Voice actor and comedian Johnny Hardwick, best known for voicing Dale Gribble on the animated sitcom “King of the Hill,” has died, authorities confirmed.
Hardwick, 64, was found deceased at his home in Austin, Texas, in the early evening on Tuesday during an urgent welfare check, police told HuffPost.
No foul play is suspected. His cause of death will be determined by the local medical examiner’s office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
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Hardwick was memorialized as “one of the animation greats” in a statement released by 20th Television Animation and Hulu, which ordered a reboot of “King of the Hill” in January.
“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,” read the statement provided to media. “His voice gave life to one of our most iconic characters, and he will be truly missed.”
Hardwick had reportedly not completed his voice work for the show’s revival before his death.
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The Texas native lent his talents to more than 250 episodes of the 13-season series. The hit show ran from 1997 to 2010 and earned two Primetime Emmys. In addition to his voice work, Hardwick was a writer, editor and producer on the program.
His character of Dale is a chain-smoking, sunglasses-wearing exterminator, bounty hunter and conspiracy theorist who lives next door to his best friend, propane and propane accessories salesman Hank Hill, in the fictional town of Arlen.
Hardwick said he was initially hired as a writer for the show, but because of his stand-up comedy experience he was invited to consider voicing a character. He said he “locked into this Dale guy” and it became the only role he wanted to audition for.
“In the pilot script he’s just talking about the government, and I was really sort of into that myself,” Hardwick said.
After the series ended, he continued voicing Dale in videos on his YouTube channel.
Several “King of the Hill” cast members paid tribute to Hardwick on social media following news of his death.
Pamela Adlon, who won an Emmy for voicing Bobby Hill in the series, shared a photo Thursday on Instagram of herself with Hardwick and others from the show during what she said was their last time all together.
“Johnny was the most unique tender hearted dirty footed sneakily talented mercurial creature,” she wrote. “The memories are deep and long.”
Breckin Meyer, who voiced Dale’s son on the show, also remembered Hardwick in a social media post, writing: “Was lucky enough to have Johnny Hardwick as my pops Dale for almost a decade. He will be so damn missed!”