THE HAT SQUAD: ISAAC HAYES

While I was on vacation, Isaac Hayes died. He'll be best remembered overall as a musician, especially for the theme from "Shaft" for which he won an Oscar. I think it would have to rank up there as one of my top ten favorite songs; it really gets into my fingertips! (You know, for drumming on desktops.)

But he also acted in the movies, like in "I'm Gonna Get You, Suckah" and "Escape From New York".

It's for his Toobworld appearances, however, that we're saluting Hayes, however. For me, his best TV role was as Gandolph Fitch, the prison cellmate of Jim Rockford. As seen in three episodes of 'The Rockford Files', Gandy was always on the verge of breaking the "Rockfish" even as Jimbo tried to help him out. I think one of the episodes, in which he teamed up with a con artist friend of Rockford's whom he called Gabby, was probably intended to be a pilot for a series featuring the two characters. ("Gabby and Gandy.... sounds like a puppet show!")

But I know for most everybody else, it will be his voice as Chef on nearly 140 episodes of 'South Park' for which Isaac Hayes will be best remembered in Televsion. He also played Chef in the 'South Park' movie and in video games as well. However, the character was killed off - brutally! - when Hayes jumped ship and bad-mouthed the show because they finally attacked his "religion", Scientology. [Yes, that's right. I put the word "religion" in quotes.]
Here is the list of characters Isaac Hayes contributed to the citizenry of Toobworld:

RECURRING ROLES
"The Rockford Files" .... Gandolph Fitch

- Second Chance (1977)
- Just Another Polish Wedding (1977)

- The Hammer of C Block (1976)

"Stargate SG-1" .... Tolok
- 200 (2006) TV episode (voice) .... Teal'c PI Announcer
[Not having seen the episode, I can't say whether or not this could also have been Tolok.]

- Threads (2005)

- Reckoning: Part 2 (2005)

- Reckoning: Part 1 (2005)

"Girlfriends" .... Eugene Childs

- The Wedding (2003)

- Blood Is Thicker Than Liquor (2003)

"The Hughleys" .... The Man

- Miracle on 135th and Avalon (1999)

- Daddy's Going to Hell (1999)

GUEST ROLES

"Fastlane" .... Detective Marcus

- Pilot (2002)

"The Education of Max Bickford" .... 'Night Train' Raymond

- Save the Country (2002)

"Sliders" .... The Prime Oracle

- Obsession (1996)

"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" .... Minister

- The Wedding Show (Psyche!) (1995)

"Tales from the Crypt" .... Samuel
- Revenge Is the Nuts (1994)

"American Playhouse" .... Prophet

- Hallelujah (1993)

"Miami Vice" .... Holiday

- Child's Play (1987)

"Hunter" .... Jerome 'Typhoon' Thompson

- The Return of Typhoon Thompson (1986)

"The A-Team" .... C.J. Mack

- The Heart of Rock N' Roll (1985)

THE TOONIVERSE

"South Park" .... Chef (137 episodes, 1997-2006)

TV MOVIES
Anonymous Rex (2004) (TV) .... Elegant Man
Book of Days (2003) (TV) .... Jonah Parks
Soul Survivors (1995) (TV) .... Vernon Holland
Acting on Impulse (1993) (TV) .... Detective Stubbs

Hammer, Slammer, & Slade (1990) (TV) .... Hammer
[This sounds like a pilot movie.... And thanks to my buddy Hugh, I now know it was a spin-off from "I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka".]
Betrayed by Innocence (1986) (TV) .... Frank Moreno

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES
Isaac Hayes links all of these shows together by appearing as the fictional televersion of himself:

"That '70s Show"

- Spread Your Wings (2006)

"The Bernie Mac Show"

- The Music Mac (2005)

"Veronica's Closet"

- Veronica's New Year (1999)

So long to the Hammer of C Block.....

BCnU.....
Toby O'B