Toby Morton is a dick

The Tulsa comic on Blue Whale, the local comedy scene, and his time at “South Park”

Most notable for his writing and voice work on “South Park,” Toby Morton, a standup comedian, voice actor and animator—and director of the film festival leg of this year’s Blue Whale Comedy Festival—has performed since childhood, his aptitude derived from being the youngest of nine kids. 

“I had to earn my attention. That had a lot to do with me getting into acting,” said Morton, who initially wanted to be a writer. “Always comedy. I would take the most serious situations and write something funny about it.”

When “South Park” got picked up by Comedy Central in 1997, Morton, a childhood friend of co-creator Trey Parker, was invited to join the show. At the time, he was doing community theater in Texas. 

“[I was like,] I’m Seymour in ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ so there’s no way I’m leaving,” Morton chuckled. “I got a sweet gig at Fort Worth Community Theater. Fuckin’ set. I’m the shit. Good luck with your little cartoon.” 

Despite his initial resistance, Morton eventually joined the show, which quickly became a critical and commercial hit. When he first started working, he assumed his friendship with Parker would give him unearned status. He soon found otherwise when his first assignment was to deliver food to the animators. 

“I got so pissed. I had such a fuckin’ ego,” Morton recalled. “I was a dick.” 

After being brought back down to earth by Parker, he started working as a writer’s assistant, graduating to voice work, and eventually writing full episodes. In 2001, he voiced the titular villain of what is arguably one of the show’s best episodes, “Scott Tenorman Must Die.” (That same year, he also gave voice to the show’s first controversial depiction of the prophet Muhammad.) In 2005, Morton consulted on the episode “Best Friends Forever,” which would win the show its first Emmy.

Morton then joined “MADtv,” crafting charmingly crude crayon shorts called “Weekly Kid News with Toby” that eventually earned him other writing work on the show. He wrote for Parker and Stone’s sitcom, “That’s My Bush!” (based on the Dubya administration), as well as for the E! Network, and eventually for the BBC during a two-year stint in the British Isles.

A visit to his brother in Muskogee led Morton to Tulsa, where he would ultimately put down roots after his return from Europe. That wasn’t initially the plan (he had intended to go back to L.A. or perhaps give New York a shot) but the city charmed him. Striking up a friendship with local comedian Peter Bedgood, with whom he would collaborate on several projects, the Conifer, Colorado native quickly began to call Tulsa home.  

“I started getting into the local comedy community, made friends, and became comfortable here,” Morton said. “I just love it much more than L.A.” 

Recently married, Morton is currently working on “The Sandbox Weekly,” an animated web series based on his “Weekly Kid News” idea, while occasionally doing standup gigs. 

Since its inception in 2013, Morton has played various roles at the Blue Whale Comedy Festival. This year he’s again hosting and emceeing the short film component of the festival, which he curated with Tulsa American Film Festival founder Ben Arredondo, choosing eight films to showcase on Thursday, September 8 at the Woody Guthrie Center. 

Throughout the weekend, touring comedians and local acts will share the stages. Workshops for up-and-coming joke slingers include a comedy roundtable which gathers together the festival’s top standups to talk their craft. An industry roundtable, hosted by Morton, with representatives from Creative Artists Agency and SXSW, is meant to open doors for those ready to take the next step. 

Blue Whale has grown quickly and exponentially. While Morton sees some of the entitlement of his early years repeating itself locally, he’s hopeful the scene will mature with time. 

“I’m about the local comedy scene,” Morton said. “I just think some of the comedians still have chips on their shoulders. When they don’t get chosen for Blue Whale they have such thin skin. The last profession you should have thin skin in is comedy. You have to fuckin’ embrace it. You can still show up and mingle. I mean how often do you get to do that with all these comedians in Tulsa, Oklahoma?”

“There’s more to comedy than being funny and talented. It took me too long to learn that,” he said ruefully. “But I’m a dick.”

For more from Joe, read his review of Mike Birbiglia's “Don't Think Twice.”