The Hills and Other Relatives (Hank Hill) | The Hills' Neighbors (Dale Gribble) | Strickland Propane | Other Characters
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The Wassonasongs
Ted Wassonasong
Ted Wassanasong
Voiced by: Mike Judge
Wealthy Laotian businessman, and object of Kahn's borderline worship.
- The Ace: He's a rich, successful business owner.
- Affably Evil: He's polite and charming, but he's always the main antagonist in his appearances. He might not be so bad if he wasn't such a greedy, self-centered jerk.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Although this could apply to his whole family.
- Broken Pedestal: Ted becomes one to Kahn after the events of "Orange You Sad I Did Say Banana." Kahn idolized Ted up to that point in the show (at least in the sense he wanted to be as successful as him), but that episode made Kahn lose respect for him after realizing he shouldn't let someone else tell him or his family how to live.
- Character Catchphrase: "Super nice!"
- Even Evil Has Standards: His and Cindy's dealings with Cozy Kitchen, which managed to track them down when they tried to hide on their private villa on an island. He also feels bad for Peggy and makes Cindy tell her the truth, showing he isn't completely heartless against another's suffering.
- Evil Counterpart:
- His family seems to exist as one for Kahn, Minh, and Connie. The three of them are obviously more Americanized by contrasting their accents, and they're much more successful then Kahn's family. Yet they seem to lack any actual morals. Chane is an egotistical spoiled wannabe whereas Connie is an intelligent Plucky Girl who wants to be a regular kid.
- Ted is also even more judgmental, snobby, and self-absorbed than Kahn, but hides it under an overly-polite facade whereas Kahn is openly a jerk but has a Hidden Heart of Gold.
- Hate Sink: While not overtly malicious, he is a cold, pompous hypocrite and any time he and his family appear, it's usually to make the Souphanousinphones look sympathetic.
- Hypocrite: Once guilt-tripped Kahn into thinking he's betrayed his heritage, yet converted from Buddhism to Protestant Christianity because it's "good for business." He justifies his materialist lifestyle by telling Kahn, "I own all of these things, but they don't own me." Also in "Trans-fascism", he gets trans-fats banned from Arlen and then gladly patronizes the illegal food truck operated by Buck. When Hank asks about this, Ted smugly says that he has the discipline to handle it.
- It's All About Me: He admonished Kahn for acting white, and tried to emotionally manipulate him into joining a rebel squad to free Laos, even if Kahn makes the point it's essentially a suicide mission. All because he wanted social clout and a chance to have his own holiday of Laotian Freedom Day.
- It's Cuban: He smokes Cohibas and once offered Hank one. Hank told him it was Cuban, broke it, and stomped on it. Ted feigned ignorance.
- Karma Houdini: Ted usually gets out of any punishment any time he does something wrong, save for a moment in "Trans-fascism", when both he and Kahn are beaten up by Rooster's crew for going to the Sugarfoot's lunch truck.
- Pet the Dog:
- During "Pour Some Sugar On Kahn", he encourages Kahn to try karaoke as a form of catharsis, especially after Kahn spent a good chunk of the episode getting put down by his father-in-law.
- As mentioned above, he felt bad about Cindy deceiving Peggy, and insisted she tell her the truth.
- Rail Enthusiast: Has a room with a model train layout in his house.
- Spock Speak: He often speaks in a nasally, stilted manner, and rarely uses contractions.
- Straw Hypocrite: He does not live up to any of the standards he holds everybody else in the world to. He rarely gets called on it, but when he does, he always has an excuse ready.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Balding, skinny and not terribly attractive. Cindy, on the other hand, is definitely pretty.
Chane Wassonasong
Chane Wassanasong
Voiced by: Pamela Adlon
Ted and Cindy's teenaged son, an overachieving, insufferable jerkass who enjoys tormenting Bobby and pursuing the decidedly uninterested Connie.
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Connie, who considers him "a boring know-at-all who talks about himself and cheats at miniature golf." Not helped by Kahn and Minh constantly pushing Chane on her.
- Always Someone Better: Connie is this for him. He (as well as Connie's parents) try to impress her with his achievements only for Connie to rebut that she's excelled better than Chane in the same fields. Examples being Kahn telling Connie that Chane is a second chair oboe and won second place in the science fair. Connie reminds him that she's first chair violin and won first prize in that same science fair.
- The Bully: To Bobby.
- The Casanova: He's very popular with the girls at school except for the one that he likes.
- Dirty Coward: If you notice, he never so much as touches Bobby again after the events of "Bobby Goes Nuts". He still spouts insults at him, though.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: Generally portrayed as a rival to Bobby but they occasionally team up like when Bobby joined his track team or the quiz bowl team. It's made clear that he's not happy about it, however.
- I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Heavily implied that the main reason he has any interest in Connie is because she can't stand him.
- Inconsistent Coloring: His hair color often switches between black and brown across multiple episodes.
- Insufferable Genius: He's actually a pretty smart guy, though he tends to overrate his intellectual abilities. Connie enjoys needling him about it.Connie: Why would a lama come back as a third oboe?Chane: Second, Connie!Connie: Any woodwind!
- It's All About Me: He's even more self-centered than his father, probably because Ted and Kahn are around to enable his bad behavior.
- Jerk Jock: He's on the track team. That said, the only time he shows Bobby any respect is when the latter joins the team and the coach uses Bobby as a "stick" to motivate his teammates.
- Karma Houdini: Like his dad, Chane generally gets away with his obnoxious behavior. "Bobby Goes Nuts" being a noteworthy exception.
- Laser-Guided Karma: In "Bobby Goes Nuts" and "Bobby on Track", where he gets kicked in the groin/insulted by his own track team after getting outshined, respectively. Bobby's responsible for both.
- Not Good with Rejection: His typical response to Connie's rejection is mocking (or, in a few episodes, physically attacking) Bobby.
- Real Men Wear Pink: He collects stuffed animals according to Connie.
- The Rival: To Bobby.
- Connie too, see Always Someone Better above.
- Token Minority Couple: Seeks to be this with Connie. Parodied in that a big factor in pushing this are Connie's parents, who are unashamedly racist and Chane is one of the only Laotians in Arlen that's Connie's age.
Souphanousinphone's Circle
General Gum
Voiced by: James Sie
Minh's father, and Kahn's overbearing father-in-law, a Laotian general.- Dating What Daddy Hates: He wanted Minh to marry Phoukong Vivarad, VP of Acquisitions at Ingersoll Rand, but Minh continued to date Kahn because she didn't think the former was right for her.
- Doting Parent: He loves his daughter so much that he was willing to "settle" his indifference with Kahn (after he kicked Kahn down emotionally) so Kahn wouldn't feel bad (which was all made-up, but Kahn took the general's harsh criticism in exchange to leave their home).
- Fat Bastard: He is overweight and a real jerk to boot. It's also implied he might've been a war criminal, considering how he awaited trial at the Hague, and Dale mentions he worked for several dictators prior to moving to the states.
- Gruesome Grandparent: Downplayed, but Connie isn't very fond of him, especially after he says that he thinks her and her mother would've been better off if Minh married Phoukong instead of Kahn - even if as Connie points out, she wouldn't exist if Minh married Phoukong.
- Hidden Depths:
- Despite his gruff appearance, he seems to have a love of ceramic glass elephants, giving Minh various figurines whenever he comes to visit.
- He's also a fan of Frank Sinatra, requesting his music when he orders Kahn to put mp3 files in his (analogue) watch.
- Jerkass: He went out of his way to screw Kahn over at the Nine Rivers Country Club's Karaoke Night by choosing his song before he went first. The reason? He just couldn't bear to see Kahn not bending to his will like usual.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: He makes it incredibly clear to Kahn he only talks to him because he married Minh, forces him to call him "The General" and besides that, he actively despises him for being born a peasant, and thinks Minh could've married better. Connie herself doesn't think too highly of her maternal grandfather.
- Retired Monster: A former general of the Laotian government who is possibly a war criminal. He eventually moved to the US and worked for Pacific Bell. Minh mentions that him becoming president of his homeowners association was his "first bloodless coup."
- Small Name, Big Ego: Believes himself to be far superior to anyone (especially Kahn), even though he is mostly a foolish jerk who gets away with anything through his authoritative presence.
- Technologically Blind Elders: He tells Kahn to put music on his watch, which Kahn tells him isn't possible, as the watch isn't digital. He berates Kahn for it anyway.
Laoma Souphanousinphone
Voiced by: Amy Hill
Kahn's beloved mother.- Character Catchphrase: "If I may just demonstrate?"
- May–December Romance: Starts a romantic relationship with Bill, who is middle aged, and her son's neighbor.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: To Minh, always feeling the need to show her how to cook and clean. Minh was reluctant to help Peggy with her column in "Bystand Me" because it meant calling Laoma.
- Old Maid: As Dale puts it, she literally is one, being an older, widowed woman who works as a maid to get out of the house.
- Put on a Bus: Because "Maid in Arlen" aired when King of the Hill was beginning to be syndicated, her plotline with Bill was abruptly ended. She was mentioned on the phone during "Bystand Me" with Peggy using her tips to write a household hints column.
Tid Pao Souphanousinphone
Kahn's niece from Los Angeles, a juvenile delinquent.
Voiced by: Lucy Liu.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: She's the receiving end of a gender inverted version of this trope. Bobby falls for her because she's a tough city girl from LA.
- City Mouse: A drug dealer from LA who doesn't take the quiet life in rural Texas well.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: Forced to stay in Arlen to keep her out of trouble and planned to fly back to LA on her own once she got enough money to pay off a debt. Goes From Bad to Worse when she's caught and sent to live with another one of Kahn's brothers who's a cattle rancher in the Midwest. Her uncle warns her that if she screws up again, he'll send her to live with her grandmother in Laos.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Upon being introduced in class, she doesn't take it well when the teacher makes various mocking nicknames out of her name, and her face visibly shrinks.
- Generic Graffiti: Tags her street name "Q-Bag" on the Hill's fence while staying in Arlen.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Runs out of the school science fair when she sees Bobby presenting her meth lab and noticing one of the judges is a police officer.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: She's only 13 years old and she knows how to cook and sell crystal meth. It's also stated that she was in trouble with a street gang back home and her main motive to sell the meth was to make enough money to pay off a debt.
Tom Landry Middle School
Principal Moss
Principal Carl Moss
"I gotta get over to the geography classroom: some kid drew balls on Florida."
Voiced by: Dennis Burkley.
The world-weary principal of Tom Landry Middle School."All parents care about these days are zero tolerance drug polices and literacy. 'Why can't Johnny read? Why can't Johnny read?' God that gets old."
- The Alcoholic: A functional alcoholic, but an alcoholic nonetheless.
- Moss: "I have that disease where you wake up in strange places drunk."
- Apathetic Teacher: The Principal version. He's mostly trying to get by doing as little work as possible while swiping whatever bonus he could. He couldn't care less about the students' performance if he tried, unless it involves him possibly losing his job.
- Deadpan Snarker: Years in the education system will do that to you.
- Dirty Coward: Once fakes a heart attack to avoid casting the deciding vote at a PTA meeting.
- Everyone Has Standards: Even the morally dodgy Moss is appalled by Bobby's rash of testicle kicking.
- Evil Counterpart: Not evil per se, but a closer look shows him to be an inversion of Hank. Unlike him, Carl has a leading position for a job, is afraid to handle confrontations, and generally favors any sort of personal gain over ethic.
- Fat Slob: When your personal habits gross out Bill...
- Honest John's Dealership: Many of Carl's ideas to raise money for the school are outright immoral, or at least shady.
- Jaded Washout: He was once as confident and competent as Hank, but years of compromising and getting kicked around by the school board, the PTA, and losing everything through a tough divorce have really gotten to him. He was once an upstanding shop class student, but now he can't even remember the names of shop tools.
- Kavorka Man: Somehow manages to hook up with a former Playmate in "Bill Gathers Moss."
- Laser-Guided Karma: After years of cutting corners and doing the bare minimum, he gets suspended after pretending his low scoring students are learning disabled to get the schools test scores up.
- Noodle Incident: Whenever confronted by Hank over something school related, Hank'll mention one to call him out on his bullshit. Like the time Moss wore a Coonskin Cap through all of seventh grade, or nearly got fired by the school board for growing a ponytail.
- Oh, Crap!: When Hank found out Bobby was labeled as a special needs student in "No Bobby Left Behind," Hank hunts Carl down, and all Carl can do is flee in horror before Hank can get to him.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: At first, Carl's just a hapless, beaten-down bureaucrat who's less malicious than apathetic. Later on, he becomes more frequently associated with activities that are immoral if not outright illegal. Like placing students with middling grades in a remedial class to boost test scores ("No Bobby Left Behind"), or helping run a counterfeit clothing ring and selling the merchandise at school ("Bill Gathers Moss").
Officer Brown
Officer Brown
Voiced by: Fred Willard
A recurring character in later seasons, an Arlen police officer noted for his laziness and corruption.
- Dirty Cop: He openly takes bribes from Buck in "Trans-Fascism" and is mentioned as tampering with evidence is one episode.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Looks like Fred Willard.
- Jaded Washout: Says Principal Moss: "Officer Brown may be a disgraced cop who tampered with evidence, but this here used to be a man." Officer Brown doesn't disagree.
- Knight Templar: He's eager to see "action," even when there's none to be had. He once tries to shoot Ladybird during a thunderstorm, (after she's been reported as a dangerous dog). He's also a bit too enthusiastic in helping Bobby track down truant Clark Peters and Dooley, though, in fairness, he's been Reassigned to Antarctica and hasn't done real police work in a while.
- Police Are Useless: When he's not corrupt, he's this, responding lackadaisically to serious threats. "New Cowboy on the Block" exaggerates this, as he's too impressed with Willie Lane's Super Bowl ring to stop him from harassing Hank and Co.Hank: Why would I tip a car over on my own lawn!?!Officer Brown: I don't know... it puzzles me.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: In one episode, he's demoted to policing Tom Landry Middle School.
Coach Sauers
Coach Whitey Sauers
Voiced by: Phil Hendrie
The former football coach who led Arlen High (with Hank, Boomhauer and Bill on the team) to the Texas State Championship, which they lost. He's later brought back to coach Bobby's Tom Landry Middle School football team.
- Broken Pedestal: Hank looked up to Coach Sauers as he led Arlen High to the state championship, which Hank looks at him fondly, despite losing at the end. But when he discovers Sauers chasing the boys around the field with his car, he instantly loses all respect for him and bashes him in the head with a water cooler to stop him.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: While Hank and the Arlen High alumni hold him in high regard, his techniques to "toughen up" and motivate the players end up scaring away Bobby, Joseph and the rest of the team. Even Hank is appalled with how far he goes.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: When Hank decides to seek out Sauers to offer him a coaching job, he wonders where he ended up. The scene then cuts to Sauers standing in front of a crowded stadium, implying he's coaching for a professional team. The camera then zooms out revealing the stadium to just be a decorative backdrop at the sporting goods store he works at.
- Foil Is one to the Soccer Coach Lucas. While Sauers is passionate about winning the game and uses extreme methods to attempt to whip the team into shape, Lucas praises his players for practically doing nothing and doesn't seem to particularly if they win or lose. Arguably to Hank, as well. He offers a more extreme version of Hank's obsession with sports and masculinity, and he completely lacks Hank's moral compass and empathy for his players.
- Gay Bravado: He had a tendency to kiss his (18-year old) football players on the mouth, including Bill and Hank, but doesn't appear to be gay or bisexual.
- Jerkass: They don't call him "Sour" Coach Sauers for nothing. He's passionate about football and winning, but he also needlessly endangers the well-being of his players so much, he runs them off into joining the soccer team. And if they get hurt, the most he'll do is tell them to take a salt tablet as he doesn't care how badly they get hurt.
- Soul-Sucking Retail Job: In his later years, he ends up working at a sporting goods store and when Hank asks him to coach the Tom Landry Middle School football team, he almost quits, but rescinds after Hank points out to him the coaching is not a paying job.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Holds a grudge against Hank for sustaining the ankle injury which cost them the State Championship, despite Hank being largely responsible for getting the team to State in the first place.
- Would Hurt a Child: His intensive training puts children at risk of serious injury (exercise until failure and beyond, having them run headfirst into brock walls to "test" helmets, etc.), and when they do get hurt, he just tells them to take a salt tablet. All this culminates in him chasing the kids around with his car.
Coach Kleehammer
Coach Kleehammer
Voiced by: Toby Huss
Tom Landry Middle School's obnoxious, somewhat dimwitted gym teacher and wrestling coach, a recurring character in Bobby-centered stories. Very similar to Coach Sauer, but lacks that character's outright psychotic edge.
- Book Dumb: Not only is he unintelligent but seems to hold "book-learning" and other teachers in contempt. In one episode, he's briefly made Principal and spends the whole time yelling at students."Study up today, maggots!"
- Jerk Jock: The "washed-up coach" variety.
- Last-Name Basis: We never learn his given name.
- Malaproper: "It's all about you boys and your tomfooligans!"
- Noodle Incident: In one episode, Principal Moss mentions that Kleehammer had a "little fit" which resulted in him seriously damaging the school gym.
- Pet the Dog: On rare occasions, he will encourage Bobby and other students, particularly in "The Powder Puff Boys", when he encourages the team to follow Bobby's comedy advice.
- Straw Misogynist: His introductory episode ("Bobby Slam") centers around his belief that girls can't play sports, which infuriates Peggy and kicks off the episode's plot (inspiring Peggy to help Connie join the wrestling team). This remains a consistent trait of his throughout the show. To put it in perspective, he considers Title IX (The law that prevents sex discrimination in school activities and sports) as "Dick Nixon's biggest mistake".
Emily
Emily
"Don't make a scene."
- Voiced by: Ashley Gardner
Tom Landry Middle School's no-nonsense 13-year-old hall monitor
- The Dragon: She is Principal Moss's main enforcer, Her duties range from escorting recently terminated employees off of school property to ensuring that the morning student announcement is up to acceptable standards.
- Phrase Catcher: Whenever Principal Moss yells "EM-LAY!", you know some serious business is about to go down at Landry Middle School.
- Police Brutality: Essentially the school resource officer, despite her young age, Emily is not above using physical force to carry out her duties.
- Yellow Sash of Power: Orange vest in this case. She takes her job very seriously. In fact, she is vested with authority well beyond the scope of a hall monitor. With most of Landry's adult faculty, Moss included, being rather timid bureaucrats who claim their hands are tied by regulations, Emily is one of the few real authority figures in the school.
Clark Peters
Clark Peters
Voiced by: Pamela Adlon
A fat bully with a weird haircut, and seemingly perpetual stuffy nose.
- The Bully: Constantly picks on Bobby and occasionally forces him to do his homework for him.
- Creepy Child: Implied. As his teacher remarked, "The Clark Peters I know likes to burn things."
- Mihn also once referred to him as "that creepy booger-nosed kid".
- Evil Counterpart: Clark is pretty much a fatter, meaner version of Bobby.
- Fat Bastard: He's an overweight bully.
- Verbal Tic: Has a weird, unattractive habit of deeply inhaling just before speaking.
Dooley
Stuart Dooley
Voiced by: Mike Judge
The monosyllabic bad teen at Tom Landry Middle School.
- The Bully: The most consistent one, right next to Clark.
- Captain Obvious: His entire speech pattern consists of this.
- Creepy Monotone: He also has a very deep voice for a teen in middle school.
- Depending on the Writer: The show waffles on which parent he gets his deep voice and Beige Prose from. "To Spank With Love" shows it's his mom, while "Behind Closed Doors" has her speaking normally, and his dad has the deep voice instead.
- Everyone Has Standards: He mistook Joseph for being gay for Bobby and simply said his alleged confession of love "took courage". He may be a bully and a jerkass but he's certainly not homophobic.
- Expy: Of Butt-head, at least vocally.
- Hidden Depths: He seems to be able to speak Spanish fluently, which—given the Arlen educational system—is impressive.
- Last-Name Basis: Most people call him by his last name, including his teachers. And his own father.
- The Quiet One: He never says more than one or two words at a time. When he's feeling particularly wordy, he'll offer the odd 6-word sentence.
Bill's Circle
Lenore Dauterive
Lenore Dauterive
- Voiced by: Ellen Barkin
Bill's ex-wife who was very unfaithful to him during their marriage before dumping him for good. She briefly returns back to Bill while he's going out with former Texas governor Ann Richards.
- Awful Wedded Life: From what little is known about their marriage, it's been said to be turbulent. Bill was Exiled to the Couch on their honeymoon and their marriage consisted of them fighting so loud, all the neighbors could hear every hour of the day, and Lenore sleeping around with other people.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Lenore returns back to Bill's life after all these years and seems interested in rekindling their relationship. After Bill's relationship ends with the latter, the former seems flattered he ended the relationship with Ann Richards for her. But after Bill asks Lenore to marry him again, she turns him down and doesn't even tell him where she's living now. And her playing it up to Ann Richards over how Bill proposed to her shows him she only came back because of all the attention he's been getting from Ann Richards.
- The Ghost: She was mentioned in the first few seasons, talking about how her and Bill's Awful Wedded Life before leaving him.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Subverted. Lenore returns back to Bill's life, seemingly into him again. But it's only because of the attention he's received for going out with Ann Richards. And when Bill proposes to Lenore during his birthday party, she declines and doesn't even tell him where she's living now. But the moment Ann Richards briefly drops by, Lenore plays it up, saying how Bill asked her to marry him. And when Bill briefly goes into Ann Richards' limo, Richards and Bill have a talk about how he shouldn't go back to her, all while a jealous Lenore screams at him to get out of the limo and marry her. In the end, Lenore is just using Bill for her advantage without having any feelings for him whatsoever.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Lenore was very unfaithful to Bill. She took advantage of him, degraded him and slept around with other people before leaving him, leaving Bill an emotional mess. When she returns back to Bill's life, she claims she still has feelings for him and cares about him. But she turns down his proposal and not even tells him where she's living now. And when Ann Richards drops by, she plays up how Bill proposed to her while not intending to marry him. This shows him even after all these years, she hasn't changed one bit.
- Has a Type: Is seen in person for the first time at dinner with a man who strong resembles Bill.
- Lady in Red: She wears a red dress and is promiscuous, taking advantage of any man she sleep around with. Although in her first scene, she wears a Little Black Dress while at the dinner Bill and Ann Richards attends.
- Mooning: She gets on the receiving end of Bill mooning her after a talk with Ann Richards inside her limo over how he shouldn't go back to her. Bill rolls down the window with his hairy ass for all to see, disgusting Lenore before she storms off in anger.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Despite only appearing in one episode, her abandonment of Bill is what causes him to sink into a depression and eventually transform into the fat slob he is today.
- Unseen No More: She finally makes an appearance in "Hank and the Great Glass Elevator" after hearing about how Bill's going out with Ann Richards.
Gilbert Dautrieve
Gilbert Dautrieve
"Oh, I am more familiar with sinners than saints, my dear. And sinners always look good."
- Voiced by: David Herman
Bill's cousin who still lives in Louisiana.
- Camp Gay: Albeit with a Southern Gentleman vibe.
- The Dandy: Finely dressed and always willing to dispense advice on how to become a Southern Gentleman.
- Hypocrite: He reads Bill the riot act for trying to sell his family's steak sauce recipe. This despite earlier in the episode saying he sold his family estate to people who would "probably" turn it into a water park.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: His appearance, mannerisms, and voice are based on Louisiana-born author Truman Capote.
Lily, Rose, and Violetta Dauterive
Lily, Rose, and Violetta Dauterive
- Voiced by: The Dixie Chicks
Bill's cousins by marriage, and blood cousin. As their husbands died in their 20s, they seek to marry Bill to pass the Dauterive name onto the next generation.
- Ambiguously Related: It's never stated if Violetta and Gilbert are siblings or cousins, although based on Aunt Esme's wording, Violetta is her daughter.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Violetta seems perfectly polite and proper, but after Bill turns down her advances, she lies to Aunt Esme and says that she discovered Lily, Bill and Rose in the throes of passion. It's enough for Bill to be kicked out of the estate.
- Everyone Has Standards: Lily and Rose are against Violetta sleeping with Bill, as she is his blood cousin, unlike them.
- Glorified Sperm Donor: Played with. The three of them want to sleep with Bill because he's the last remaining Dauterive besides Gilbert, and therefore, he can give them children and continue the family line, but they do seem to be enchanted by him otherwise.
- Killed Offscreen: Violetta dies in her sleep after the events of "A Beer Can Named Desire."
- Kissing Cousins: All three lust after Bill, but this especially applies to Violetta, who still desires him, despite knowing they're blood cousins. She's called out by Lily and Rose.
- Romancing the Widow: All three became widows in their 20s after their husbands died from heart disease caused by poor diets.
- Southern Belle: All of them are in spades.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: While Bill inquires about what happened to his remaining family members in "Blood and Sauce", Gilbert never provides details on the other two women, likely because he doesn't consider them true relatives.
Esme Dauterive
Bill's aunt, who wants to help continue the Dauterive family line.
- Get Out!: She forces Bill to leave when he says that he isn't at the Dauterive mansion to "till the soil" ie sire children, but "play in the garden" and sleep with the girls.
- The Ghost: Not her, but possibly her husband, Bill's blood uncle Alphonse. Peggy believes he's deceased, but Esme says that he "lingers in a room in the back of the house" hoping to see the Dauterive name passed on to another generation. In any case, he's dead by "Blood and Sauce."
- Gratuitous French: Courtesy of being voiced by Meryl Streep, she can speak fluent Creole, and often holds long conversations with him in it.
- I Want Grandkids: Well, more like niblings in Bill's case, but she and her husband Alphonse hope to see the Dauterive name passed onto another generation. The problem is either her sons or sons-in-law are dead, Gilbert is implied to be gay, and Bill is an unhappily divorced loser. She was willing to let Bill stay with them, provided he "till the soil" and have children with her daughters-in-law, but throws him out when he admits that isn't the case.
- Killed Offscreen: According to Gilbert in "Blood and Sauce", she died of a fever after Bill left.
- Southern Belle: While older, she's still an elegant woman befitting every Southern charm.
- Verbal Tic: She has a tendency to pronounce names as French, even if they aren't, such as calling Bobby, "Roh-bear" as in Robert, or Bill "Gill-yuhm."
Businessmen and Professionals
Lane Pratley
Lane Pratley
- Voiced by: Dwight Yoakam ("Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men"), Dave Thomas (all other appearances)
A crooked car dealer who owns several dealerships in Arlen.
- Bad Boss: He horribly mistreats and underpays his women's roller derby team in "Arlen City Bomber."
- Dirty Old Man: In "Ho Yeah!", it's implied he patronized Tammi Duvall's services. He also joins Luanne's Bible class in her pool so he could ogle at her in "The Good Buck."
- Family Business: His father is also a car dealer. In "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men" Lane remarks that he plans on taking over his dad's dealership when he passes.
- Honest John's Dealership: A corrupt but charismatic car dealer who tends to talk his customers into paying extra for his wares. He also fits the look as a sly salesman with his tacky suits and shit-eating grin.
- Insistent Terminology: Bill reminds him that he sold him a Ford Escort and sold pinstriping for it. Lane corrects him saying he "financed" pinstriping for his Escort.
Chuck Mangione
Chuck Mangione
Voiced by: Chuck Mangione.
Spokesman for the Mega-Lo-Mart, frequently seen around Heimlich County.
- Adam Westing: He evidently has anger management problems. He whacked the teacher upside the head with his fugelhorn just for spelling his name wrong. Despite the fact the teacher had done that as a final test that he did with Hank first in front of the whole class.
- As Himself: Started out as Mega-Lo-Mart's spokesman, before apparently relocating to Arlen permanently (after living in the Megalomart).
- Berserk Button: Either spelling his name wrong or calling him a chick. Possibly the reason why he was in an anger management class.
- The Ditz: He was in anger management class and could have passed if it wasn't for the fact he failed the misspelled name test despite seeing Hank going through it right in front of Chuck.
- Leitmotif: Chuck's song "Feels So Good", either as part of the soundtrack or played by Chuck.
- Older Than They Look: Chuck was in his 60s during most of the show's run but his in-series character is modeled after how he looked in his 30s. Specifically from the cover of his 1977 album Feels So Good
◊.
M.F. Thatherton
Milton Farnsworth "M.F." Thatherton
Former Strickland Propane employee, now Buck's business opponent and mortal enemy.
- Evil Counterpart: He is Strickland's according to Hank. In reality, they're not that different. His business, Thatherton Fuels, is a better example being an evil counterpart to Strickland Propane as they rely heavily cutting corners and gimmicky marketing tactics towards gaining sales compared to Strickland Propane's focus on quality customer service.
- Foil: He is one to Hank, who believes in giving honest goods and quality service to the customer, where Thatherton only cares about getting the money and has no problem cutting corners.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: Often plays cards and gambles with his rival Buck Strickland.
- Hidden Depths: "Lost in Myspace" shows that he's a huge fan of the band Weezer.
- Honest John's Dealership: Thatherton Fuels is this all over. He encourages his employees to screw over their customers to squeeze every last cent out of them possible. His business practices make Buck Strickland look clean.
- Meaningful Name: In "The Company Man", Hank assumes that M.F. stands for "Mother Fucker", when Thatherton interrupts Hank and tells his potential client that it stands for "My Friend."
Word of God says that it actually stands for Milton Farnsworth. - Phrase Catcher: ...Thatherton! Even Bobby gets in on it at one point.
- The Rival: With Buck and, to a lesser extent, Hank.
- Say My Name: Hank will utter "Thatherton!" when he appears, narrowing his eyes at him angrily.
Anthony Page
Anthony Page
Voiced by: David Herman
A government employee originally from Los Angeles who has appeared as both a social worker and a legal advisor for civil rights cases. He has attempted to get Bobby taken away from Hank, falsely believing Hank to be an abusive father, and also enforce an ill-advised policy that would force Strickland Propane to accept drug addiction as a disability. He is probably the closest thing King of the Hill has to a recurring villain.
- The Alleged Expert: One of many, many people who get on Hank's nerves because they do their assigned work without an ounce of common sense. He doesn't even follow up on the claim that Bobby's black eye came from getting hit with a baseball by talking to Bobby's Little League coach. When his boss asks him specifically about that, all Anthony can do is give some embarrassed Mirthless Laughter.
- Condescending Compassion: He derides the Hills and their neighbors as "Redneck City", and it's implied that he thinks removing Bobby from Hank and Peggy's care will "save" him from his community's "redneck" values.
- Hypocrite: He claims that people like Hank, who would abuse the Americans with Disabilities Act make him sick yet he himself is abusing the Act undoubtedly to get back at Hank.
- Jerkass Has a Point / Right for the Wrong Reasons: In the episode "Junkie Business", he busts Hank for discriminating against his employees, which in reality just meant keeping Hank from firing a clearly-unreliable drug addict. Though the same episode showed that Hank did practice discriminatory hiring; he attempted to avoid hiring a Non-Christian employee (and tried to ask applicants their religious beliefs, despite the illegality of it), and wound up passing on a highly-qualified applicant simply because she wasn't a football fan.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: He pretty much exists to make Hank's life difficult. The worst part is that he's not even good at his job(s); he just seems to like being a nuisance.
- Pet the Dog: He's present at Luanne's wedding and seems to be happy for her.
- Smug Snake: Anthony's condescending and invasive attitude has caused Hank to lose his temper with him on multiple occasions.
- Soapbox Sadie: A Rare Male Example. He hails from Los Angeles, has a skinny physique and wears glasses, looks down his nose at most of Arlen's residents and considers them "Redneck City", enjoys lattes, condescendingly lectures people with insulting slogans like "loud is not allowed", and harps on allegations of discrimination and rights violations that aren't true at all. He's a walking example of many of the negative stereotypes about left-wing social justice activists.
- Unwanted Assistance: He does seem mostly well-intentioned in wanting to help disadvantaged people, but he's unable to recognize whether those he's helping actually need (or want) his assistance. For instance, when Bobby gets a black eye from softball, he assumes Hank did it and never bothered to check with Bobby's coach.
- Villainous Breakdown: Starts sweating profusely and lets out an embarrassed Mirthless Laughter once asked by his boss if he asked Bobby's Little League coach about Bobby's black eye.
Jimmy Wichard
Jimmy Whichard
Voiced by: David Herman
A not-too-bright man who works at the local racetrack. According to Dale, he fried his brain while staring at the sun once, which suggests that he was pretty stupid to begin with.
- Bad Boss: Puts Bobby's life in danger by trying to make him cross a racetrack during a car race to bring him a soda.
- The Bully: Whoever has the misfortune of working for him better be prepared to deal with scut jobs and verbal abuse.
- Character Catchphrase: "I'm Da Boss!"
- Childhood Brain Damage: Supposedly, the reason he's so dumb is that he stared at the sun too long and got brain damage from it. Then again, he was stupid even before he did it. It's also implied that he's inbred.
- The Ditz: Even before the alleged sun incident. As Dale notes, he probably wasn't very smart to do that in the first place.
- Evil Gloating: When an enraged Hank comes after him, Jimmy mocks him from behind the fence. Cue Hank kicking it open, and giving Jimmy a Literal Ass-Kicking.
- Fat Idiot: In the literal sense of the word "idiot" (an adult with the mental faculties of a child).
- Hair-Trigger Temper: The man will explode at damn near anything.
- Hate Sink: The man is a stupid, mean imbecile who's lunacy is rarely played for laughs.
- Idiot Savant: Subverted. Dr. Vayzosa claims that he's a savant to Peggy to explain away why he's a graduate of the Intelligence Institute, even implying that if you dropped a box of toothpicks on the ground, he'd be able to count them all instantly. Not only is Vayzosa a con artist duping the unintelligent and gullible, but Jimmy has already been shown to be awful at math—he carries around a calculator on his neck just to do equations, but doesn't input the numbers correctly or even understand when it's broken.
- Insufferable Imbecile: He is an idiotic man who is also mean-spirited and aggressive due to his mental state. He will go as far as putting Bobby in danger by ordering him to cross a speedway and in the episode "Business Is Picking Up", he goes way beyond what a man named Peter Sterling asked him to do (pretend to bully Sterling to give Bobby a lesson about how his "dream job" of picking dog poop for hire was anything but) by beating the living hell out of Sterling, tossing him into a port-a-potty, and sending him rolling down a hill.
- Jerkass: The man has not a single redeeming quality about him, and is thoroughly unpleasant to everyone around him at the slightest (usually wrongfully perceived) slight.
- Mad Artist: In one episode he manages to put on a successful art show at a local gallery, showing off crude sculptures he made out of beer cans. He becomes furious when the organizer informs him that the art was sold, because it's "his stuff" and he "wants it back". He then demands to be paid in cans because he "can't make new stuff out of money."
- No Indoor Voice: The man's indoor voice was apparently fried with his brains.
- Psychopathic Manchild: He talks and acts like a very young child, and constantly demeans and terrorizes his employees, to the point of putting Bobby's life in danger just to get a soda.
- Recurring Extra: Appears quite often, especially in episodes involving stupidity.
- Tempting Fate: "Nyaa, you can't get me, you can't get me." Followed quickly by an Oh, Crap! when Hank kicks the fence down.
- Perpetual Frowner: The rare times he does smile are...not pleasant.
- Pointy-Haired Boss: The kids working under him at the racetrack despise him. And with good reason.
- Recurring Extra: Usually appears once or twice a season, but rarely gets much screen time.
- Too Dumb to Live: He baked his brain staring at the sun (though he was dumb before that happened anyway), and made the serious error of putting Bobby in danger in front of his dad. It's also implied that he's inbred.
Reverend Stroup
Reverend Karen Stroup
The pastor of Arlen First Methodist Church, who is originally from St. Paul, Minnesota.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Has a long-standing crush on Bill. They eventually date in "Passion of the Dautrieve," but it doesn't work out due to Bill liking the romance when it was "forbidden" rather than when she quit her job as pastor to make it normal.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Judging from her breakup with Bill:Peggy: "I always pictured her as a crier, not a screamer."
- Comically Missing the Point: Has a tendency towards this.
- A Day in the Limelight: "Revenge of the Lutefisk" and "Passion of the Dautrieve" save her from Recurring Extra status.
- She also has a prominent role in "Church Hopping", where her refusal to accommodate Hank's demand for reserved seating makes her pretty much the
Designated Villain, or at least The Heavy.
- She also has a prominent role in "Church Hopping", where her refusal to accommodate Hank's demand for reserved seating makes her pretty much the
- Death Glare: Gives one to Bill after their breakup.
- Fiery Redhead: Has curly, auburn hair and is a screamer.
- Forgiveness: Being a woman of God, it's pretty much part of her job. Even after Cotton's openly sexist statements about her and allegedly burning down the church (he admits it was an accident and was really taking the fall for Bobby), she forgives him and doesn't press charges.
- Glurge Addict: Loves snow babies, which irritates Bill.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: Gives up her job to date Bill, which backfires spectacularly.
- It's All About Me: Her sermons tend to vocalize problems she's having in her personal life.
- Minnesota Nice: Although she is sincerely hospitable, there are a few occasions when she tries to use her niceness as a mask for Jerkass behavior. For example, she tries to rat out whoever ate her lutefisk (Bobby) during a church sermon in "Revenge of the Lutefisk." Another time, she basically tells Hank to suck it up for losing his alleged reserved seating spot in church during "Church Hopping." In "Racist Dag," she constantly harasses Hank for Ladybird's apparent racism towards black people (rather than even inquiring after the real reason behind this uncharacteristic behavior) by forming a singing group right outside his dining room's window. Then there is her offscreen Freak Out on Bill, where she goes nuts on him when he decided to end their no-longer "forbidden love affair".
- Moral Guardians: A subversion. Whenever Hank brings somebody to her expecting her to be this, he finds to his dismay that she's far more liberal than he expects. She openly discusses sexuality and relationships ("Luanne Virgin 2.0"), and even encourages Bobby's flirtation with Buddhism ("Won't You Pimai Neighbor?"). In other episodes, she adamantly denounces sexism ("Revenge of the Lutefisk") and Hank for his alleged racism ("Racist Dawg").
- Sexy Priest: To Bill, at least.
- Totally Radical: On a few occasions. See her cringe-worthy attempts to seem "with it" in "Reborn to Be Wild."
Chris Sizemore
Chris Sizemore
Voiced by: Chris Elliott
Peggy's boss at Sizemore Realty.
- Affably Evil: He rarely drops that smarmy smile, but he's definitely not a nice man.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: On the surface, he's a generous and respectable businessman. In reality, he's a narcissistic, petty, vindictive old cheat.
- Hidden Depths: Is a passionate actor, as evidenced in "Six Characters in Search of a House".
- It's All About Me: Makes it very clear to Peggy that he's more important than any of his employees.
- Manipulative Bastard: His first episode involves getting Peggy fired from the Arlen Bystander, apparently so that he can hire her as a real estate agent. This is one of many examples.
Bob Jenkins
Bob Jenkins
Voiced by: Henry Gibson.
One of Peggy's coworkers at the Arlen Bystander, a crusty, one-eyed veteran reporter with a sarcastic sense of humor. He appears a few times after Peggy leaves the Bystander.
- The Alcoholic: By his own admission. It doesn't seem to affect his character much.
- Deadpan Snarker: Sardonic comments are like a second language for him.
- Eyepatch of Power: He got it from brain tumor surgery.
- Gallows Humor: Jokes about losing his eye when the editor threw a story back in his face.
- Intrepid Reporter: A subversion, as it's implied he steals most of his stories from coworkers.
- The Rival: To Peggy in a few episodes, namely "Smoking and the Bandit."
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: He has a vocabulary Peggy can only dream of. Probably comes from years of inventing headlines.
Other Arlen Residents
John Redcorn
John Redcorn III
"What’s wrong with wearing socks and sandals?"
A Native American masseur, one-time rock musician, and the biological father of Joseph Gribble.
- Aesop Amnesia: In Season 4, the years-long affair he's had with Nancy Gribble ends when she starts falling back in love with Dale and John Redcorn himself feels guilty about betraying Dale's trust when he's only ever been a good friend (and helps John Redcorn get documents that would eventually help him reclaim some of his peoples' land). In Season 11, he seems to have forgotten about all this and is eager to rekindle things with Nancy.
- AM/FM Characterization: He loves '80s rock and metal music. Early seasons would often show him picking up Nancy in his Jeep with the radio loudly blaring a rock song, usually something about love or sex.
- Arrow Catch: "Vision Quest" sees him catch an arrow fired by Joseph with his bare hand before it can hit and kill an innocent panda.
- Berserk Button: He really does not like anyone implying a sexual attraction to Nancy in front of him, as Hank finds out in "Sug Night".
- Blatant Lies: One time, he flat-out denies he cheated on Nancy years ago (at the same time that she was cheating on Dale with John Redcorn).John Redcorn: "I swear, I don't know any 'Charlene'!"
- Character Development: John Redcorn starts out as a double-barreled running gag: partly about his lengthy affair with Nancy, partly about his stereotypical 'mystical indigenous' side. As the show went along (especially after "Nancy's Boys") he became a fairly well-rounded character, with interests and hobbies (Native American rights, his musical career) outside of womanizing. Some of his later appearances don't even reference his relationships with Nancy or Joseph.
- Dreadful Musician: Played with; John Redcorn's music is pretty terrible when he tries to do hard rock with his band Big Mountain Fudgecake. To his own surprise, though, he turns out to be pretty good when he switches to playing acoustic and re-writes the lyrics from attempting to be as "metal" as possible. By the end of the show, he winds up being a very successful children's entertainer.
- Everyone Has Standards: John Redcorn may be a womanizer but he won't sleep with the wives or relatives of those he considers his friends. He tells Hank as much in "Peggy's Headache." After Dale helps him with the lawsuit to reclaim some of his people's land, John Redcorn decides to end his affair with Nancy."Hank, you are my friend. I would never heal your wife the way that I heal the wives of others."
- Full-Name Basis: Nobody who knows him ever refers to him by only his first name John. Even with his extramarital lover Nancy, it's always John Redcorn.
- Glorified Sperm Donor: He admits as much to Hank as he wallows over the fact that his affair with Nancy has forced him to watch his son be raised by another man, never to know his true heritage. He's heartbroken at realizing that while he might be Joseph's father, the boy will always consider Dale his "dad".
- Has a Type: In "Three Men and a Bastard", Dale (observing Bill's new girlfriend Charlene while hiding in the bushes with John Redcorn) comments that the aliens who supposedly fathered Charlene's daughter Kate (and Joseph) seem to favor "women with pouty lips and round bottoms", unknowingly referencing Charlene and his wife Nancy. John Redcorn (the bio-father of both kids) enthusiastically agrees "yes, they do!".
- Heel Realization: Early in the series he thinks Dale is an annoying idiot and shamelessly sleeps with his wife, but once he discovers their shared hatred of the government and Dale helps him successfully sue for ownership of some of his people's land, they quickly become friends and John Redcorn calls off his affair with Nancy out of respect for Dale.
- Hypocrite:
- In "Arrow Head", he tells Hank that it's wrong to take something that isn't yours from someone else (referring to a Native American artifact Hank found buried on his lawn). Almost immediately, Nancy then calls him back inside to continue their affair. For what it's worth, John Redcorn embarrassingly returns the artifact to Hank, telling him "just food for thought" and goes back into the house.
- Various episodes would have him show similar disgust over something relatively minor while simultaneously showcasing his unrepented womanizing. Once after catching Hank walking out of the pornography section of a video store he and Nancy shook their heads in disapproval while on their way to go have sex.
- John Redcorn is very protective and affectionate toward Nancy and hates the idea of her being hit on by other men despite, again, having a years-long affair with her behind her husband's back. He also cheated on Nancy herself multiple times while they were together, even fathering another child around Joseph's age with another woman.
- A double serving in "Spin the Choice": John Redcorn expresses to Hank that he harbors great resentment at the fact Dale has "stolen" Joseph from him. Never mind that Dale's "theft" of Joseph only occurred because Nancy and John Redcorn persisted in being secretive about their extramarital affair, leaving Joseph without the knowledge of his biological father while being raised by another man. He also complains about being judged harshly by his neighbors for the fact that his distant ancestors practiced cannibalism, even though he has been spending the entire episode being outraged at them for the way their ancestors treated his own ancestors.
- Hypocrite Has a Point: While incredibly hypocritical of him, John Redcorn's not wrong to take issue with how Dale raises Joseph, given he tends to spoil him or sets a bad example for how to act.
- Inelegant Blubbering: "Spin the Choice" finally sees him break down and cry in his jeep in front of Hank, despairing over not being able to be a part of his son Joseph's life due to his affair.
- Ink-Suit Actor: It's rumored that he was modeled after Victor Aaron (the original voice actor who died before he could record any later episodes).
- Laser-Guided Karma: It's shown time and again that John Redcorn is paying for the 14 years that he's carried out his affair with Nancy by being forced to watch his biological son be raised by Dale, unaware of his Native American heritage. He makes mention of loathing having to watch his son raised by an idiot, although Dale proves to be an incredibly loving father even if he's a conspiracy freak. By the time the affair with Nancy ends, however, it's pretty clear that even though John Redcorn is his biological father, Joseph is Dale's son regardless, and saying anything now wouldn't change that.
- Magical Native American:
- In the first season, every time he spoke, a gust of wind would dramatically blow through his hair. Even when indoors. Later, it's shown that he's mostly taking advantage of this to pick up women.
- He catches a fired arrow in one hand in "Vision Quest".
- Mr. Fanservice: Both in and out of universe. He's one of the few really attractive adult male characters. And he has no great love for wearing shirts.
- Mistaken for Gay: Dale thinks he's gay, which explains why he never suspects that John Redcorn slept with Nancy. (The other reason is that he trusts Nancy and John Redcorn completely, and doesn't believe for a moment that his wife and friend would betray his trust.)
- Odd Friendship:
- With Dale. After "Nancy's Boys" they're on good terms, though Redcorn's still annoyed by Dale's weirder actions and his impact on Joseph.
- John Redcorn has an oddly fond relationship with Bobby that's seen briefly whenever they're together. If nothing else he seems to appreciate the positive influence Bobby has on Joseph.
- Pet the Dog:
- While largely portrayed as unsympathetic during the first three seasons, he is one of the first people to try and stop Leanne from assaulting Peggy in Season 2.
- While still having an (unrepentant) affair with another man's wife for over a decade, John Redcorn still tries to be something of a father to Joseph, and ultimately accepts it's better not to tell him the truth, since Dale (for all his flaws) is a better father.
- In "The Witches of East Arlen," he learns of Bobby's "warlock" friends making him drink dog blood for a ceremony. His first instinct is to drive over to Hank's place and help him find Bobby.
- In "Night and Deity" he warns Nancy that the exterminator wants to have an affair with Dale (while lampshading how absurd the situation is).
- Put on a Bus: Isn't seen again after "Manger Baby Einstein," though he is briefly mentioned in the last episode.
- Really Gets Around: Admits as much to Hank in Season 3. Nancy finds out about this in Season 12 and, even though their affair has long been over, doesn't take it well.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Defied. After Dale offers to help him get some of his tribe's land returned to him, he ends his affair with Nancy realizing that it would be awful way to repay a man he considers to be a friend. Although in later seasons, he is shown wanting to rekindle the relationship.
Octavio
Voiced by: Mike Judge
Dale's friend, a vaguely criminal character who helps Dale with some of his shadier activities.
- Battle Butler: For Dale, though he's really more of a freelancer that Dale hires exclusively.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: He resembles Danny Trejo, who would voice Enrique in the show's later years. (contrary to popular belief, Trejo never actually voiced Octavio.)
- Cool Old Guy: Has a large tattoo of Rob Zombie on his chest (as opposed to Danny Trejo's tattoo of a beautiful senorita).
- Villainy-Free Villain: Deliberately invoked. He looks and acts like a tough criminal, but never does anything more serious than minor fraud (like making Hank smash his fender with a crowbar). In "Redcorn Gambles With His Future," he even seems shocked when he thinks Dale wants him to kill a magician so John Redcorn can perform in his place.
Buckley
Mark Buckley
Voiced by: David Herman.
Luanne's boyfriend and, much to Hank's displeasure, Hank's superior as department manager at Mega-Lo-Mart.
- The Artifact: Despite dying at the end of the 2nd season, he's never removed from the opening credits.
- The Atoner: His spirit visits Luanne and helps her deal with her grief and get into community college to make up for being such a jerk to her in life.
- Character Catchphrase: "Hey."
- Character Death: The sole casualty of the Mega-Lo-Mart explosion.
- The Ditz: It's vaguely implied that it's because he's getting high all of the time, but he's probably just an idiot.
- Everyone Has Standards: Is revolted by Leanne's attempt to give him a striptease.
- Faking the Dead: Dale thought he faked his own death in order to cash in on a Mega Lo Mart insurance policy and wouldn't drop it until he opened the coffin at the funeral.
- Jerkass: He treats Luanne like a nuisance and is crass and rude to everyone else.
- Karmic Death: Killed in an explosion after he refuses to listen to Hank's warnings about propane safety.
- Last Disrespects: Between Luanne protesting the Irish occupation, Kahn being the only other person willing to speak on his behalf, and Dale throwing up in his casket, Buckley didn't exactly have a great sendoff.
- Last-Name Basis: His first name is "Mark".
- Lazy Bum:
- He somehow became the assistant manager of Mega-Lo-Mart's Propane Department, despite spending all of his time goofing off. When he actually does do some work, he botches it horribly and causes the whole Mega-Lo-Mart to explode, killing himself in the process.
- He says that "They didn't want me making keys anymore." Thus implying there were complaints against him from customers for his incompetence, but the (unseen) management inexplicably decided to simply shift him to another department, despite having no training.note
- Too Dumb to Live: Literally. The propane tank he's carrying improperly leaks and causes an explosion that kills him.
PJ Finster
A One-Scene Wonder who appeared in later episodes of the show including "Uncool Customer," "Strangeness on a Train" and "Powder Puff Boys".
- Ambiguously Gay: His daughter is clearly an adopted Asian and it is implied in "Strangeness on a Train" that he and Peggy's coworker are on a date. However, he also says "We decided to leave the wives at home tonight" and (jokingly?) makes passes at Peggy in "The Powderpuff Boys", rubbing her shoulders and making a joke about someone bringing a sleeping bag for multiple people at an activity. However, when Peggy called out that a person should be gay openly, he seems genuinely interested to find out who this person is and unaware Peggy is referring to him.
- Camp Gay/Camp Straight: His sexual orientation is a mystery, but his level of camp is anything but subtle.
- Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: If indeed he is gay, his behavior in "The Powderpuff Boys" falls squarely into this category.
Appleseed
A hippie that Hank meets several times.
- Forgotten First Meeting: He completely forgot about the time he met Hank for one week at the woods and when he was taken into Bill's house as a therapy home guest.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: One of many other troubled adults that were forced into Bill's care until Hank and Bill relocated them all away.
Topsy
Topsy Toppington
Voiced By: Stephen Root
A buddy of Cotton at the VFW.- Animal Motifs: He scares people by puffing up his cheeks, similar to a blowfish.
- Been There, Shaped History: According to Cotton, he murdered Nazi Herman Goering in his prison cell.
- Bus Crash: He's mentioned as having died offscreen in "Death Buys a Timeshare," being the last of Cotton's war buddies to die before Cotton dies for last in "Death Picks Cotton."
- Rubber Face: His trademark is puffing up his cheeks.
- Sidekick: To Cotton, in the early seasons, such as during a Zany Scheme to assassinate Fidel Castro.
Hal
Hal
Voiced by: Drew Carey
A guy Hank meets at the Mega-Lo Mart while trying to buy a L-pipe, and takes a strong liking to, mainly because they are very alike in personality.
- Berserk Button: How Hank and Hal met. Neither man gladly suffers the fools at the Mega-Lo Mart. In Hank's case, he is arguing with an associate about finding a L-pipe. Meanwhile, in the same section, an equally frustrated Hal is trying to explain, very loudly, to another associate that drill bits come in different sizes.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: For a few days while they get over the excitement of having found a kindred spirit. It's treated in much the same way as a whirlwind extramarital affair, with Bill and Dale as the "jilted" friends, since it would be too out of character for Hank to even consider cheating on Peggy. Another parallel is that Hank is tired of his friends' antics, this time regarding their carelessness with a rented back-hoe, in the same way that a spouse's inconsiderate behavior might be the setup for his/her partner's eyes to start wandering.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Hal resembles his voice actor, Drew Carey, as he appeared in the late 90s.
- Meet Cute: A platonic example between two straight men. Their friendship takes off when Hank tries to unlock a red truck identical to his, only to find out it belongs to Hal.
- New Friend Envy: Hank's regular friends, especially Dale and Bill, are jealous of how much time Hank spends with Hal, and deep down they fear he will abandon him, in a platonic parallel to how a spouse might worry that their spouse's new friend of the opposite sex might be more than just a friend. When Hank invites Hal to drink beer with them in the alley, they are resentful towards the idea.
- Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: After hanging around for a few days and grabbing beers with each other, Hank and Hal find that their home lives and work schedules are incompatible with each other and amicably part ways. Hank then has to reassure Bill and Dale that as his neighbors, they will share a bond that Hal can never break.
- The Stoic: Hal has almost the same strait-laced personality as Hank, though he is a little more relaxed and is not above gently ribbing Hank about subjects sensitive to him like beer and cars.
