Johnny Hardwick — 1963-2023

Johnny Hardwick —the voice of Dale Gribble and other characters on King of the Hill— has passed away. I don’t have a ton to say, because I didn’t follow his career outside the show, and didn’t know anything about his personality.

But the character of Dale is just… he’s everything to that show. You can have KotH without Boomhauer, you can have it —maybe— without Bill, and you could almost certainly find a way to write Bobby out… but Dale was essential. He was deranged, conspiratorial, oblivious, stupid, and yet somehow charming. Hardwick’s portrayal took an otherwise pathetic or repugnant character and turned him into someone that a man like Hank Hill could believably forgive again and again.

Hardwick’s voice didn’t have as much range as those of Mike Judge or Toby Huss, but it was everywhere in the show, and it delivered the single greatest chunk of dialogue in the show’s history.

King of the Hill (2005) — S09E15 — “It Ain’t Over ‘til the Fat Neighbor Sings”