Johnny Hardwick, the Voice of Dale Gribble on ‘King of the Hill,’ passes away

Johnny Hardwick, who voiced the chain-smoking exterminator Dale Gribble for the entire 13-season run of the Fox animated hit King of the Hill, has breathed his last at the age of 64.

The talented voice actor rose to prominence after playing conspiracy theorist and Hank Hill's next door neighbor Dale Gribble on the iconic animated series from 1997-2010.

Hardwick was found dead at his home in Texas on Tuesday after police were called for a welfare check and found his body. The star was pronounced dead at the scene with no foul play suspected. 

His death was confirmed by the Austin medical examiner’s office - the cause of death is currently unknown.

Hardwick voiced Dale, the conspiracy theorist who lives next door to his best friend, propane accessory salesman Hank Hill (co-creator Mike Judge), from 1997-2010 and was a writer, story editor and producer on the show as well.

Hardwick was set to participate in a revival of King of the Hill at Hulu, it was announced in January. He also had a YouTube channel on which he would perform songs as Dale.

John Michael Hardwick, who was born in Houston, graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in journalism. He worked as a stand-up at clubs like the Velveeta Room in Austin and was the first comic on Jon Stewart’s MTV show.