Dale Gribble Defined King of the Hill's Success

Despite his active idiocy, Dale Gribble is one of King of the Hill's most beloved characters. He reflects the show's delicate emotional balancing act.

The late Johnny Hardwick was an indispensable part of King of the Hill, where he became a fan favorite as Hank Hill's conspiracy theorist neighbor Dale Gribble. The lifelong Texan had a keen grasp of the show's premise and served as a writer and producer on the show as well as a voice actor. It's unknown how his loss will affect the upcoming reboot of King of the Hill, but the idea of going forward without Dale -- or Hardwick's irreplaceable take on the character -- is almost inconceivable.

While King of the Hill boasted a huge cast of memorable figures, few were as strangely beloved as Dale. A paranoid cuckold running a failing extermination business makes a hard sell for most viewers, and he presents by far the biggest challenge for the reboot even before Hardwick's death. And yet he remained sympathetic and even lovable throughout the show's initial 13-season run. Hardwick played a key role in that balancing act in both his writing and his performance. It was an ideal example of how King of the Hill achieved a very tricky emotional tone.

Dale Gribble Is King of the Hill's Beloved Straight Man

A big part of Dale's appeal came from his status as a perennial straight man. He was the kind of conspiracy nut widely considered harmless 20 years ago: complete with an absolute distrust of the government, and a disturbingly large collection of guns. That began in the very first episode when he opined that the UN had control of the weather, and included out-there ideas such as Season 2, Episode 9, "Meet the Manger Babies," when he announced that the Super Bowl was pre-recorded "in the same Nevada hangar where they faked the moon landing," He also possessed an unshakable self-confidence, and often looked down on his friends and neighbors despite the countless times he ended up with egg on his face.

Though played largely for laughs, he always carried dark undertones. His anti-government ravings are a lot less funny in the age of QAnon, and King of the Hill didn't shy away from those shadows. The same held true for his adoration of Hank's openly racist father Cotton, and his inability to learn from numerous copious errors. The most telling was his interest in Vladimir Putin, which he expressed in Season 13, Episode 13, "Nancy Does Dallas." His status as the constant butt of the joke mitigated it all -- he was invariably the architect of his own misery -- but had King of the Hill simply rested on those laurels, he still would have been far less likable.

Dale Gribble Is Sympathetic Despite His Obvious Shortcomings

Instead, the show gave Dale a big sympathetic streak that often walked side-by-side with his comedic comeuppance. Take, for example, his wife Nancy's semi-permanent tryst with John Redcorn. Dale -- the conspiracy theorist who trusted no one -- was utterly out to lunch on the subject, despite its all-but-open status. (Dale's son Joseph was quite clearly Redcorn's biological offspring.) Season 6, Episode 12, "Of Mice and Little Green Men" saw him blaming extraterrestrials for Joseph's birth rather than coming to the answer staring him right in the face. Above and beyond that, however, he was utterly devoted to his family, taking pride in their accomplishments and supporting them as best he can. (Though admittedly, his advice was a long way from perfect.)

In addition, Dale often proved himself a stalwart friend, and while his abject cowardice rarely made things easy, he was still more than happy to assist Hank and the gang when they were in need. Naturally, it often went sideways, but his intentions were pure. He could even be heroic, as when he saved Bobby from fire ants by taking their angry stings himself in Season 1, Episode 11, "King of the Ant Hill."

Hardwick has a way of bringing the best out of him, even when he was at his most obtuse. In turn, it helped King of the Hill retain audience sympathies in the face of its protagonists' more questionable traits. It humanized them, even as it mined them for laughs, and it was rarely better than when Dale was involved. He -- and Hardwick -- were as important to the show as Hank Hill himself.