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When Mike Judge pitched the series King of the Hill to Fox, he drew the characters as menacing looking, stereotypical "rednecks" with jagged teeth that protruded from their mouths when they spoke;[citation needed] Hank, Peggy, and Bobby were the only three characters whose present form closely resembles their original concept drawings (though originally Peggy was significantly overweight[citation needed]). In a unique move, Mike Judge changed many of the characters to look like the actors and actresses providing their voices: Bill, Luanne, Nancy, and John Redcorn are all physically modeled on their voice actors. Although rumored to be modelled after Judge himself, Dale is based on Robert Patrick, whom Judge had originally wanted to voice the character.[citation needed]
[edit] Hills and Platters
- Hank Hill (Mike Judge) proudly sells "propane and propane accessories" as the assistant manager at Strickland Propane. He resembles -- in both voice and appearance -- the Tom Anderson character from Beavis and Butthead, a character also voiced by Judge. Hank is a generally well-meaning father but is often frustrated and confused by modern trends and the antics of his friends and family members. Hank suffers from a narrow urethra, which made Bobby's conception difficult. He is uncomfortable with intimacy and sexuality but has a healthy relationship with his family. In addition to propane, Hank enjoys car repair and yard work, and is shown in some episodes doing his neighbor's yard work or surreptitiously creating more for himself to do. Hank's trademark wail of distress in times of discomfort phrase "I tell you what" are running gags on the series.
- Margaret Hill, a.k.a. Peggy Hill (Kathy Najimy), Hank's wife, is a substitute teacher who specializes in teaching Spanish; her knowledge, however of the language is lacking, and she refers to it phonetically as "es-pa-nole". Peggy is also a freelance newspaper columnist, Notary Public, and Boggle champion. Though well-meaning and open-minded, she often accidentally displays her naïveté and ignorance; she considers herself more knowledgeable and clever than she actually is, and in a number of episodes, this gets her into trouble. Peggy is self-conscious about her larger-than-normal (size 16) feet. Peggy frequently speaks the phrases "Ho, yeah!" when she exerts effort into a task and "Oh, Peggy!" a self-compliment after she says something that she finds to be especially clever.
- Bobby Hill, (Pamela Segall, sometimes as Pamela Segall Adlon), Hank and Peggy's husky 13-year-old son, wants to be a famous prop comic when he is older. Bobby displays little interest in gender roles and dislikes playing American football. Hank's discomfort with Bobby's sensibilities is a regular narrative element in the series..
- Cotton Hill (Toby Huss), Hank's father, is a deranged, politically incorrect misogynist with a hair-trigger temper. His shins were blown off in WWII and his feet were reattached to his knees resulting in a short height and stilted gait. Despite his disability, he eventually reached the rank of Colonel in the State Militia, and is addressed as such by his friends. After divorcing Hank's mother, he marries a much younger, dimwitted blonde nurse named Didi. He calls Peggy "Hank's Wife" and makes frequent references to his (perhaps dubious) wartime heroism, including his killing of "fiddy men".
- Didi Hill (Ashley Gardner) is Cotton's second wife and candy striper. She went to kindergarten with Hank. She has breast implants and suffers from postpartum depression. She is generally depicted as docile and unintelligent, although she has a degree in optometry. Didi is also very monotonous, even when scared or excited.
- G.H. Hill is Cotton's and Didi's infant son, and Hank's younger half-brother. G.H. is an abbreviation for "Good Hank" inferring that the original Hank was unsatisfactory to his father. G.H. most strongly resembles his elder nephew Bobby.
- Hill Junichiro (David Carradine) is Hank's elder half-Japanese half-brother who has lived in Japan all his life. Hank and Junichiro have the same father, and strongly resemble each other. Like Hank, Junichiro also has a narrow urethra.
- Tilly Hill (Tammy Wynette) is Cotton's first wife and Hank's mother. She divorced Cotton after suffering years of verbal abuse. A kind woman who collects miniatures, Tilly lives in Arizona with her Jewish boyfriend Gary (voiced by Carl Reiner). Hank has trouble emotionally connecting with Tilly but is a loving son who defends his mother in spite of Cotton's insults.
- Luanne Platter (Brittany Murphy), Peggy's college-age niece, is a student at the beauty academy and later at Arlen Junior College. She is often portrayed as an airhead, although she is also an expert mechanic and is good at logic puzzles. Luanne is promiscuous, but she settles down after attending a church-sponsored "second virginity" program and starting a bible study class. In the 10th season finale, Luanne reveals that she's pregnant with the child of her future husband Lucky.
- Leanne Platter (Pamela Segall) is Luanne's violent alcoholic mother, who was imprisoned for stabbing her husband with a fork. She is frequently mentioned during the course of the series but seen only in one episode, "Leanne's Saga", in which she is released from prison and has an abusive affair with Bill, during which the two are engaged.
- Ladybird Hill is the Hills' 14-year-old purebred bloodhound. Her companionship temporarily relieved Hank's stress (and narrow urethra), allowing him to impregnate Peggy. She is named after the famous Texan and Democratic U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's wife Lady Bird Johnson. Hank is skeptical about breeding her until her thirteenth year, when he finally breaks down and attempts to stud her with one of Mr. Strickland's hounds. But, come to find out, Ladybird has a narrow uterus, which is a sort of parody of Hank's narrow urethra.
[edit] Gribbles
- Dale Gribble (Johnny Hardwick) is the Hills' chain-smoking neighbor, an insect exterminator, conspiracy theorist, and borderline maniac. Dale is also his gun club's president and a licensed bounty hunter. Though boastful, he is a coward who recoils in the face of violence. He often uses the alias "Rusty Shackleford".
- Joseph Gribble (prepubescent, Brittany Murphy / pubescent, Breckin Meyer) is Dale's muscular 13-year-old son and one of Bobby's best friends. The running gag is that despite Joseph's obvious Native American features and Dale's paranoiac conspiracy theories, Dale is oblivious to that fact that John Redcorn is Joseph's biological father, the result of a 14-year affair. Most of the people in the neighborhood know this and keep this secret from Dale.
- Nancy Gribble (Ashley Gardner) is Dale's wife and the weather girl for a local television station. She has a 14-year affair with John Redcorn that she eventually ends. She frequently addresses other characters as "shug" (short for "sugar").
[edit] Souphanousinphones
- Kahn Souphanousinphone (Toby Huss) is the Hills' materialistic, Laotian American next-door neighbor. He is prejudiced against whites, southern whites in particular. He frequently boasts his superiority to the others, but Hank bails him out in several episodes. Secretly, Kahn considers Hank his best friend because both men share some of the same principles. Kahn occasionally wrestles with the fact that he has a daughter, and has even referred to her as his son in times of frustration.
- Minh Souphanousinphone (Lauren Tom), Kahn's wife, is a housewife who grows roses in her front yard. She enjoys making catty comments about the "redneck" neighbors, particularly Peggy. She knows a lot of household tips, acquired from her mother-in-law.
- Kahn "Connie" Souphanousinphone, Jr. (Lauren Tom) is Kahn and Minh's daughter, a violin player, and an A-student. She is one of Bobby's best friends and sometimes girlfriend. Connie is named for her father because Kahn wanted a son.
- Doggy Souphanousinphone is their West Highland White Terrier, who has the uncanny ability to turn backflips and is a competitive dancer.
[edit] Other main characters
- Boomhauer (Mike Judge) is a womanizing bachelor whose mutterings seem incomprehensible, although his associates usually understand him perfectly. Boomhauer is a classic car affectionado. In several episodes, he is depicted wearing speedos and banana hammocks.
- Buckley (1997-1998) (David Herman) was the slacker boyfriend of Luanne who is vaporized in a propane explosion while working at Mega Lo Mart. The character did return later (as "Buckley's Angel") for one time in the episode that leads Luanne to leave the Beauty School and enroll in a nearby community college.
- William Fontaine De la Tour Dauterive "Bill" (Stephen Root) is the Hills' overweight, divorced, clinically depressed neighbor. He obsesses about his ex-wife, Lenore, and his suicidal tendencies are a running gag on the series. He is a barber in the United States Army. He frequently tries to flirt with and woo Peggy, and even steals, tapes together, and "Boggles" with Peggy's body cast after she gets it taken off following a skydiving accident.
- Lenore Dauterive (Ellen Barkin) is Bill's ex-wife (also, in one episode, the name of his iguana). She is mentioned frequently throughout the course of the series but seen only once.
- Stuart Dooley (Mike Judge) is Bobby's deep voiced, laconic classmate. He has shaggy red hair. He always says something obvious (for example, to Bobby after witnessing a bully scare Bobby, "He scared you."). His character is based closely on the character Butt-head of Beavis and Butt-head.
- Enrique (Danny Trejo) is a good-natured but annoying Hispanic truck driver at Strickland Propane. In the episode Enrique-cilable Differences, Hank and Enriqure had hardly ever talked to each other before, but suddenly Enrique forcibly befriends himself upon Hank after a nasty fight with his wife. Enrique ends up moving in with the Hills for a short time, but quickly patches things up with his wife after Hank kicks him out. He has made various appearances since, and while he and Hank aren't exactly friends, they're on friendlier terms than before the incident.
- Debbie Grund (1997-2000) (Reese Witherspoon) is an employee of Strickland Propane who was Buck Strickland's mistress. When Strickland ended their relationship, she plotted to murder him and his wife, but accidentally killed herself when she inadvertently discharged her shotgun into her own torso while attempting to climb into the dumpster she was using as a hiding place.
- Joe Jack (Toby Huss) is a fuel truck driver and co-worker with Hank at Strickland Propane. He has a drinking problem, as seen when he is a member of the Propaniacs. He has a habit of calling people "honey," regardless of gender.
- Lucky (Tom Petty) is a dimwitted local man living on government disability payments and proud of it. Lucky is engaged to Luanne and is the father of her unborn child. He is also a former guitarist for John Redcorn's Big Mountain Fudgecake and occasionally plays gigs in biker bars.
- Chuck Mangione, playing himself, shamelessly promotes Mega Lo Mart until he grows tired of going to every Mega Lo Mart opening and becomes a hermit, living within the Arlen Mega Lo Mart in a "Toilet Paper Castle" (a giant tower made out of stacked packages of toilet paper) and stealing stocked items.
- Monsignor Martinez (Mike Judge) is the gun-toting priest hero of the fictional TV series Las Dias y Los Noches de Monsignor Martinez, a favorite of many of King of the Hill's principal characters. Clips of his program are often inserted into episodes as part of a running gag. Martinez is apparently some sort of assassin or secret agent who travels Mexico brutally murdering criminals and evildoers, almost like The Punisher. The clips of his episodes which appear on the series usually feature him just about to kill one of his nemeses, uttering the words vaya con dios (go with God).
- Eustis Miller (David Herman) is a wimpy, moustached patent lawyer and father of Bobby's classmate Randy.
- Carl Moss (Dennis Burkley) is the principal of Tom Landry Middle School and one of Hank's high school classmates. Like most school administrators, his twin concerns are tight budgets and maintaining discipline. He once suspends Hank from teaching shop class on a temporary, volunteer basis due to a rule that prevents students from carrying weapons around campus.
- Octavio (Mike Judge) is a Hispanic quasi-mercenary who does various favors for Dale, when paid enough money. His appearance was modeled after Danny Trejo.
- Anthony Page (David Herman) is an uptight employee with a by-the-book sense in Arlen Child Services and an Americans with Disabilities Act Employer. He had tried to get Bobby taken away from Hank and allowed a drug addict to work at Strickland Propane. Hank doesn't care for him, calling him "Twig Boy".
- Clark Peters (Pamela Segall) is another bullying classmate of Bobby's and Dooley's friend. He has a shaved head with a short blonde ponytail and talks in a nasally voice.
- John Redcorn (Jonathan Joss) is Nancy's former Native American "healer" and adulterous lover and the biological father of Joseph Gribble. A former roadie for Winger and lead singer of Big Mountain Fudgecake, John Redcorn enjoys classic rock music and hair bands. John Redcorn works out of his trailer as a masseur, though he generally works only on women. He is also active in Native American rights campaigns. Often, when he was seen picking up Nancy, cliche 80's music was blasting from his brown Jeep Wrangler.
- Buck Strickland (Stephen Root), the owner of Strickland Propane, is Hank's boss. Buck is a compulsive gambler, chauvinist, alcoholic, cheat, adulterer, and womanizer. Hank is blindly loyal to Buck, who generally treats Hank poorly. His physical appearance and controlling and somewhat boorish demeanor towards others is homage to Texan and former President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson.[citation needed]
- Elizabeth "Miz Liz" Strickland (Kathleen Turner) is the wife of Buck Strickland. She is very boistrous and is usually seen wearing dress-type clothes. Her hair is always pulled up in a bun. It is shown that Buck Strickland has a shotgun with her name engraved on it. Miz Liz also shows a love interest in Hank, but this is not pursued.
- Rev. Karen Stroup (Mary Tyler Moore) is the first female minister of Arlen First Methodist. She is originally from Minnesota but is assigned to Arlen after the previous minister left to start an online ministry. She also is an avid Minnesota Vikings fan.
- M. F. Thatherton (Burt Reynolds) is a former employee of Strickland Propane who strikes out on his own and opens up the crooked Thatherton Fuels company across the street from Strickland. He is a foil to Hank Hill.
- Toppington (aka Topsy) (Stephen Root) is an old wartime buddy of Cotton's. He often acts as an accomplice to Cotton's inane hate/revenge-driven schemes. In a later episode, he is left for dead by Cotton after a failed scheme; Cotton: "He's playing checkers with the worms." He was known to inflate his cheeks a la Dizzy Gillespie.
- Chane Wasonasong (Pamela Segall), is a smart but obnoxious classmate of Bobby and Connie. Connie's parents are constantly trying to fix her up with Chane, as they see him as a positive alternative to dating Bobby. In spite of his high IQ, he often appears to be socially inept, and is fond of eating his own mucous when no one is watching.
- Jimmy Wichard (David Herman) is a violent mentally retarded man; local color claims that he wasn't born retarded, but rather gave himself brain damage by spending an entire day staring into the sun; as Dale points out, though, he couldn't have been very smart to stare at the sun in the first place. He has had several jobs, including concession manager at the racetrack and modern artist.
