John Michael Hardwick (December 31, 1958 – c. August 8, 2023)[2][3] was an American voice actor, comedian, writer, producer and YouTuber. He was best known as the voice of Dale Gribble in the animated American television series King of the Hill.[4] He also served as a staff writer,[5]story editor, and producer on the show. He was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards three times, winning once in 1999 with the rest of King of the Hill's production team.[6]
Early life
John Michael Hardwick was born in Austin, Texas, on December 31, 1958.[7][8][3] He attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock.[9] After graduating with a BA degree in journalism, he worked for a decade as a bartender in live blues bars in Dallas and Austin, including Nick's Uptown, Sixth Street Live and The Greenville Bar & Grill.[citation needed]
Career
Starting in 1990, Hardwick performed stand-up comedy for a number of years, appearing at such venues as the Dallas Improv and the Velveeta Room in Austin and appearing on shows including Evening at the Improv and Caroline's Comedy Hour.[10] He was the first comic to appear on The Jon Stewart Show. In 1995, he worked the Montreal Comedy Festival, where Brandon Tartikoff saw his set and signed him to a sitcom on NBC, which never materialized.[11]
After Hardwick signed with the Strauss-McGarr agency, he was continually booked in stand-up across the United States. While at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, he performed a set about his father in Texas.[12] Afterward, he was approached by television writers and producers Greg Daniels and Mike Judge, who were helping create the Texan-themed comedy King of the Hill.[13]
The role of Dale Gribble was originally offered to Daniel Stern, but producers were unable to agree with Stern on a salary. Instead, Hardwick won it by not arguing about money.[12] He performed the role for the show's entire 13-year run and appeared in 257 of 258 episodes.[13] At the time of his death, he was set to reprise the role again in the upcoming revival. It was later revealed that Hardwick had recorded "a couple" of new episodes for the revival prior to his death.[14]
On September 12, 2012, Hardwick created a YouTube channel, though it had no uploads until 2015. In December 2018, he started regularly uploading new content. As of May 2023, the channel had 17,500 subscribers and over 608,000 views, primarily streaming song parodies and monologues in Dale's voice.[15]
Death
Hardwick was found dead at home in Austin on August 8, 2023, at the age of 64.[8][16][2][17] In November, it was reported that his body was found badly decomposed and a cause of death could not be immediately established.[18]
