Johnny Hardwick, a voice actor and comedian who is best known for his role as Dale Gribble on the long-running animated comedy "King of the Hill," has died. He was 64.
“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,” 20th Television Animation and Hulu said in a statement, according to Variety.
“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.”
A cause of death has not been disclosed.
"King of the Hill" originally ran for 13 seasons on Fox from 1997 to 2010.
Hardwick also worked as a writer and producer on the series, earning him one Emmy when the show won outstanding animated program in 2000, as well as two other Emmy nominations.
The show is slated for a reboot on Hulu and had begun its production of the new season. According to Variety, Hardwick was involved in the reboot and had begun his voice work for the new episodes. It is not clear how his death will impact the show's return.
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Hardwick was born in Austin, Texas, where he began his career as a local stand-up comedian. He would go on to have a role on "The Jon Stewart Show" before being asked to join "King of the Hill" by creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels.
As Gribble, Hardwick appeared on 257 of the series' 258 episodes.
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