| Matt Stone | |
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Stone at The Amazing Meeting in 2007 |
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| Born | Matthew Richard Stone May 26, 1971 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, writer, television director, television producer |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Religion | None |
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker.
Stone and Parker launched their largely collaborative careers in 1992, making a holiday short titled Jesus vs. Frosty. Their first success came from Alferd Packer: The Musical, subsequently distributed as Cannibal! The Musical. From there he made another short title Jesus vs. Santa, leading him and his college friend Trey Parker to create the animated television series South Park, which has been on television for over a decade. He has 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".
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Stone was born in Houston, Texas to Gerald Whitney Stone, Jr. (1941-2010), an economics professor and textbook author, and Sheila Lois Belasco (who share the first names of South Park character Kyle Broflovski's parents). Stone's mother is Jewish and his father was of Irish descent.[1] Stone and his younger sister, Rachel were raised in Littleton, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, Colorado, where both attended Heritage High School. He graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and was their first student to double major in film and mathematics.[2]
In 1992, Stone and Parker created Jesus vs. Frosty.[3] It included four boys, two resembling Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski, one called Kenny who looked like Cartman, and a fourth unnamed boy who looked like Kenny. Both Jesus 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. After the duo released Cannibal! The Musical, they were asked to make another animated short.[4][5] They came down to two ideas: one a sequel to Jesus vs. Frosty, and one about a character that would later be recurring in South Park, Mr. Hankey.[6] They chose to write about the four boys, and their decision ultimately opened the door for them to present a show (South Park) to Comedy Central.[7] Stone and Parker produced 13 episodes for season 1.[8] In 1999, Stone and Parker made South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, which gave the series prominence.[9] The film's music was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost to "You'll Be In My Heart" from Tarzan.[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 2001, the duo announced they would do 39 shorts between the lengths of 2 and 5 minutes.[11] 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.[13] In 2001, they also created That's My Bush!, another television series. Despite great reviews, the show was cancelled after one season for its cost, reportedly $700,000 per episode.[14]
In 2004, they made a film titled Team America: World Police[15][16] which many critics reviewed positively.[17] In August 2007, South Park was renewed for three more seasons, 13, 14 and 15, each of them containing 14 episodes.[18]
Stone is also a member of the band DVDA with Parker, for which he plays bass and drums. DVDA's songs have appeared in many of the duo's productions, including Orgazmo, BASEketball, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and Team America: World Police.[19][20][21][22]
On September 28, 2007, Parker and Stone acquired the US rights to the Canadian-made Kenny vs. Spenny, which premiered November 14, 2007 on Comedy Central with ten old and new episodes.[23]
Stone and Parker collaborated with Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez on a musical about Mormons titled The Book of Mormon, which stars Andrew Rannells, Josh Gad, Nikki M. James and Rory O'Malley. It opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on March 24, 2011, and is being produced by Scott Rudin and Anne Garefino. It is directed by Parker and Casey Nicholaw, and choreographed by Nicholaw.[24]
In April 2010, Stone and Parker received a "warning" for allegedly representing the Muslim prophet Muhammad in a bear costume: "We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Dutch director Theo van Gogh for airing this show."[25] It was revealed in the next episode that the person in the bear costume was actually Santa Claus and not Muhammad; the "real" Muhammad was supposed to appear as well, but Comedy Central had him censored out against Stone and Parker's wishes.
Stone claimed that he and Parker were on acid at the time of the 72nd Academy Awards in 2000, where they wore dresses popularized by Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow at previous awards shows.[26]
In 2008, Stone married Angela Howard. He has one son.[27][28]
Regarding religion, Stone considers himself "ethnically Jewish", on account of his mother's descent, but grew up agnostic, and has no other adherence to the religion,[1][28] identifying himself as an atheist.[29][30]
| Year | Production | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Jesus vs. Frosty | Director, Actor, Producer, Writer | |
| 1994 | Cannibal! The Musical | Actor, Producer | |
| 1995 | Jesus vs. Santa | Director, Actor, Producer, Writer | |
| Your Studio and You | Actor, Writer | Cameo | |
| 1997 | South Park (Television series; 1997–present) | Co-creator, Voice actor, Writer, Director, Executive producer | |
| Orgazmo | Actor, Writer, Producer | Cameo | |
| 1998 | BASEketball | Actor | |
| 1999 | South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut | Voice actor, Writer, Producer | |
| Terror Firmer | Actor | ||
| 2000 | Even If You Don't | Director | Music video |
| 2001 | Princess | Director, Writer, Voice actor, Producer | Animation shorts |
| That's My Bush! (Television series; 2001) | Co-creator, Writer, Executive producer | Cameo | |
| 2003 | Bowling for Columbine | Interviewee | |
| 2004 | Team America: World Police | Writer, Voice actor, Producer | |
| 2006 | This Film Is Not Yet Rated | Interviewee | |
| 2007 | Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo | Actor | |
| 2007 | Kenny vs. Spenny | Executive Producer | |
| 2010 | Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage | Himself |
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