Singer, songwriter, actor and legend Isaac Hayes died unexpectedly this afternoon.  He was discovered at his home collapsed beside a treadmill and was rushed to Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, where he was pronounced dead.  He was 65.

Hayes' early work set the stage for a bigger-than-life career.  His album "Hot Buttered Soul" chartered new ground for soul.  His "Theme From Shaft" shot him into stardom and set the bar for all disco to follow.

  He reclaimed the spotlight in 1997 when he was cast as Chef on South Park, a role that made his singing voice an institution for a new generation.  (He later left the series over a disagreement with the show's creators regarding their skewering of Scientology.)  He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

He is survived by eleven children and sixteen grandchildren.

(Source: MSNBC)