King of the Hill star Johnny Hardwick, Dale Gribble star, dead at 64

For everyone out there who loved the world of King of the Hill, today we come with some extremely sad news. Johnny Hardwick, best known for voicing Dale Gribble over so many years of the iconic Fox comedy, has died at the age of 64. He was found at his Austin home on August 8, and no cause of death is immediately available.

From the very beginning of the beloved animated comedy, Johnny brought so much life and humor to his offbeat conspiracy-loving character, and he spent hundreds of episodes very much within this world. In addition to being credited as an actor, he also worked in a producing capacity during some of the show’s earlier seasons of on Fox.

In a statement to Deadline, Hulu and 20th Television Animation had the following to say on the subject:

“Johnny Hardwick was an incredibly beloved member of the King of the Hill family, whose tremendous talent, brilliant humor and friendship will be deeply missed by all who were fortunate enough to work with him over the past 25 years. Our deepest condolences go out to his friends and family as we mourn the loss of one of the animation greats. His voice gave life to one of our most iconic characters, and he will be truly missed.”

For those who are wondering, a revival of King of the Hill was first greenlit earlier this year at Hulu. It does remain to be seen how this passing will impact the show, but it goes without saying that there is going to be some sort of tribute to him over the course of its run. (Hardwick was announced to be returning, but had not completed work on the season prior to his passing.) We know that voice casts often become a tight-knit family, largely because they go through a very unique experience over the course of time. These jobs often last much longer than your standard live-action show, and there is a real generational quality to a lot of the work.

Our thoughts go out to Hardwick’s family during what is this incredibly difficult time.

(Photo: Fox.)