Creation and design Randy is 45 years old, and like Parker's father, is a geologist, making his first appearance in the series while monitoring a
seismometer in the episode "
Volcano". Randy was depicted to work at the South Park Center for Seismic Activity and was later shown to work for the
U.S. Geological Survey, starting with the
season 8 episode "
Goobacks". He was briefly fired from his geologist job near the end of the
season 12 and quit briefly during the end of the
season 14, but has since been rehired both times. Randy has not been shown at the earthquake monitoring office since he opened Tegridy Farms, and in-show events strongly suggest that he has abandoned his previous career to raise marijuana full-time. Randy also serves on the
city council, specializing in the town's parks and public grounds. Randy frequently attempts to appear cool and popular, particularly to Stan, who finds his attempts embarrassing unless they benefit Stan's interests in some way. Among the endeavors on which Randy sometimes embarks are get-rich quick schemes or other strategies for economic or material gain. In "
Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes", he took a job as an associate at
Wal-Mart. In "
A Nightmare on Face Time", Randy buys the closed
Blockbuster Video in town, hoping to turn it around. In "
Black Friday", he takes a job as a security guard at the town's shopping mall during the Black Friday to infiltrate the mall before the stampede of shoppers. In later seasons, Randy is shown to have finally achieved a very high income from both his work as Lorde and his marijuana business, though this has not improved the underlying problems in his family relationships. Randy has known his wife, Sharon, since childhood. Taking liberties with its
floating timeline, the show establishes Randy and Sharon as being young adults during the
flower power era. They maintain steady friendships with the parents of Stan's friends and are revealed as enjoying the act of watching pornography together to enhance their sexual relationship. However, their marriage has not been without its frequent arguments, which are usually instigated when Sharon is annoyed, ashamed, or disgusted by Randy's eccentricities. The two briefly divorced on two occasions, but quickly reconciled both times. Randy tends to showcase liberal viewpoints, having protested the
2003 invasion of Iraq and supported
Barack Obama during the
2008 presidential race. Randy dropped out of high school and was a member of a
boyband in his teens, as shown in "
Something You Can Do with Your Finger", but he has mentioned that he attended college and has been indicated to hold a doctorate. The show frequently depicts Randy to be a moderate to heavy drinker, and numerous episodes have dealt with Randy's belligerent and negligent behavior brought upon by his severe intoxication. A few instances of personal achievement have made Randy a hero in the eyes of his friends and fellow townsfolk, such as being awarded a
Nobel Prize and twice setting a record for producing the world's largest piece of human
excrement. Randy has conversely been subjected to ridicule from the entire town, ranging from when he inadvertently accelerated the effects of
global warming by suggesting the entire populace take on a more uninhibited approach to
passing gas to avoid the hazard of
spontaneous combustion In addition to the professional singing he did in his youth, Randy can also play guitar, as seen in "
Guitar Queer-O". He can also speak a little
Mongolian, having learned some in college, as seen in the episode "
Child Abduction Is Not Funny". The episode "
Gluten Free Ebola" revealed that Randy produces music and performs as the noted musician
Lorde, a fact that was explored subsequently in "
The Cissy". As of season 22, Randy quit his job and moved the family to the countryside, where he sets up Tegridy Farms to grow and distribute cannabis. Throughout
season 23, Randy engages in increasingly unethical business practices until he is sent to prison in "
Season Finale"; though Randy is eventually released, he vows to no longer engage in illegal activities, though the cannabis season ends shortly after his release. In "
Christmas Snow", Randy begins selling
cocaine during the winter, which he has legalized in multiple states so that he can farm it. Finally, after years of the Tegridy storyline, Randy finally sold the farm and moved back to South Park in "
Sickofancy". ==Family==