‘King Of The Hill’ Actor Dead At 64
According to Fox News, Johnny Hardwick, the voice of King Of The Hills “Dale Gribble,” has died.
Police were called to his Texas home for a welfare check and found his body, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of death has not been announced yet. Hardwick was a native of Austin, graduated from Texas Tech University, and worked as a bartender in Austin and Dallas in his 20s. He began doing stand-up in the early ’90s and later appeared on The John Stewart Show.
Hardwick’s star rose with gigs at Montreal Comedy Festival and later at the Laugh Factory in LA. Hardwick was spotted by Mike Judge, who was successful with Beavis and Butthead. Judge, a Texan resident, was developing King of the Hill and appreciated Hardwick’s Texan perspective. The creator hired Hardwick to write for the show soon after.
Hardwick voiced Gribble for 13 years in all 259 episodes of King of the Hill. He also produced, wrote, and edited 103 episodes of the show. Hardwick won an Emmy in 1999 for King of the Hill. Hardwick was set for King of the Hill reboot on Hulu in January 2023.
The cause of death will be determined by the Travis County Medical Examiner but remains unknown at this time. He was 64.
10 Country Stars Who Appeared On Luke Combs' Fave 'King of The Hill'
Luke Combs’ wife Nicole recently revealed that when she and her husband are sitting at home and ready to watch TV, they often turn to the classic adult-oriented cartoon King of the Hill, which ran on Fox in the late 1990s and the early 2000s.
Combs — and the rest of us King of the Hill fans — might be wondering if the show will ever return. In 2021, show’s creator Mike Judge, who also created Beavis and Butthead, said he was hoping to bring the show back again. At that year’s Comic-Con he said that there was a “very good chance” the show would return. But it won’t be to the show’s old home. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox said the show would not return to their network. Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn said in September of 2022, “That’s not going to be with Fox. We love that team, and we love that show. It’s obviously part of our animation legacy. But we’re really focusing on animation is launching the kind of the next wave of our signature animated series, while still having our great legacy shows.”
No official word yet on where or when it will return. Until then, we all have the pleasure of streaming all 13 seasons of the show on Hulu… just like Luke and Nicole are doing.
Country music was a big part of the show, with many country stars of the era making guest appearances either as themselves or playing character voices on the show. Let’s take a look at ten country superstars who appeared on King of the Hill back in the day.
