The body of “King of the Hill” star Johnny Hardwick was too decomposed for investigators to determine his cause of death, according to a report.
Hardwick was found dead in the bathtub of a Texas home on Aug. 8. The water was still running when officers, responding to requests for a welfare check at the time, discovered his body. According to an autopsy report obtained by TMZ, the 5-foot-7-inch voice actor weighed just 100 pounds at the time.
While there was no obvious sign of trauma, authorities did find drugs at the scene and a toxicology test revealed a “presumptive positive test for cannabinoids.”
The medical examiner further noted Hardwick’s cause of death could not be determined due to “extensive decompositional changes” to his body.
Hardwick was pronounced dead on the scene, and police at the time said they did not think foul play to be a factor.
A Texas native, Hardwick was best known for playing Dale Gribble on the long-running Fox sitcom, “King of the Hill.” He voiced Hank Hill’s conspiracy theorist neighbor for 258 of the show’s 259 episodes. He also served as a writer, story editor and producer for the animated series, which ran for 13 seasons between 1997 and 2010.
In 1999, his work on the show earned him Emmy Award in the outstanding animated program category.
A “King of the Hill” revival was officially ordered at Hulu in January. Hardwick was attached to reprise the role of Dale alongside returning cast members like Kathy Najimy, Stephen Root, Pamela Adlon and Lauren Tom. He did not complete his voice work prior to his death.
___
© 2023 New York Daily News
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
