Jonathan Joss Remembered After Tragic Death: His Final Words Echo the Legacy of Johnny Hardwick
The King of the Hill family is grieving once again, this time over the heartbreaking and violent loss of Jonathan Joss. The beloved voice actor behind John Redcorn was shot and killed outside his San Antonio home on the evening of June 1. His husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, described the shooting as a homophobic hate crime, following months of threats and intimidation from local residents.
Tragically, Joss’s death came just one day after he made a final public appearance at a live recording of BWAAA! A King of the Hill Podcast in Austin. His last moments in the public eye were filled with emotion, complicated memories, and some hauntingly strange comments—including one where he said he hoped to go out like his late co-star, Johnny Hardwick.
A Chilling Final Appearance at the King of the Hill Podcast
Joss appeared on the King of the Hill podcast with fans eager to hear from a longtime voice of the show. But the tone took a strange turn when the actor began reflecting on the passing of Johnny Hardwick, who voiced the character Dale Gribble.
Hardwick passed away in August 2023 and was discovered by police after he had been dead for several days in his bathtub. His body had partially decomposed in the water, which led Joss to make a dark joke, saying Hardwick “turned into soup.”
While the comment raised eyebrows, Joss used it to segue into a moment of reflection. Despite admitting he “hated Dale” and had long-standing tensions with Hardwick, Joss confessed that the loss hit him hard. “It broke my heart,” he said. “It pains you when you lose somebody, and you hate ‘em.”
In a bizarre twist of fate, Joss said during the live podcast that he wished to die like Hardwick did. “I hope, when I pass, I go out bathing like Johnny, like a can of soup,” he joked. No one could have guessed that just 24 hours later, his life would be taken in a tragic and violent way.
The Fallout from the ATX Festival and His Unfiltered Comments
During the podcast, Joss also addressed his emotional outburst from a few days earlier at the King of the Hill reunion panel during the ATX Television Festival. He had been upset with creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for not honoring cast members who had passed, including Hardwick and Brittany Murphy, who voiced Luanne Platter.
Joss explained that he felt left out and believed the reunion didn’t give proper tribute to the voices who helped shape the legacy of the animated series. The festival was supposed to be a celebration, but for Joss, it reopened old wounds.
Long-Standing Tension Between Joss and Hardwick
Joss recounted a business opportunity he had once extended to Hardwick involving paid autograph signings. Joss said he offered Hardwick $350,000, while he himself would earn $250,000. Hardwick reportedly turned it down, saying that wasn’t his style. This rejection stuck with Joss and caused resentment that lingered for years.
Still, his comments at the podcast revealed a man wrestling with that bitterness. Despite the rocky history, Joss admitted he felt real pain after Hardwick’s passing, showing that even fractured relationships can carry deep emotional weight.
A Tragic End and a Lost Legacy
Jonathan Joss didn’t get the quiet or ironic ending he had joked about. Instead, his life was cut short by a brutal act of violence. Police arrested a neighbor, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, for the shooting. According to Joss’s husband, this came after years of threats and harassment that were never fully addressed by authorities.
Joss’s loss adds another layer of sorrow to the King of the Hill legacy. He wasn’t just a voice actor—he was a cultural figure, representing Native American characters in mainstream television and making space for underrepresented voices in animation.
His final words, dark and strange as they were, now carry an eerie weight. He remembered Hardwick not for their disagreements but for the mark he left—and unintentionally, Joss left us with a similar, lasting impression.
A beloved character, a complicated man, and now, another voice silenced too soon.
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