21 votes

King Of The Hill actor Johnny Hardwick dies at 64

11 comments

  1. [7]
    SchlomoCucumber
    Link
    I was really looking forward to the revival, but I don't see how it can be done without Dale. Not to mention, he was a writer on the show

    I was really looking forward to the revival, but I don't see how it can be done without Dale. Not to mention, he was a writer on the show

    10 votes
    1. [2]
      JXM
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      King of the Hill is one of my favorite TV shows, so I've been cautiously optimistic about the upcoming new episodes. I think there's definitely ways they could deal with Dale dying (What if he...

      King of the Hill is one of my favorite TV shows, so I've been cautiously optimistic about the upcoming new episodes.

      I think there's definitely ways they could deal with Dale dying (What if he died in an explosion caused by his homemade security system or gets entangled in some wild conspiracy theory and disappears? Or he has another accidental discharge at the gun range? There's tons of options), but yeah, the show would have a different feel without Dale.

      I'm honestly more apprehensive about how they'll handle the whole conservative Texas issue. In the original episodes, the characters are surprisingly progressive for late 90s Texans. Remember when they go to the gay rodeo and they're mostly fine with Dale's dad being gay?

      I feel like Texas is a lot more...conservative than it was in the 90s and 2000s so it'll be interesting to see if they can realistically handle that shift. Hopefully it doesn't end up like Roseanne.

      8 votes
      1. hushbucket
        Link Parent
        Admittedly I'm an outsider looking in, but I always assumed KOTH was for urbanites, who tend to be progressive even in Texas. Is urban texas more conservative than it used to be? Honestly, id be...

        Admittedly I'm an outsider looking in, but I always assumed KOTH was for urbanites, who tend to be progressive even in Texas. Is urban texas more conservative than it used to be? Honestly, id be surprised if this were true

        1 vote
    2. caninehere
      Link Parent
      He'll be missed greatly but I feel like a revival can go on without him if they want to. It was never going to just be the same show anyway. Someone pointed out that a fun way to spin it would be...

      He'll be missed greatly but I feel like a revival can go on without him if they want to. It was never going to just be the same show anyway.

      Someone pointed out that a fun way to spin it would be for Dale to have passed away of extremely predictable causes (lung cancer or one of the many mishaps that should have killed him in his misadventures)... and Joseph has taken over his father's business and has grown up to be very much like him, much to the dismay of John Redcorn.

      5 votes
    3. saltwater
      Link Parent
      I agree that Dale was an integral part of the show. At the same time, for the revival to be successful, I think that it needs to do more than just bring back the same characters and dynamics....

      I agree that Dale was an integral part of the show. At the same time, for the revival to be successful, I think that it needs to do more than just bring back the same characters and dynamics. Considering the time jump, characters won't be exactly the same as they were before. And the society that they are commenting upon has changed dramatically, too.

      3 votes
    4. [2]
      fineboi
      Link Parent
      They could use AI to replicate his voice similar to what they did to Jlo here https://youtu.be/1vZRVFUpFws

      They could use AI to replicate his voice similar to what they did to Jlo here https://youtu.be/1vZRVFUpFws

      1. godzilla_lives
        Link Parent
        I feel like that would be disrespectful to Hardwick, akin to having a puppet rather than gracefully ending the character or even recasting.

        I feel like that would be disrespectful to Hardwick, akin to having a puppet rather than gracefully ending the character or even recasting.

        5 votes
  2. godzilla_lives
    Link
    That really sucks. 64 is so short a life, kids can only just now be settling down so you're missing out on grand kids.. just so much. My grandfather died at 63 and my mom mentions that from time...

    That really sucks. 64 is so short a life, kids can only just now be settling down so you're missing out on grand kids.. just so much. My grandfather died at 63 and my mom mentions that from time to time. Just how soon it felt to lose him, so I'm thinking of his family thinking the same thing. They had time ya know?

    I'm rambling and waxing poetic before I've had my coffee. I guess it just sucks getting older myself, I see more and more celebrity deaths and just general death around me.

    RIP Johnny, I bet you still felt young.

    8 votes
  3. [2]
    caninehere
    Link
    I could see Dale dying somehow and Joseph having grown up to emulate him closely, and Joseph could be in denial of his father's death, much to his mother's frustration. Dale would have undoubtedly...

    I think there's definitely ways they could deal with Dale dying (What if he died in an explosion caused by his homemade security system or gets entangled in some wild conspiracy theory and disappears? Or he has another accidental discharge at the gun range? There's tons of options), but yeah, the show would have a different feel without Dale.

    I could see Dale dying somehow and Joseph having grown up to emulate him closely, and Joseph could be in denial of his father's death, much to his mother's frustration. Dale would have undoubtedly left some note somewhere about how if anything happens to him, he's been [insert govt conspiracy here], and Joseph is the kind of guy who would absolutely 100% believe it.

    4 votes
    1. Gawdwin
      Link Parent
      When Joseph uses Pocket Sand for the first time we will know he has truly become Dale's proper heir.

      When Joseph uses Pocket Sand for the first time we will know he has truly become Dale's proper heir.

      2 votes