Hank Hill
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Hank Hill is a fictional character, the protagonist of the animated series King of the Hill. In the cartoon, the Hill family (wife Peggy, son Bobby, and niece Luanne) has a central role in most story lines, which are set mostly in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas. Hank's voice is provided by series co-creator Mike Judge.
[edit] Biography
Hank was born Henry Rutherford Hill in New York City in 1959 to Tillie Mae Hill and Cotton Lyndal Hill. According to his mom Tillie, she gave birth to Hank in the ladies' restroom at Yankee Stadium. This was due to Cotton's failed attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro during a rare American visit. Hank was devastated to learn of his true birthplace after having thought of himself as a native Texan for over 40 years.
Hank played football in high school and held a record for most rushing yards. He had a promising career until he snapped his ankle in the state championship game.
Hank proudly sells propane and propane accessories as an assistant manager at Strickland Propane. During one episode he was promoted to manager, but he was instantly demoted following a rare lapse in his emotional self-control, during which he told Buck Strickland he loved him. He was promoted to manager again in another episode when Buck's wife/ex-wife (Miss Liz) took over Strickland Propane. Unlike Strickland's nemesis, M. F. Thatherton, Hank believes that selling propane through honesty and hard work is what life is all about. He sometimes has trouble selling propane, because Thatherton often takes advantage of Hank's honesty. Hank idolizes Buck Strickland, the owner of Strickland Propane, and keeps a somewhat idyllic picture of him even though he often sees his boss's many shortcomings (excessive gambling, womanizing, and general lewdness).
He only has one child, Bobby Hill, but would have had more if not for his "narrow urethra". He is often frustrated by Bobby's innocently effeminate tendencies and disappointed that his son is hardly interested in sports. Early in the series, he often says of Bobby, "That boy ain't right." However, Hank absolutely loves his son, even though he's reluctant and uncomfortable to tell it to his face. He even feigns an interest in Bobby's passions such as cooking and theater. Early on, Hank deals with an unruly social worker when he puts Hank's parenting skills into question. But this is laid to rest when Hank speaks with Bobby when his son thinks he might be a disappointment, Hank immediately rebukes this and tells him how proud he is of him as "you're my boy!"
Hank suffers from a genetic disorder called diminished gluteal syndrome (DGS). His essentially non-existent buttocks cause stress on his spine and force him to wear an "orthogluteal" prosthesis. Like most cartoon characters, Hank is always drawn wearing the same clothes: a white t-shirt, blue jeans, low-cut brown work boots, and black horn-rim glasses. When at work, he wears a short-sleeve blue dress shirt with nametag. Occasionally, he has been drawn in a suit, usually when going to church (he is a devout Methodist, though he may not necessarily know what Methodism "is"). His haircut is a flattop (or modified "Roger Staubach") which has remained consistent throughout the series, except for one episode that flashes back to his high school days, and another episode in which he is infected with head lice and shaves his head. When his barber goes insane and the Army charges him $900 for a haircut, he forgoes a haircut and has shaggier hair.
Hank drives a red Ford Ranger pickup truck (in later episodes, after the Ranger breaks down and is subsequently destroyed by a train, he drives a red Ford F350). He gives great love and affection to his lawn and his elderly dog Ladybird, while also clearly caring greatly about his family. Hank attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. He is sometimes naive, but he is generally tolerant of people different from him (intensely disliking being called a redneck or hillbilly) even when they show a complete lack of common sense or manners.
Hank considers himself very handy and is often frustrated at the incompentencies of the hardware department employees of Mega Lo Mart. Everybody looks to Hank when they have any "handyman" work to be done. Hank has briefly worked at Mega Lo Mart as a propane salesman trainee when he lost his job at Strickland Propane. Hank's reserved nature probably resulted from years of verbal abuse from his maniac father Cotton Hill. However, if sufficiently provoked, Hank is just as willing to fight as his father (a trait Bobby also shares).
A true gentleman, Hank is horrified by the idea of him having sex with anyone other than his wife.
He is a staunch conservative (he once said dreamily that he missed voting for Ronald Reagan), though he had some second thoughts about voting for George W. Bush in the 2000 U.S. Presidential election because of the candidate's weak handshake. His dog Ladybird is named after Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ). Like most Texans, he is a Republican but admires old-school Southern Democrats (such as Lyndon Baines Johnson). In one episode, Bobby chose to do a school report on his favorite president, Josiah Bartlet of the dramatic TV series The West Wing. When Hank discovered this, he scolded Bobby, who proceeded to do his report on Ronald Reagan. Hank does though have a great amount of respect for Democrat Governor Ann Richards. Parties aside, he is very conservative and old-fashioned, and in some ways seems to be somewhat naive, naturally thinking everyone shares his sense of right and wrong and being largely ignorant of new trends and viewpoints; several episodes involve him dealing with things like yoga, boy bands, etc. While traditional, he is mostly free of less savory attitudes of racism or sexism, though he is sometimes accused of being "close-minded" on these issues.
Hank enjoys standing in the alley behind his house drinking Alamo beer with lifelong friends Dale Gribble, Bill Dauterive, and Boomhauer. Hank is also a rabid Dallas Cowboys fan, though in one episode he does wear a Houston Texans hat (he tried to see the inaugural Cowboys-Texans game). When he watches baseball, he favors the Texas Rangers over the Houston Astros. In basketball, he prefers the Dallas Mavericks over the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, and in college sports he prefers Southern Methodist University (SMU) over all of the universities in Texas. It has been revealed that he hates the city of Houston.
Hank is one of many fictional characters to have a Myspace Page
[edit] Hank's Age
- Hank is around the age of 42. In The episode of King of the Hill "As Old as the Hills", it is suggested that he and Peggy have been married 20 years so Hank is possibly in his early 40's
[edit] Trivia
- Hank is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) and weighs 210 lb (95 kg), giving him a Body Mass Index of 27.
- According to the Season 5 episode "Yankee Hankee", when Hank was born he weighed 7 pounds and 5 ounces. He was born at 3:07 a.m. and his length was 19 1/2 inches (49.53 cm).
- Hank is based on Mike Judge's own father. Hank also bears a resemblance to Tom Anderson, a character from Mike Judge's first hit animated series, Beavis and Butt-Head. Anderson sounded/spoke and acted almost exactly like Hank. Once, Anderson used a description of Beavis that was similar to Hank's "That boy ain't right" description of Bobby: "That boy ain't right in the head." Judge voiced both characters.
- In Beavis and Butt-head, Tom Anderson had a love for butane as Hank does for propane. Hank's view of butane is that it is a bastard gas.
- Hank revealed in the Season 4 episode "Flush with Power" that he is an Eagle Scout.
- Hank has a younger half-brother named Good Hank or "G.H."
- Hank also has a half-Japanese half-brother named Junichiro (voiced by David Carradine) who has lived in Japan all his life. They share the same father. Like Hank, Junichiro also has a narrow urethra.
- His bowling nickname is "Flamer" in reference to his profession as a propane salesman.
- Hank is a Dale Earnhardt fan.
- Hank seems to have a strong liking for the song "The Gambler" by country musician Kenny Rogers, along with country music in general.
- Throughout the show, one of Hank's common catchphrase is usually threatening to kick somebody's ass, which he sometimes does.
- In an episode of Family Guy, when Peter peels off his skin, like in Poltergeist, it reveals the face of Hank Hill. Peter then laughs and says "Propane."
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| Hills and Platter: | Hank | Peggy | Bobby | Luanne Platter | Cotton | Tilly | Ladybird |
| Gribbles: | Dale | Joseph | Nancy |
| Souphanousinphones: | Kahn | Minh | Connie |
| Other characters: | Boomhauer | Bill | John Redcorn | M. F. Thatherton | Chuck Mangione | Monsignor Martinez |
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| Miscellaneous: | Alamo Beer | Manger Babies | Mega Lo Mart | Strickland Propane |
| Media: | King of the Hill DVDs | List of King of the Hill episodes |
