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Although Kenny is considered one of the “original four” main characters, he is often the outcast of the group and is given the least screen time, especially after season six. Despite this, he is still close to Kyle, Stan and Cartman and can even be considered one of the more compassionate boys of their group, as proven by his willingness to sacrifice himself at the end of the movie and his vulnerability to cry. Kenny, however, does have a temper, something that is usually provoked by one of Cartman’s many jabs about Kenny’s poverty or Cartman’s attempts to bully him.
Being that both his parents are alcoholics and regularly fight with each other, Kenny’s home life is extremely unstable. He has one brother and one sister, although neither sibling is shown very often. Cartman considers Kenny to live in “the ghetto” of South Park since the boy lives on the other side of the train tracks and his house is dumpy, dilapidated and infested with rats. Even Stan and Kyle find Kenny’s house unattractive and have openly spoke about not wanting to sleepover there.
The state of Kenny’s poverty seems to strictly depend on whether his father, Stuart, can keep a job. His mother, Carol, regularly criticizes her husband for this, however, the McCormick family has been known to have some money, being that Kenny was able to purchase a PSP game system, and later on, afford a World of Warcraft subscription. (It can be debated, however, that Kenny received a free PSP for being first in line at his local video game store.)
To fans, Kenny is known both as the boy who dies regularly and the one whose face is never shown, thus impairing his speech into muffles. Kenny’s noticeable traits have diminished over the years, as his full face has been shown several times, allowing viewers to hear his voice and see his set of fluffy, blonde hair. Although there are a few exceptions, Kenny was regularly killed in each episode of season one through five. At the end of season five, Kenny was killed off “permanently,” having been subdued to a terminal illness.
Throughout season six, his slot as the “fourth boy” was filled by Butters and Tweek up until the season finale, where he was finally brought back to life. (Although Kenny was cremated and Cartman drank his ashes in “A Ladder to Heaven” and was therefore possessed by Kenny’s soul, later, in “The Biggest Douche in the Universe,” his soul was transferred into a pot roast. How Kenny managed to find his way back to his actual body afterwards is unknown.)
Since his long-term absence in season six, Kenny’s notorious deaths have decreased to almost one per season. In season seven, Kenny survived up until the finale ( “It’s Christmas in Canada”), and in season eight, he was killed by Michael Jackson in the season premiere (“The Jeffersons”). In season nine, his death was given a full storyline in “Best Friends Forever,” but in season ten, he managed to survive completely.
In season eleven, Kenny's death was again saved for the season finale, “The List,” but he remained completely alive for season twelve. In The Ring, which is the first episode in season twelve, Kenny died of syphilis.