Back in August, we learned the heartbreaking news that Johnny Hardwick, who played the voice of paranoid conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble on King of the Hill, had passed away at the age of 64.
Although we didn’t know the cause of the death at the time, we do know that law enforcement was called to his Texas home for a welfare check, and discovered him dead at the scene. No foul play was suspected. It was some tough news, because his voice was a crucial aspect of the iconic show, as Dale Gribble was a huge fan favorite on the show. Hardwick played the voice of Dale in 258 of the show’s 259 episodes.
On top of that, it was announced that Hardwick had reportedly already recorded a couple of episodes of the upcoming King of the Hill reboot that’s in the works.
With that being said, we now know some more information about his death. According to TMZ, the medical examiner said his body was too decomposed at the time of his death to figure out a cause of death. He was reportedly found in his bathtub, and the water was running when he was found. However, the drain was open and he was not submerged.
The medical examiner added that there were no obvious signs of trauma, and said that a toxicology test showed a “presumptive positive test for cannabinoids.” Drugs were also found at the scene, but it’s unclear what substances were found.
The 5’7” tall actor was also only 100 pounds at the time of his death as well.
RIP to a legend.
