Johnny Hardwick, best known for voicing Dale Gribble on the animated sitcom King of the Hill, has passed away.
According to TMZ, authorities were called out to his home in Texas on Tuesday to perform a welfare check, where they found Hardwick’s body.
The comedian and actor was pronounced dead at the scene and no official cause of death has been revealed.
While there will be an autopsy, law enforcements suspect there is no foul play.
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Hardwick was only 64 years old when he died.
After hearing the news King of the Hill fans have been left devastated and have flooded social media with tributes to the late voice actor.
“RIP Johnny Hardwick. The King of the Hill reboot won’t quite feel right,” wrote hosts of the SpeaKing of the Hill Podcast.
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Hardwick was lined up to return as Dale in the upcoming Disney+ King of the Hill revival series.
According to TV writer Will Landman, who was speaking to King of the Hill creator Greg Daniels, the cast had started table reads for the new season before stopping once the strikes began.
“Just such sad news,” Landman wrote on Twitter. “I was excited for new Dale Gribble material.”
The Voice Artists’ Spotlight also posted a tribute for the late, great comedian with a compilation of Hardwick’s greatest moments as Dale.
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But it seems even those not in the TV industry were touched by Hardwick with the creator of RockinPins tweeting: “Johnny Hardwick was one of my biggest supporters when we put out our King of the Hill merch.
“I’m forever grateful for his kindness. The show means a lot to me and losing Johnny is devastating.”
During his time on King of the Hill, the show was nominated for an Emmy Award twice and won Best Animation Program in 1999.
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Hardwick also won an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production back in 2005.
Apart from the 258 episodes of King of the Hill, Hardwick was also involved in a couple of short films and provided voices for 1999’s Natural Selection and 2019’s Shadows of Sofia.
Hardwick was also the very first stand-up comedian to star on The Jon Stewart Show.
Topics: Film and TV, Social Media, News
Velentina Boulter