Johnny Hardwick, the man behind the iconic voice of paranoid Dale Gribble, passed away in August of 2023. Considered one of the most well-known Texas comedy animations, King of The Hill was the show that revealed Johnny’s brilliance to the world.
After completing a Journalist bachelor’s degree, Johnny went on to work as a bartender at a local bar. With a knack for comedy, Hardwick started experimenting with the genre by becoming a stand-up comedian at one of his jobs. This is where Greg Daniels selected Johnny Hardwick for King of The Hill.
Aside from this infamous series, Hardwick has also been involved in projects like Ace of Cakes and the video game Warped Kart Racers. Towards the end of his career, Hardwick started uploading videos on his YouTube Channel, where Johnny would often say random funny monologues in his voice or make comical parodies of famous songs.
Hardwick’s personal YouTube Channel has around 20,000+ subscribers, with the number only increasing as his fans find out about this golden channel. From performing The Beatles’ Let It Be to singing the Feckless Country Song, each video of Johnny’s is worth a watch if you loved his character on King of The Hill and other shows that he has become a part of over the years.
Johnny Hardwick: Net Worth
After working in King of The Hill for so many years and even doing smaller projects here and there, Johnny Hardwick had managed to build his Net Worth to almost $5 Million. There’s no denying that King of the Hill was the biggest contributor, but let’s not forget the multiple other projects that Hardwick was involved in.
Dale Gribble was truly an unforgettable character, and to have him voiced by Johnny Hardwick made the show much more entertaining. Even though all characters are eccentric and have comical voices, it is Dale’s that manages to be beyond average, which is due to Johnny’s different voice tones.
This is the reason why Hardwick has gathered multiple accolades for his work on King of the Hill since no one else could have produced that one-of-a-kind voice. We could have seen more of Johnny Hardwick as Dale in the coming years, but after his sudden demise, it isn’t confirmed if Johnny’s recorded work will be aired to the public.
Johnny Hardwick: About The Voice Actor
Born in Texas back in 1958, Johnny was given the name John Michael Hardwick. After getting a Bachelor’s in Journalism from Texas Tech University, Johnny started working as a bartender in Dallas and Austin Bars. This was when Johnny wasn’t aware of his comedian side.
The known places Hardwick had worked at back in his early years are Sixth Street Live, Greenville Bar & Grill, and many others. At the age of 32, in 1990, Hardwick knew he wanted to pursue what he truly loved, so he immediately started working on his comedy skills.
Once Hardwick felt he was ready, he started appearing in various places around Dallas to showcase his stand-up comedy. Brandon Tartikoff met Johnny at the Montreal Comedy Festival (1995) during his usual performances.
Brandon was an NBC executive, and even though he didn’t create any projects with Johnny, the simple fact that he was signed by NBC was enough to increase Hardwick’s popularity, and he soon started receiving work as a stand-up comedian from many places.
At one of Johnny’s venues in LA, he was contacted by Greg Daniels and Mike Judge. Greg’s the brains behind masterpieces like The Office, The Simpsons, and even Parks and Recs.
Instead of wanting Johnny as a stand-up comedian, the producers at Greg’s wanted to make him the voice behind one of their characters from King Of The Hill, a Texas-themed comedy series. Johnny was able to get ahold of the role despite them also considering Daniel Stem (Home Alone series) for it.
Thus, Hardwick’s journey in King of The Hill began, with him voicing Dale in almost all of the episodes. That’s a pretty long time, considering King of The Hill ran for a total of 13 fun-filled years.
Earlier in August 2023, Johnny Hardwick was found dead at his home by the Police. Hardwick made all of us smile through Dale Gribble, and even though he’s not here anymore, Johnny will continue to live in our hearts for the countless laughs he was responsible for.
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