With the news that Johnny Hardwick — the voice of Dale Gribble on King of the Hill — passed away last week at 64, the future of the show was thrust into uncertainty. Things aren’t hopeless, though, because now we’re hearing Hardwick recorded some episodes of the show for the planned Hulu reboot.
Per TV Line, the beloved voice actor finished “a couple” of the episodes before his untimely death. Hardwick was a perennial member of the show and appeared in all 258 episodes as Hank Hill’s neighbor.
Whether or not the show will actually make it to air, or whether a new voice actor is going to get hired remains to be seen. Both 20th Television Animation and Hulu declined to talk about the specifics of what they’ll do moving forward, but they released a joint statement about Hardwick’s passing.
“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.”
Most of the original stars of the show are coming back, including Mike Judge (Hank and Boomhauer), Kathy Najimy (Peggy), and Pamela Adlon (Bobby). The original show ran for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2009, and it’s weirdly just as popular now as it ever was.
Keep that pocket sand handy and we’ll keep you posted on any developments.