Johnny Hardwick Did Complete A Couple Of 'King Of The Hill' Revival Episodes Before His Death
The actor died August 8 at the age of 64
It has been confirmed that while Johnny Hardwick didn’t complete his work on however long a season Hulu has ordered for their King of the Hill revival, he did complete “a couple” of episodes from it.
Hardwick’s most major role was that of Dale Gribble, one of Hank Hill’s best friends, known for his constant paranoia fueled by conspiracy theories, as well as his pocket sand maneuver. He was, as previously described, full of other eccentricities and foibles matched by a love for his family. The character was in every episode of the original Fox run from 1997-2010. The actor was found dead in his home on August 8 during a welfare check. A cause of death is unknown, but foul play has reportedly been ruled out already.
Hulu ordered the King of the Hill revival in January, and the SAG-AFTRA strike most certainly knocked out his ability to record in what ended up being his final weeks of life. It’s too soon to know whether Dale will be written out or recast, but neither are quite actionable requests with the talent on both facets (including the Writers Guild of America) striking. The rest of the cast that is returning includes co-creator Mike Judge as Hank Hill and Jeff Boomhauer, Kathy Najimy as Hank’s wife Peggy and Pamela Adlon as his son Bobby, along with Stephen Root as Hank’s barber pal Bill Dauterive, Ashley Gardner as Dale’s wife Nancy, and Lauren Tom as neighbor Minh Souphanousinphone and her and Kahn’s daughter Connie.
The show will have aged the characters as it moves into present day, with an adult Bobby and older everyone else as possible when it premieres next year. Hulu and 20th Television Animation has not responded to such inquiries as to how much Hardwick got done, but did put out a mournful joint statement when his death was newly-reported.
“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.”
Source: TVLine