck pickup failed during the recording of Black Sabbath's self-titled album.

• Gibson Custom Shop SG^[38]

The guitar was built by the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville after Iommi's specifications and finished in 1997. The guitar is one of two made as prototypes for the Gibson Custom Shop Limited Edition Iommi Special SG. The guitar features a neck with 24 frets and four control knobs, of which only two are active (much like his old Jaydee Custom guitar).

On August 11, 2010, Iommi announced on his website that this guitar was stolen from the RJD tribute show that Heaven & Hell performed at High Voltage on July 24, 2010. He is asking that anyone with information or leads let them know. He is offering a reward for its safe return.^[39]

• Epiphone P94 Iommi SG^[40]

A stock Epiphone SG signature model in black finish fitted with P-94 pickups which is a version of the Gibson P-90 pickup designed to fit into existing humbucker housings.

• Gibson SG Standard

A regular left-handed version of the SG fitted with two extra frets to give Iommi the full two octaves which he prefers. The guitar is equipped with his signature pickup. Iommi was the first guitarist to have a signature pickup designed and built by Gibson. He also has another model fitted with a Floyd Rose floating tremolo.^[41]

• Fender Stratocaster^[42]

Iommi played a Fender Stratocaster that was spraypainted white by Iommi and his father during the early days with Black Sabbath. However, the pickup malfunctioned during the recording of their first album so Iommi quickly turned to his backup Gibson SG to finish the record. Currently Iommi owns two Stratocasters, one of which has been modified with his signature pickup in the bridge position.

• BC Rich Ironbird.

Custom built for Iommi by BC Rich. Features include Dimarzio pickups, two built-in preamps,scalloped fretboard and Iommi's trademark cross inlays. This guitar can be seen in Tony's Star Licks Video, for Star Licks Productions along with a left handed BC Rich mockingbird.

• Gibson Barney Kessel^[43]

A rare left-handed version of the jazz guitarist Barney Kessel artist model, built sometime in the first half of the 1960s.

• Epiphone Riviera 12 string^[44]

Originally a regular right-handed version in red finish that was converted by Epiphone to a left-handed version to fit Iommi.

• LaBella custom gauge strings^[45]
• Shure Wireless systems^[46]

Effects[link]

• Tycobrahe Octavia^[47]
• Tycobrahe Wah Pedal^[48][49]
• Korg Rackmount Delay Model SDD1000
• Boss Chorus pedal
• Korg DL8000R multi-tap delay
• Peavey Addverb III
• Boss Octave Divider
• Drawmer LX22 Compressor
• Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster

Amplifiers[link]

• Laney GH 100 TI Tony Iommi Signature amplifiers:^[50] current main amplifier
• Engl Powerball Amplifiers:^[51] only used in 2009
• Laney 4×12 cabinets^[50]
• Various Marshall amplifiers: from early to mid-1980s to 1993, including 9005 Power Amplifiers and 9001 Preamps, 4×12" speaker cabinets, 2554 Silver Jubilee Combo, 2558 Silver Jubilee Combo, Paul Reed Smith modded JCM800 head.
• Laney Supergroup heads: his main amplifier from 1968 to 1979
• Orange 1972 w/ 4x12 cab
• Laney Klipp: used on Master of Reality (Requires source verification?)
• Mesa Boogie Mark series heads: from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s

Discography[link]

Solo[link]

• Iommi (2000)
• The 1996 DEP Sessions (2004)
• Fused (2005)

with Black Sabbath[link]

with Heaven & Hell[link]

• Live from Radio City Music Hall (2007)
• The Devil You Know (2009)
• Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell (2010)

Guest / other appearances[link]

• Various Artists - Heavy Metal Soundtrack (1981)
• Various Artists - Rock Aid Armenia (1989)
• Various Artists - Guitar Speak II (1990)
• Queen & Various Artists - The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (1992)
• Diamond Head - Death and Progress (1993)
• Ozzy Osbourne - Live and Loud (1993)
• Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre (1995)
• Various Artists - Twang! - A Tribute to Hank Marvin & The Shadows (1996)
• Ozzy Osbourne - The Ozzman Cometh (1997)
• Necromandus - Orexis of Death (1999, recorded 1973)
• Various Artists - Party at the Palace: The Queen’s Concerts, Buckingham Palace (2002)
• Ian Gillan - Gillan's Inn (2006)
• WhoCares - Out of My Mind/Holy Water (2011, charity CD single)

See also[link]

	Book: Black Sabbath
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tony Iommi

• Official Tony Iommi web site

Trey Parker
Parker at The Amazing Meeting, January 20, 2007
Born	Randolph Severn Parker III (1969-10-19) October 19, 1969 (age 42) Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, writer, director, producer, musician
Spouse	Emma Sugiyama (2005–2008)[1]

Trey Parker (born Randolph Severn Parker III; October 19, 1969) is an American actor, voice artist, animator, screenwriter, director, producer and musician, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.

Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short titled Jesus vs. Frosty. His first success came from Cannibal! The Musical. From there he made another short titled Jesus vs. Santa, which led him and college friend Stone to create South Park, which began airing on television in 1997. He has won four Emmy Awards for his role in South Park, winning for both "Outstanding Programming More Than One Hour" and "Outstanding Programming Less Than One Hour".

He co-wrote and co-directed the 2011 multi-Tony Award winning musical The Book of Mormon.

Early life[link]

Parker was born in Denver, Colorado, the son of Randy (a geologist) and Sharon (an insurance broker). The two share the first names and occupations of South Park characters Randy and Sharon Marsh.^[2] He has an older sister named Shelley, which is also the name of Stan Marsh's older sister. In the sixth grade, Parker wrote a sketch titled The Dentist and appeared in his school's talent show. He played the dentist and had a friend play the patient. The plot involved what can go wrong at the dentist; due to the amounts of fake blood involved, Parker's parents were called and were upset. "The kindergartners were all crying and freaking out," Parker recalled.^[3] As a teenager, Parker developed a love for musical theatre, and joined the Evergreen Players, a venerable mountain community theater outside of Denver. At 14, he performed his first role as chorus member in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Flower Drum Song and went on to also design sets for the community theater's production of Little Shop of Horrors. Parker attended high school at Evergreen High, where he continued his musical endeavors through starring as Danny Zuko in Grease. He also played piano for the chorus and was president of the choir counsel.^[4][5]

Parker worked hard in school and had a part-time student job in a pizza restaurant. Parker was also a "film geek and music buff".^[6] Parker grew up in the Conifer, Colorado area, and attended Berklee College of Music before transferring to the University of Colorado, where he majored in music and Japanese.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

In 1992, Parker and Stone created Jesus vs. Frosty.^[7] It included four boys, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick and Eric Cartman. Both Jesus vs. Frosty and Cannibal! The Musical were made while they were students at the University of Colorado film school, studying under both Stan Brakhage and Jerry Aronson. Afterwards, the two friends set off for Hollywood in hopes of making more movies. Brian Graden, then an executive at Fox, put Parker to work making a pilot for a musical children's television series called Time Warped. The pilot, called "Rom and Jul," was a love story about a Homo erectus and an Australopithecus. Fox passed on the series, but Graden paid Parker and Stone $1,200 to make a new version of The Spirit of Christmas he could send out as a video Christmas card.^[3]

They came up with two worthwhile ideas; one a sequel to Jesus vs. Frosty, titled Jesus vs. Santa, and one about a character that would later be recurring in South Park, Mr. Hankey.^[8] They chose to write about the four boys. The result was The Spirit of Christmas, an animated short film that centered on four crude-acting, blob-shaped third-grade boys forced to intervene in a nasty fistfight between Jesus Christ and Santa Claus. The tape was a smash, passed around and copied endlessly in media circles in Los Angeles and New York City.^[9] The video landed in the hands of Doug Herzog of Comedy Central. "It literally was the funniest thing I'd ever seen," he said in a 2006 interview. "We said, 'Develop a show.' So they went off and developed the show."^[3] Stone and Parker produced 13 episodes for season 1. South Park is currently still under contract to produce new episodes through 2016.^[10]

In 1997, they also released Orgazmo, a movie rated NC-17. In 1998, they starred in (but did not write or direct) BASEketball, another feature film, while being renewed for a second season of South Park. In 1999, Parker and Stone made South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, which gave the series a new level of prominence.^[11] He was nominated for an Academy Award as the co-writer of one of the film's songs, "Blame Canada," but did not win. In 2001, the duo announced they would do 39 shorts between the lengths of 2 and 5 minutes. Although originally thought to be South Park related, they decided they would do something different. The result was the shorts Princess.^[12] The content was so extreme that it was cancelled after two shows aired. In 2001, they also created That's My Bush!, another television series. Despite great reviews, the show was cancelled after one season for the cost per episode. In 2004, they made a film, titled Team America: World Police.^[13][14] The film was not considered a box-office success, grossing 51 million dollars in theaters, despite largely positive reviews (78% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com).^[15] As of 2011, South Park is in its fifteenth season.

Parker is also a member of the band DVDA with Stone, for which he plays keyboards and sings. DVDA's songs have appeared in many of the duo's productions. They include Orgazmo, BASEketball, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and Team America: World Police.^{[16][17][18][19]}

Trey claimed to have been on acid with Matt Stone at the time of the 2000 Academy Awards, where they wore dresses popularized by Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow at previous awards shows.^[20]

On September 28, 2007, Parker and Stone acquired the rights to the Canadian-made Kenny vs. Spenny, which premiered November 14, 2007 on Comedy Central with ten old and new episodes.^[21]

In April 2010, Trey Parker and Matt Stone received a "warning" for allegedly representing the Prophet Muhammad in a bear costume: "We have to warn Matt and Trey [South Park creators] that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show."^[22] It was revealed in the next episode that the person in the bear costume was really Santa Claus and not the Prophet Muhammad.

Theater productions[link]

Parker and Stone have collaborated with Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez on a musical about Mormons; it is titled The Book of Mormon, and stars Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad.^[23] It has been produced by Scott Rudin and Anne Garefino. It opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on March 24, 2011, following previews from February 24, 2011.^[24] The Book of Mormon won nine Tony Awards in 2011, including that of Best Direction of a Musical for Parker and co-director Casey Nicholaw.

[edit] Voices on South Park

Personal life[link]

In 2006, Parker married Emma Sugiyama. The officiant was 1970s sitcom producer Norman Lear.^[1][25] That marriage ended, and Parker is now living with a woman and her son.^[25][26]

On a September 2006 airing of the ABC news program Nightline, Parker articulated his position on religion. He stated that he believes there is knowledge that humanity may not yet possess, and cautioned that it would take a long time to explain exactly what he meant by his belief in God. Parker believes all religions are silly. He states that "All the religions are superfunny to me......The story of Jesus makes no sense to me. God sent his only son. Why could God only have one son and why would he have to die? It's just bad writing, really. And it's really terrible in about the second act."^[27] Parker further remarked, "Basically ... out of all the ridiculous religion stories which are greatly, wonderfully ridiculous — the silliest one I've ever heard is, 'Yeah ... there's this big giant universe and it's expanding, it's all gonna collapse on itself and we're all just here just 'cause ... just 'cause'. That, to me, is the most ridiculous explanation ever."^[28]

Discography[link]

• Baseketball (soundtrack) (1998)
• Orgazmo (soundtrack) (1998)
• Chef Aid: The South Park Album (1998)
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (soundtrack) (1999)
• Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics (1999)
• Team America: World Police (soundtrack) (2005)

Filmography[link]

Awards and Nominations[link]

This section requires expansion.

Tony Awards[link]

Trey Parker has won four Tony Awards.^[29]

• 2011 – Best Musical for The Book of Mormon
• 2011 – Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for The Book of Mormon
• 2011 – Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for The Book of Mormon
• 2011 – Tony Award for Best Original Score for The Book of Mormon

Emmy Awards[link]

Parker has been nominated for ten Emmy Awards for South Park, winning four.

• 2009 – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) for "Margaritaville"
• 2008 – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More) for "Imaginationland"
• 2007 – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) for "Make Love, Not Warcraft"
• 2005 – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) for "Best Friends Forever"

Grammy Awards[link]

Parker has won one Grammy Award.

• 2011 - Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album for "The Book of Mormon: Original Cast Recording"^[30]

Academy Awards[link]

Parker has been nominated for one Academy Award.

• 1999 - Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Blame Canada" from "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut"^[31]

References[link]