Although not common, it does happen; a main character can be eclipsed by someone who isn’t the nucleus of a show. It happened inBasketswithLouie Anderson’s Christine Baskets. It happened withJaleel White’s Steve Urkel inFamily Matters. And it happened withKing of the Hill’s Dale Gribble, voiced by the gone-too-soonJohnny Hardwick.
King of the Hillcentered on patriarch Hank Hill (Mike Judge) constantly coming to terms with an ever-changing society that’s evolving cultural mores reach his fictional town of Arlen, Texas. Hank is the everyman that beer commercials pander to–he fishes; he takes meticulous care of his lawn; he prides himself on grilling, as any good Texan man does; and enjoys cracking open a cold one with the boys. Said boys are his three lifelong friends: Bill Dauterive (Stephen Root), the needy divorcee, Boomhauer (Judge), the incoherent ladies man, and Dale (Hardwick), the conspiracy theorist/exterminator/bounty hunter/perpetual-wearer of sunglasses/oddball/gun-nut/headcase/anti-Federalist/cigarette addict/idiotic schemer/next-door neighbor to Hank. And with all of those signifiers, it’s no surprise that the neighborhood wacko has become the most iconic character from a cartoon that was rich in atypical people.
2023 began as an optimistic year forKing of the Hillfans: Hulu announced that it’d revive the series which aired for thirteen seasons and ended its run on FOX in 2009. But 2023 has also brought with it the passing of Hardwick, and,according to Deadline, he had not finished voicing all the episodes for the reboot. The reboot already begged the uncomfortable question of who would voice Luanne, or if the character would even be included in the revival due toBrittany Murphy’s death in 2009. In addition,King of the Hillalso lostTom Pettyin 2017 as the voice of Luanne’s lovable loser boyfriend Lucky. Murphy and Petty haven’t been the only cast members who we’ve lost since the world was first introduced to Hank Hill’s Arlen, Texas: The original voice actor of John Redcorn was played byVictor Aaronfor the first season until his death in 1996, after whichJonathan Jossvoiced Redcorn for the rest of the series.
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‘King of the Hill’s Dale Is Still Our Favorite Weirdo
The people in Hank’s circle are rife with idiosyncrasies. Luanne is boisterous and hilariously naive, only to occasionally surprise us with unexpected savvy. Lucky gets lucky by becoming involved with Luanne, she being the best thing to happen to him, which includes him winning a $53,000 lawsuit against a major retailer for slipping on, as he says, “peepee” in its restroom. But Dale, with his never-ending angst which manifests into acts of lunacy, will be the biggest crater of the series in terms of losses. With the passing of Hardwick, the anticipated reboot can’t help but feel dimmer now. With Hardwick’s absence from the world,King of the Hillfans have lost the man who brought to life everyone’s favorite crackpot, ‘alternative’-information-obsessed conspiracy theorist.
Plots inKing of the Hillcan quickly go from mundane to ridiculous to absurd, and Dale is often a major contributor to the insanity. Hank Hill, a man who loves order, has his life constantly thrown into disarray; there are many culprits standing in the way of Hank having the easy life, but none are as notorious (or enjoyable) as Dale. Dale is lighter fluid to an already-raging fire, a stomp on the gas peddle when you just want to slow down. Dale is a chaos agent disguised as your local tinfoil hat-wearing nut whose car, or most likely truck, is donning a “come and take ‘em” bumper sicker. You probably are related to a Dale with whom you have many arguments over current events during family gatherings on holidays. But while real-life Dales can be frustrating, exasperating, and infuriating,King of the Hill’s Dale was perhaps the best source of comedy ina show that already provided many laughs.
In the thirteen seasons of the series,King of the Hillprovided ample opportunities for characters to get their moments — but whether Dale was central or peripheral to an episode, he made it his own. Admittedly, many of the best episodes from the show were the ones focused on Dale and whatever conundrum, usually self-inflicted, he found himself in. You wouldn’t dare cross Dale lest you face the wrath of his POCKET SAND! When he wanted to settle a score with a tornado for destroying his shed ten years ago — becausenaturally,it’s the same one — he drives to it in his giant insect-adorning van until raindrops deter him, leading to the realization that he doesn’t actually want to go up against the tornado, instead making him lose control of his vehicle into a field. When Peggy (Kathy Najimy) informs him that the Vikings were actually the first ones on the moon, in an attempt to steer him away from learning about the truth of his son Joseph’s (Brecken Meyer) actual lineage, he tells her he already knew that,duh!
Even though Dale’s an oblivious father — an oblivious nonbiological father — he still has a good relationship with Joseph whom he loves and fears, and only wants the best for him. In one episode, Dale, despite being checked into a mental institution — his true spiritual home — manages to give a sex talk to Joseph who’s on the cusp of puberty. In another episode, Dale wants Joseph to have an in with the in-crowd, so he devises a way for Joseph to endear himself to the cool, mean kids: by shooting a panda at a zoo with a bow and arrow. Don’t worry, Dale’s misguided parenting is foiled, and no cartoon pandas are hurt.
‘King of the Hill’ Is Both Timely and Prescient
King of the Hillserved as a bellwether for a changing United States which eventually permeated into the heart of the country where many Hanks call home. Change is inevitable and a function of life, but that doesn’t make it any easier for the Hanks of the world. This apprehension to change can also be reflected in Hank’s friends, but many of the episodes show them learning to accept changes and differences, particularly the differences funneled throughHank’s also-iconic son Bobby (Pamela Adlon).
WhileKing of the Hillserved as a barometer of the times, it was also a harbinger of what was to come. WhenKing of the Hillfirst aired in 1997, it came out in a relatively placid decade, but since 9/11, the U.S. has been experiencing more rapid cultural shifts which have only intensified because of Donald Trump and the brand of conservatism ushered in. In 1997, Dale was an oddity; in 2023, he’s a voting bloc. Conspiracy theories have become commonplace and have found a home in some of the country’s most conservative politicians. Instead of being shunned, conspiracy theorists are being courted by factions within the GOP. And it’s not just Dale’s paranoia that has become mainstream. His obsession with firearms has become a cornerstone of American conservatism — take anything, take anyone, but not the guns.
With Dale, it was expected to expect the unexpected — but at times he could reveal unexpected sides of himself in the most understated ways, such as enjoying the theater, something that many good ol’ boys loathe, or, at least, convey that they loathe. In one of the most memorable episodes of the series, “Hank and the Great Glass Elevator,” Bill begins dating former Texas Democratic GovernorAnn Richards(guest starring as herself). Dale despises anything politically left of John Wayne, but even he gives his approval of Bill’s new relationship with Richards by saying that she’s hot. And while Dale would gladly die in a blaze of glory at the hands of federal agents, he’s also a scaredy cat who’s afraid to face the consequences of his usually reckless behavior.
We Wouldn’t Have ‘King of the Hill’s Dale Without Johnny Hardwick
Dale would never have been the icon that he is if it wasn’t for Johnny Hardwick — but Hardwick voicing our favorite nutcase almost didn’t happen. Prior to Dale, Hardwick’s career had been bartending and making appearances on TV and festivals as a comedian. As happens in the entertainment industry, he was offered a deal with NBC that was never fruitful. After a set at LA’s Laugh Factory about his Texan father,Hardwick was approached byGreg Daniels, who was co-creating a series set in a fictional Texas town with veteran cartoonist Mike Judge and asked Hardwick if he wanted to come aboard as a writer. Though initially hired to be a writer forKing of the Hill, Hardwick assumed the role of Dale after negotiations with actorDaniel Sternfell through.
Being a Texan, Hardwick was able to contribute to the showcasing of Americana via the Lone Star State. It makes one wonder if Hardwick had encountered a Dale or two in his day before seeing QAnon posts online from misinformed people became part of the cultural makeup. In aninterview with the Austin Chronicle, Hardwick revealed that he based Dale on an amalgamation ofJack NicholsonandMatthew McConaughey’sDazed and Confusedcharacter. Even when the original stories of the Arlen, Texas residents ended, Hardwick continued tochannel Dale into YouTube videos, wearing sunglasses and an orange hat, often accompanied by a cigarette, singing in his nasally Dale voice renditions ofElton John’s “Rocket Man” — “Rocket Man/Pocket Sand” — and giving updates as Dale’s alter ego Rusty Shackelford. In his YouTube continuation of Dale, Hardwick had created his own political party, was a “conspiracy expert,” but was also a Dale that has broken away from much of the cruelty that has been fomented in recent years, and now it only serves to make us miss the man who broughtKing of the Hill’s Dale to life so vividly.
