‘King of the Hill’ Actor Johnny Hardwick Dies at Age 64

Johnny Hardwick, best known for his role as Dale Gribble on King of the Kill, has died at age 64, according to reports.

Sources in law enforcement confirmed to TMZ they were called to Hardwick’s Texas home on August 8 for a welfare check when they discovered his body. Reports state Hardwick was pronounced dead at the scene, and no foul play is suspected, although the cause of his death remains a mystery. Hardwick began his career by performing stand-up comedy in Texas in 1990, subsequently getting his first stand-up appearance on The Daily Show With Jon Steward a few years later.

20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved./ Courtesy Everett Collection

However, Hardwick is most prominently known for his voice acting work during the long-running animated sitcom King of the Hill, which featured his character Dale as a country conspiracy theorist and one of the lead characters—Hank Hill’s—best friends. The character is also known for his several jobs throughout the series, including being a bounty hunter, propane salesman, and camp counselor.

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Hardwick voiced about 258 episodes, only missing a single episode from the series’ 259 episode total. He began voicing Dale from the first episode, which aired in January 1997 and stayed with the character until the series finale in 2010. Although there is a revival of the show in the works, and Hardwick was listed as a returning character, it is unknown if he has ever recorded dialogue for it.

Outside of the show, Hardwick embraced his character and fans of him by dressing up and singing just like Dale while also making several references to the show, including his legendary pocket sand attack. As of August 2023, his channel had 17,800 subscribers and had received over 618,000 views, with videos primarily consisting of song parodies and monologues in the voice of Dale.