# RIP Johnny Hardwick ('Dale Gribble' on King Of The Hill) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411 "2023-08-11T16:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/1 "2023-08-11T16:23:47Z")
The Government finally got ‘Rusty Shackleford’. > **[Johnny Hardwick, Voice of Conspiracy Nut Dale Gribble on 'King of the Hill,'...](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/king-of-the-hill-dale-gribble-voice-actor-johnny-hardwick-dead-1234804516/)** > > Dale Gribble voice actor from 'King of the Hill,' Johnny Hardwick, dead in Texas at the age of 64. > JOHNNY HARDWICK, THE Texan soul of the long-running animated sitcom _[King of the Hill](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/king-of-the-hill/)_ — for which he voiced the eccentric, paranoid, chain-smoking neighbor Dale Gribble — died Tuesday at his home in [Austin](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/austin/). He was 64 years old. > > The Travis County Medical Examiner and Coroner’s office confirmed Hardwick’s death to _Rolling Stone_. A cause of death has yet to be determined. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/2 "2023-08-11T16:51:24Z")
Damn. Dale was the one who alerted the world early to “[The Beast](https://youtu.be/qWyuU2F60nY)”. Turns out he was right about that one. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/3 "2023-08-12T04:46:34Z")
Yep. I noticed this the other day. When my friend mentioned it to me, I replied that the government had obviously faked his death. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/4 "2023-08-12T06:02:34Z")
Dale had a disproportional number of funny lines considering the title of the program. My favorite? _“Are you suggesting we kill Boomhower?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2023, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/5 "2023-08-13T00:26:00Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > My favorite? This is my favorite. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KTa6fWgl7us/hqdefault.jpg "You don't know who I am but I know where you live RIP DALE") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTa6fWgl7us) ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2023, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/6 "2023-08-13T00:47:13Z")
He was my favorite character on that. To the postman, “how do you know my name? Go to hell.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/7 "2025-06-02T20:36:13Z")
And now John Redcorn. > A beloved actor died following a shooting that took place on the Southside of San Antonio at around 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 1, according to the San Antonio Police Department. > > Police told MySA that Alamo City native Jonathan Joss, who voiced John Redcorn on King of the Hill, died in a shooting in the 200 block of Dorsey Drive. SAPD initially told MySA the victim was 59 years old, which is the actor’s age. [https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/jonathan-joss-king-of-the-hill-20357054.php](https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/jonathan-joss-king-of-the-hill-20357054.php) ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/8 "2025-06-02T20:48:14Z")
Wonder how this affects the new episodes coming this August. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/9 "2025-06-02T20:53:45Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > And now John Redcorn. > > > A beloved actor died following a shooting that took place on the Southside of San Antonio at around 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 1, according to the San Antonio Police Department. > > > > Police told MySA that Alamo City native Jonathan Joss, who voiced John Redcorn on King of the Hill, died in a shooting in the 200 block of Dorsey Drive. SAPD initially told MySA the victim was 59 years old, which is the actor’s age. > > [https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/jonathan-joss-king-of-the-hill-20357054.php](https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/jonathan-joss-king-of-the-hill-20357054.php) Dale gets his revenge. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/10 "2025-06-02T21:08:11Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Wonder how this affects the new episodes coming this August. The first season has surely all been completed. Dale’s actor died midway through recording for the new season, was replaced by Kahn. > **[‘King of the Hill’ Revival Casts Toby Huss to Take Over as Voice of Dale...](https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/king-of-the-hill-reboot-casts-toby-huss-dale-gribble-1236413647/)** > > The 'King of the Hill' Season 14 reboot has cast Toby Huss to take over as voice of Dale Gribble, and will pay tribute to Johnny Hardwick. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/11 "2025-06-02T22:48:35Z")
According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Joss#Death), Joss’ house was burned down after years of homophobic slurs by his neighbours. 🤬 He’d just married his husband on Valentine’s Day. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/12 "2025-06-02T22:52:43Z")
Joss’s husband posted details of the shooting, and it’s absolutely horrific. > **[Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/cartoons/comments/1l1th9h/jonathan_ross_va_for_john_redcorn_was_murdered_in/#lightbox)** ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/13 "2025-06-02T23:20:32Z")
The suspect is already in custody. > **[‘King of the Hill’ actor Jonathan Joss’ suspected killer arrested, charged...](https://nypost.com/2025/06/02/entertainment/king-of-the-hill-star-jonathan-joss-suspected-killer-charged-with-murder/)** > > The suspect, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, lived two doors down from the actor. His neighbors tell a very different story. They claim he burned his own house down and killed his own dog in the process, and was always causing trouble. But I’m pretty suspicious of that. I’m not shocked that some folks in San Antonio are going to talk bad about their gay neighbor. I’ll also note, I remember Joss as Ken Hotate in Parks and Rec. I loved his character, he was fantastic in that role. So freaking funny. [![](https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ken-hotate-parks-and-rec-1.jpg) ](https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ken-hotate-parks-and-rec-1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/14 "2025-06-03T00:37:39Z")
The whole situation is weird because he was known to be having mental episodes as far back as 5 years ago which was well before his house burned down. Either he was having a mental breakdown because of his bad neighbors, or he was having a mental breakdown and blamed his neighbors on a fire that had previously been reported as an accident. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/15 "2025-06-03T00:39:48Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Either he was having a mental breakdown because of his bad neighbors, or he was having a mental breakdown and blamed his neighbors on a fire that had previously been reported as an accident. Yeah, either is possible I suppose. Nothing excuses the murder of course and I’m glad the (alleged) killer is in custody. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/16 "2025-06-03T01:30:31Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The suspect is already in custody. > > [‘King of the Hill’ star Jonathan Joss’ suspected killer charged with murder](https://nypost.com/2025/06/02/entertainment/king-of-the-hill-star-jonathan-joss-suspected-killer-charged-with-murder/) > > His neighbors tell a very different story. They claim he burned his own house down and killed his own dog in the process, and was always causing trouble. But I’m pretty suspicious of that. I’m not shocked that some folks in San Antonio are going to talk bad about their gay neighbor. > > I’ll also note, I remember Joss as Ken Hotate in Parks and Rec. I loved his character, he was fantastic in that role. So freaking funny. > > [https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ken-hotate-parks-and-rec-1.jpg](https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ken-hotate-parks-and-rec-1.jpg) There are also reports of him acting odd and disruptive at recent fan events. He played the character Bad Face in _Tulsa King._ I had no idea he was the same guy who played John Redcorn. Of course this has nothing to do with his actions or personality but he was a big, scary intimidating looking dude. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/17 "2025-06-03T02:05:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There are also reports of him acting odd and disruptive at recent fan events. Is it a chicken-and-egg thing though? If he really was being harassed for years by homophobes, I imagine that would take a toll on anyone. Or was he already disruptive and it made the bigots angry enough to be bolder than otherwise? (There’s also the possibility that his widowed husband is full of it or believed his late husband’s delusions, but I’m calling this the least likely possibility.) ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/18 "2025-06-03T02:27:44Z")
This is a really confusing thread. It took me a minute to realize that it was resurrected after two years to report that a _different_ “King of the Hill” voice actor had just died (after being shot by his neighbor), and not that there was an update that that Johnny Hardwick’s death was actually due to murder. Maybe Jonathan Joss’s death deserves its own thread? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/19 "2025-06-03T02:56:16Z")
Both deaths are sad. I miss Phil Hartman too. Perhaps a new thread is in order. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2025, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411/20 "2025-06-04T01:14:30Z")
A cartoon shows Joss being welcomed to heaven by Dale Gribble, Lurleen Platter, and Lucky Kleinschmidt. I knew Tom Petty died, but I didn’t know he was a voice on the show. I didn’t hear that Brittany Murphy had died. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-on-king-of-the-hill/988411.md?page=2)