<Tr> <Th> Years active </Th> <Td> 1997--present </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Known for </Th> <Td> Voice of Dale Gribble in King of the Hill </Td> </Tr> <P> John Michael Hardwick (born December 21, 1958 in Houston, Texas) is an American stand - up comedian, and voice actor . He is best known as the voice of Dale Gribble in the animated American television show King of the Hill . He served as staff writer, story editor, and producer for the show as well . He has four Prime Time Emmy nominations and in 1999 he won an Emmy Award for his work as a producer on King of the Hill . </P> <P> A native of Austin, Texas, Hardwick attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas . After graduation with a BS degree in Journalism, he worked for a decade as a bartender in live blues bars in Dallas and Austin, Texas including Nick's Uptown, Sixth Street Live, and The Greenville Bar & Grill . Starting in 1990 he then performed stand - up comedy for a number of years, appearing at such venues as the Dallas Improv and the Velveeta Room in Austin, Texas and appearing on shows like Evening at the Improv and Caroline's Comedy Hour . He was the first standup comedian to appear on The Jon Stewart Show . In 1995, Hardwick appeared at the Montreal Comedy Festival, where Brandon Tartikoff saw him and offered him a sitcom for NBC . However, after Hardwick proposed a comedy along the lines of Green Acres and Get a Life the network showed little interest in seriously pursuing the idea . </P>

Who voices dale on king of the hill