View gallery
One of the most beloved cartoon characters of all-time is undoubtedly Dale Gribble from King Of The Hill. Johnny Hardwick, who voiced the beloved ballcap-wearing character, has died at 64. His body was found in his Texas home on Tuesday, August 8, law enforcement officials told TMZ. They reported that no foul play had been suspected, and a cause of death has not yet been revealed.
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Johnny studied journalism at Texas Tech University, before going on to perform standup comedy in many clubs around the area. He was noticed for his comic talents and began getting TV spots on a variety of standup-based TV shows, like An Evening At The Improv and he performed on The Jon Stewart Show, long before the host went on to be the anchor for The Daily Show.
After performing a standup set, Johnny was approached by Greg Daniels and Beavis And Butt-Head and Daria creator Mike Judge about voicing Dale Gribble on King Of The Hill, a series which is also set in Texas. Dale is remembered by fans for his avid beliefs in conspiracy theories and urban legends and also his jobs as an exterminator (as well as many other gigs). He was also a close friend of the leading character Hank Hill.
Johnny appeared in nearly every episode of King Of The Hill (257 of the show’s 258 episodes). He also served as a producer on the show from 1998 until 2002, and he even won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 1999. He was also nominated for the same award in 2001 and 2002, per IMDb.
Outside of voicing Dale, Johnny had limited work as an actor, having appeared in the 1999 film Natural Selection and the short The College Girls Are Go!!! While King of the Hill ended in 2010, Johnny continued to perform as Dale, notably on his YouTube channel, where he performed songs in character as the classic character, as well as performing as Rusty Shackelford. In more recent years, there’s reportedly been a revival of King Of The Hill in the works for Hulu, per Collider. It’s not clear how Johnny’s death will affect the reboot.
Click to Subscribe to Get Our Free HollywoodLife Daily Newsletter to get the hottest celeb news.
This story originally appeared on Hollywoodlife
