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King of the Hill star Johnny Hardwick's cause of death undetermined

Lottie Casas November 3, 2023

King of the Hill star Johnny Hardwick’s cause of death cannot be determined due to level of decomposition – as it emerges voice actor weighed just 100lbs when he died aged 59

  • The talented voice actor played conspiracy theorist and Hank Hill’s next door neighbor Dale Gribble on the iconic animated series from 1997-2010 
  • He was found dead at his home in Texas in August after police were called for a welfare check and found his body

Late King of the Hill star Johnny Hardwick’s cause of death cannot be determined due to his body being too decomposed.

The talented voice actor – who played Hank Hill’s conspiracy theorist next door neighbor Dale Gribble on the iconic animated series in 258 episodes from 1997-2010 – was found dead at his home aged 59 in Texas in August after police were called for a welfare check and found his body.

According to an autopsy report obtained by TMZ, Johnny was found dead in his bathtub with the water still running when he was found. The drain was open and he was not submerged.

The 5ft7 star also weighed only 100lbs at the time of his death. 

There were no signs of trauma but drugs were found at the scene and a toxicology test showed a ‘presumptive positive test for cannabinoids.’

RIP: Late King of the Hill star Johnny Hardwick’s cause of death cannot be determined due to his body being too decomposed – he died aged 59 in August

Iconic: The talented voice actor played conspiracy theorist and Hank Hill’s next door neighbor Dale Gribble (left) on the iconic animated series in 258 episodes from 1997-2010

https://youtube.com/watch?v=QUHoFotHj9k%3Frel%3D0

Hardwick also served as a staff writer, story editor, and producer for the show, scoring four Prime Time Emmy nominations.

In 1999 he won an Emmy Award for his work as a producer on King of the Hill. 

Hardwick was a native of Austin, Texas and attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, graduating with a BS degree in journalism.

He then worked as a bartender for a decade in blues bars in Dallas and Austin, before beginning his stand-up comedy career in 1990.

He became the first stand-up comedian to appear on the Jon Stewart Show.

In 1995, an appearance at the Montreal Comedy Festival led to a chance meeting with NBC president Brandon Tartikoff who offered him a sitcom. However NBC was uninterested in Hardwick’s pitch for a Green Acres and Get A Life-inspired show.

Hardwick signed with the Strauss-McGarr agency and began a successful stand-up career performing all over the USA.

After a gig at the Laugh Factory in LA, in which he performed a skit about his father, he was approached by  television writer and producer Greg Daniels and Beavis and Butt-Head’s Mike Judge who were creating King of the Hill.

Intrigued by Hardwick’s Texan humor, they offered him a writing job on the series, which saw Hardwick move to Silver Lake from Austin. 

Hardwick ended up with the role of Gribble after Daniel Stern turned down the opportunity. 

In recent years the star created a YouTube channel which saw him perform song parodies and monologues in the style of Gribble, while wearing his famous shades and orange cap. 

Cast: Hardwick (back row right) is seen with the show cast in 2005 as they marked the show’ 200th episode

YouTube: In recent years the star created a YouTube channel which saw him perform song parodies and monologues in the style of Gribble, while wearing his famous shades and orange cap

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