Dale Gribble
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King of the Hill
Dale Alvin Gribble (born July 11, 1953) is an exterminator, bounty hunter, and conspiracy theorist. He is one of the main characters of King of the Hill. He is Nancy Hicks-Gribble's husband and Joseph Gribble's legal father.
Dale stands at 6'1"and is often portrayed as skinny. He has sandy blonde hair that is balding, but the fact is hidden due to him almost always wearing a Mack cap that covers it.
Dale is seen typically wearing a button up pale maroon shirt with a white undershirt, navy blue jeans and work boots. He also wears a watch on his left wrist.
He is almost never seen without his signature Mack cap and glasses with sunglass clip-ons, which he wears at all times, including indoors, to bed. Occasionally Dale will be hatless and his eyes will be seen, namely at times when it is blatantly rude to wear a ballcap indoors, such as church, or when he had to give up his exterminating business and get an office job, to which he had to abide by company policy and dress in a suit.
He often gets caught up in his (usually far fetched and extreme) conspiracy theories, which can sometimes cause him to be very selfish or double-cross his friends (particularly Hank), although in the end he usually sees sense and comes to the aid of his friends. However, Dale on some occasions has intentionally caused trouble for others for his pleasure; in the episode "Meet the Propaniacs", at Strickland Propane's Grillstravaganza, Dale overheard Hank telling Buck that they had ran out of CharKing grills, Dale rallied the other customers to angrily protest.
While Dale is boastful and often outgoing in his schemes, he invariably turns into a coward at the slightest sight of trouble, such as when he and Bobby attempt to steal the rival school's mascot (and subsequently retreats back to Tom Landry Middle School when they realize that their mascot costume isn't protected), Dale takes off the second Bobby tells him of the incoming students from the rival school, leaving Bobby behind (Dale ironically heads off to tell Hank so that the latter may go and save Bobby). However, he openly admits that he completely trusts his friends (particularly Hank), even more than himself, and in cases where he does realize the full impact of his actions, he can be surprisingly self-sacrificing. When he and his friends became volunteer firemen, he secretly switched his full oxygen tank with Hank's low-running one just before putting out a fire. On another occasion, in order to save Bobby from a swarm of fire ants, he intentionally transferred them to his own body and allowed them to all bite him at the same time, an action that nearly killed him,
Dale runs his own business, Dale's Dead-Bug, (although Dale states that he doesn't make a living wage and Nancy gives him an allowance--Dale pays the cable bill) and drives a white Dodge Caravan called the "Bugabago" (a reference to the Winnebago brand of RVs) with a large queen ant model perched on the roof. The ant, which can be rotated to appear dead (legs up) or alive (legs down), was a group project of Dale and friends/neighbors Hank Hill, Bill Dauterive and Jeff Boomhauer to help them over the emotional turmoil they shared over the death of actor Hervé Villechaize. Dale also breeds small, odd animals, and once won 2nd Place in the 12th Anual Heimlich County Tortoise Breeding Competition.
Dale is an accomplished musician, with the electronic keyboard as his principal instrument (though on some occasions, it was set to continuous replay). His résumé includes a stint with the Propaniacs, Big Mountain Fudgecake, and the Dale Gribble Bluegrass Experience.
Also, whenever Cotton visits, he gives much respect to him, even going as far as stealing a fake leg for Cotton's driver's license.
When the chemicals he used to kill roaches forced Dale to briefly give up his job, he took a position as a corporate hatchet-man and was spectacularly good at firing people, but his action to deal with a roach infestation (which he caused inadvertently) at this job led him to return to extermination. Dale's favorite TV shows are Sanford and Son and What's Happening!!. He enjoys drinking Alamo beverages with Hank, Bill, and Boomhauer. He also drinks a lot of Mountain Dew, explaining in one episode that his kidneys like it. He also stockpiled barrels of Mountain Dew in preparation for Y2K in the episode "Hillennium".
Perhaps owing to the research he has conducted as a conspiracy theorist, Dale has a thorough knowledge of the workings of the American government, legal system and bureaucracy. He has used this knowledge to assist his friends, both to help Hank with problems related to renewing his driver's license, and to help John Redcorn with his land claim and lawsuit against the American government. Ironically, Dale's help for Hank in that instance came about after he realized the Warren Commission report was accurate and became obnoxiously patriotic, to the point of painting a huge American flag on Hank's house and trying to turn Hank in to the Department of Homeland Security after he tried to remove it. However, he has a habit of horribly misconstruing information, having misunderstood the word "placebo" (a fake drug, usually sugar water) for a top secret government research project and Hank for cleaning off the paint he put on Hank's roof as "defacing an American flag" in the aforementioned case.
His schemes also tend to run out of steam or collapse; he bought a low-power radio transmitter, and launched his own talk station "serving the entire tri-house area" Art Bell-style, but soon ran out of things to talk about on the air. (He later indicated that "Dale's Dead Bug", of which he is owner and sole employee, was offended by things he said on air. He later sold the transmitter.
His trademark line is "She-she-sshhaa", usually heard too fast to phonetically understand, and he says it whenever he is impressed with himself carrying out a plan or when springing a sudden move. He also exclaims "Wingo!" when excited and "That's a Gribble of an idea!" when someone thinks of a solution to his problems. He's also known for exclaiming "S'go, s'go!" (a contraction of "Let's go") when rushed or excited and "G'h!" when he is startled or learns something that feeds into his paranoid nature.
A recurring gag early on in the series was that whenever Dale would make a comment about being Joseph's father, John Redcorn would show up. The theme was that, whenever there was a real conspiracy going on, Dale would be totally oblivious and misread the situation. Occasionally, Dale's predictions would be spot on, such as when Hank was in denial about his pickup truck being on its last legs; Dale warned Boomhauer and Bill that the three of them were going to be "the chumps who push Hank's truck" or "rides to AutoZone". When Hank asked Dale to give him a ride to AutoZone for a car part, Dale remarked to himself "So it begins".
In an episode, Dale claims to have completed a Russian correspondence course he downloaded from Vladimir Putin's website and can speak the language, though his application of this in handling an Abrams M1A2 tank isn't exactly flawless (having flattened Kahn Souphanousinphone's new SUV, or, as Hank put it, "hit a curb"). In "Night and Deity", moreover, Dale is further shown to have some competency in Tagalog.
Despite Dale's personal shortcomings in physical combat, his home is very well protected by a system of fortified gates, booby traps, alarms, and security cameras, with Dale's own firearms as the last line of defense. Presumably the various mechanical devices were installed by Hank or another competent tradesman as they are generally shown to be in good working order. As a result, Hank trusts Dale to guard the Polaroid of his injury in New Cowboy on the Block and instructs Bobby to run to the Gribble house when there is a dangerous person at the Hill residence in Leanne's Saga.
Dale stands at 6'1"and is often portrayed as skinny. He has sandy blonde hair that is balding, but the fact is hidden due to him almost always wearing a Mack cap that covers it.
Dale is seen typically wearing a button up pale maroon shirt with a white undershirt, navy blue jeans and work boots. He also wears a watch on his left wrist.
He is almost never seen without his signature Mack cap and glasses with sunglass clip-ons, which he wears at all times, including indoors, to bed. Occasionally Dale will be hatless and his eyes will be seen, namely at times when it is blatantly rude to wear a ballcap indoors, such as church, or when he had to give up his exterminating business and get an office job, to which he had to abide by company policy and dress in a suit.
He often gets caught up in his (usually far fetched and extreme) conspiracy theories, which can sometimes cause him to be very selfish or double-cross his friends (particularly Hank), although in the end he usually sees sense and comes to the aid of his friends. However, Dale on some occasions has intentionally caused trouble for others for his pleasure; in the episode "Meet the Propaniacs", at Strickland Propane's Grillstravaganza, Dale overheard Hank telling Buck that they had ran out of CharKing grills, Dale rallied the other customers to angrily protest.
While Dale is boastful and often outgoing in his schemes, he invariably turns into a coward at the slightest sight of trouble, such as when he and Bobby attempt to steal the rival school's mascot (and subsequently retreats back to Tom Landry Middle School when they realize that their mascot costume isn't protected), Dale takes off the second Bobby tells him of the incoming students from the rival school, leaving Bobby behind (Dale ironically heads off to tell Hank so that the latter may go and save Bobby). However, he openly admits that he completely trusts his friends (particularly Hank), even more than himself, and in cases where he does realize the full impact of his actions, he can be surprisingly self-sacrificing. When he and his friends became volunteer firemen, he secretly switched his full oxygen tank with Hank's low-running one just before putting out a fire. On another occasion, in order to save Bobby from a swarm of fire ants, he intentionally transferred them to his own body and allowed them to all bite him at the same time, an action that nearly killed him,
Dale runs his own business, Dale's Dead-Bug, (although Dale states that he doesn't make a living wage and Nancy gives him an allowance--Dale pays the cable bill) and drives a white Dodge Caravan called the "Bugabago" (a reference to the Winnebago brand of RVs) with a large queen ant model perched on the roof. The ant, which can be rotated to appear dead (legs up) or alive (legs down), was a group project of Dale and friends/neighbors Hank Hill, Bill Dauterive and Jeff Boomhauer to help them over the emotional turmoil they shared over the death of actor Hervé Villechaize. Dale also breeds small, odd animals, and once won 2nd Place in the 12th Anual Heimlich County Tortoise Breeding Competition.
Dale is an accomplished musician, with the electronic keyboard as his principal instrument (though on some occasions, it was set to continuous replay). His résumé includes a stint with the Propaniacs, Big Mountain Fudgecake, and the Dale Gribble Bluegrass Experience.
Also, whenever Cotton visits, he gives much respect to him, even going as far as stealing a fake leg for Cotton's driver's license.
When the chemicals he used to kill roaches forced Dale to briefly give up his job, he took a position as a corporate hatchet-man and was spectacularly good at firing people, but his action to deal with a roach infestation (which he caused inadvertently) at this job led him to return to extermination. Dale's favorite TV shows are Sanford and Son and What's Happening!!. He enjoys drinking Alamo beverages with Hank, Bill, and Boomhauer. He also drinks a lot of Mountain Dew, explaining in one episode that his kidneys like it. He also stockpiled barrels of Mountain Dew in preparation for Y2K in the episode "Hillennium".
Perhaps owing to the research he has conducted as a conspiracy theorist, Dale has a thorough knowledge of the workings of the American government, legal system and bureaucracy. He has used this knowledge to assist his friends, both to help Hank with problems related to renewing his driver's license, and to help John Redcorn with his land claim and lawsuit against the American government. Ironically, Dale's help for Hank in that instance came about after he realized the Warren Commission report was accurate and became obnoxiously patriotic, to the point of painting a huge American flag on Hank's house and trying to turn Hank in to the Department of Homeland Security after he tried to remove it. However, he has a habit of horribly misconstruing information, having misunderstood the word "placebo" (a fake drug, usually sugar water) for a top secret government research project and Hank for cleaning off the paint he put on Hank's roof as "defacing an American flag" in the aforementioned case.
His schemes also tend to run out of steam or collapse; he bought a low-power radio transmitter, and launched his own talk station "serving the entire tri-house area" Art Bell-style, but soon ran out of things to talk about on the air. (He later indicated that "Dale's Dead Bug", of which he is owner and sole employee, was offended by things he said on air. He later sold the transmitter.
His trademark line is "She-she-sshhaa", usually heard too fast to phonetically understand, and he says it whenever he is impressed with himself carrying out a plan or when springing a sudden move. He also exclaims "Wingo!" when excited and "That's a Gribble of an idea!" when someone thinks of a solution to his problems. He's also known for exclaiming "S'go, s'go!" (a contraction of "Let's go") when rushed or excited and "G'h!" when he is startled or learns something that feeds into his paranoid nature.
A recurring gag early on in the series was that whenever Dale would make a comment about being Joseph's father, John Redcorn would show up. The theme was that, whenever there was a real conspiracy going on, Dale would be totally oblivious and misread the situation. Occasionally, Dale's predictions would be spot on, such as when Hank was in denial about his pickup truck being on its last legs; Dale warned Boomhauer and Bill that the three of them were going to be "the chumps who push Hank's truck" or "rides to AutoZone". When Hank asked Dale to give him a ride to AutoZone for a car part, Dale remarked to himself "So it begins".
In an episode, Dale claims to have completed a Russian correspondence course he downloaded from Vladimir Putin's website and can speak the language, though his application of this in handling an Abrams M1A2 tank isn't exactly flawless (having flattened Kahn Souphanousinphone's new SUV, or, as Hank put it, "hit a curb"). In "Night and Deity", moreover, Dale is further shown to have some competency in Tagalog.
Despite Dale's personal shortcomings in physical combat, his home is very well protected by a system of fortified gates, booby traps, alarms, and security cameras, with Dale's own firearms as the last line of defense. Presumably the various mechanical devices were installed by Hank or another competent tradesman as they are generally shown to be in good working order. As a result, Hank trusts Dale to guard the Polaroid of his injury in New Cowboy on the Block and instructs Bobby to run to the Gribble house when there is a dangerous person at the Hill residence in Leanne's Saga.