Hank Hill

For Hank's half-brother, also named Hank, see G. H. Hill.

Hank Hill
King of the Hill character
Hank Hill
First appearance	"Pilot"
Last appearance	To Sirloin with Love
Created by	Mike Judge
Portrayed by	Mike Judge
In-universe information
Nickname	Ol' Top
Gender	Male
Occupation	Asst. Manager at Strickland Propane, former tractor salesman, and employee at Mega lo Mart, and Jeans West salesman
Family	Cotton Hill (deceased father) Tilly Hill (mother) Didi Hill (stepmother) Hank Hill (GH or "Good Hank") (half-brother) Junichiro (half-brother) Dusty Hill (cousin) Rita (cousin) Luanne Platter (niece)
Spouse	Peggy Hill
Children	Bobby Hill (son)
Religion	Methodist

Henry Rutherford "Hank" Hill is a fictional character in the animated series King of the Hill. Hank lives in Arlen, Texas and works at the fictional Strickland Propane selling propane and propane accessories. Hank's voice is provided by series creator Mike Judge. The Economist named Hank Hill as one of the wisest people on television. His name is a nod to former NBA superstar Grant Hill, whose middle name is Hank, and who is also from Texas, and whose father, Hank Sr, was a propane and propane accessories salesman.

Character Biography

Hank is a Texan who has difficulty accepting change. He was born at Yankee Stadium in New York City (at 3:07 am, measuring 7 lbs 5 oz and 19.5 in) and is a white male and sells propane and propane accessories as an assistant manager at Strickland Propane. He approaches his job with such dedication that when the phone rings in the middle of the night, he often starts into the Strickland slogan, "Strickland Propane, taste the meat, not the heat," before catching himself. He also refuses to miss a day of work for anything, including sickness and injury, as shown in the episode called "Hank's Back" where he refused to go on Worker's Compensation after injuring his back on the job. He was briefly promoted to manager when Buck Strickland's wife/ex-wife ("Miz Liz") temporarily took over Strickland Propane. Hank was also briefly promoted to manager by Buck Strickland while helping Buck rebuild a house for Habitat for Humanity as part of Buck's community service after a drunk driving conviction. He was then demoted after blurting out "I love you" to Strickland. Unlike Strickland's business enemy, M. F. Thatherton (and Strickland himself), Hank believes that selling propane through honesty and hard work is what life is all about. Hank won the Propane Salesman of the Year Award for three years. Hank idolizes Buck, who calls Hank "Ol' Top," and keeps a somewhat idyllic picture of him, even though he recognizes his boss's many shortcomings (excessive gambling, alcoholism, womanizing, and a general lack of principles). Hank must frequently clean up his boss's unsavory "situations": bailing him out of jail, facilitating his vices, and performing suspicious errands. In one episode he went as far as covering up Strickland's illegal price fixing agreement with the other local propane providers to keep him from being arrested. Hank also seems to think that being a propane salesman is the best job there is(he even wants his son Bobby to follow in his footsteps and start a propane business of his own, as he says in "How to fire a rifle without really trying"). Although Hank loves his job, many of his closest friends, and even family find the job boring and that Hank makes too much of a big deal out of it.

Hank suffers from a fictional genetic disorder called Diminished Gluteal Syndrome (DGS). His essentially non-existent buttocks fail to provide him enough cushioning when seated, causing stress on his spine and forcing him to wear an "orthogluteal" prosthesis in at least one of the episodes. In addition, Hank broke his ankle playing High School football with 1 minute to go in the Texas state championship game and Arlen went on to lose the game. After merciless taunting from the winning team for 20 years following the loss, Arlen challenges them to a rematch. In preparing for the rematch Hank breaks his nose and has to have plastic surgery to repair it. Prior to the plastic surgery, one of Hank's nostrils was larger than the other one and Bill referred to this as "Hank's only imperfection". Hank fears losing once again and uses concern over re-injuring his nose as an excuse not to play, but finally changes his mind and joins his team at the end of the fourth quarter, pulling out a dramatic last-second victory.

He only has one child, Bobby Hill, but would have had more if not for his "narrow urethra," a continual joke throughout the series. Early in the series he often says of Bobby, "That boy ain't right." And in one episode Peggy says "Bobby isn't a girl," to which Hank responds "No Peggy, I don't think we have to worry about that anymore." Although Hank is often perplexed and irritated by Bobby's eccentricities, he clearly loves his son, even though he's reluctant and uncomfortable to say it to his face. He even feigns an interest in Bobby's passions such as comedy and theatre. Hank is relieved when Kahn tells him that he caught Bobby and Connie taking their clothes off since, up until that time, Hank was unsure of Bobby's interest in girls. In the first episode of the series, Peggy prompts inexpressive Hank to tell his son that he loves him—after he finally manages to do so, Bobby says that he thought he was just a "big disappointment," which Hank immediately rejects, earnestly (if, to the viewer, implausibly) declaring that Bobby is the one thing in town that's never disappointed him.

According to the episode "Yankee Hankie," Hank proudly believed he was born in Texas to Tillie Mae Hill and Cotton Lyndal Hill but finds (to his disgust) that he was actually born in New York City. His mother told him she gave birth to Hank in the women's restroom at Yankee Stadium during Cotton's failed attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro during a rare American visit. Hank was sad to learn of his true birthplace after having thought of himself as a native Texan for over forty years but eventually came to accept his heritage when he realized that many of the Alamo heroes were not from Texas either. Hank, who previously thought he was an only child, finds out he has a Japanese half brother named Junichiro in the episode "Returning Japanese". This is due to an affair his father had with his Japanese nurse while recovering from leg injuries in post-World War II Japan. Also, in the episode "Hank Gets Dusted", Hank is shown to be the cousin of ZZ Top bassist and vocalist Dusty Hill. Cotton was also revealed to have slept with many women before and after that, meaning he likely has several other bastard brothers and sisters. However any of these relatives are never confirmed in the series.

Hank was on the high school football team (as were Bill, Boomhauer, and team towel manager Dale). He was a running back and led the league in rushing (his record remains unbroken). He had a promising career until he snapped his ankle in the state championship (although this cost Arlen the game, he is still celebrated for "taking them to State"). This incident exacerbated Hank's already-restrained emotionality, as he regarded it as punishment from God for hot-dogging (doing a celebratory dance) after earlier scoring a touchdown, thus explaining his fear of showing joy. After graduating from high school, he went on to work as a salesman at Jeans West, a clothing retailer, until Buck Strickland found that he was a good salesman and hired him at Strickland Propane, where Buck taught him everything about propane and propane accessories. According to his neighbor, Dale, he also had a brief stint as a tractor salesman.

Hank drives a red Ford Super Duty, which replaced his original truck, a red Ford Ranger after it was destroyed by a train (although on its "last legs," Hank was determined to keep his beloved vehicle as long as mechanically possible). He gives great love and affection to his lawn and his Bloodhound, Ladybird. In several episodes it is implied that Hank spends more time with his dog and lawn than Peggy and Bobby. When Hank mourns over the fact that his lawn is sub-par compared to his neighbor's, he remarks, "I put so much work into this, my sweat, blood, tears, all the tender feelings I should have given my family." In another episode, Peggy is bitter at Hank for forgetting her birthday but throwing a special one for Ladybird. Hank's idol is Outlaw Country singer Willie Nelson, and he also plays a 1963 Guild Solid Top acoustic guitar named Betsy in his Bluegrass band. Hank is a fan of Country and Bluegrass music. Occasionally, he will listen to Southern Rock music and in one episode, remarks that he likes this "Zamfir fellow," a joke towards Gheorghe Zamfir (even believing his music was better than The Beatles). In another, he had also shown approval towards Doo-wop. He also appears to have a soft spot for Foreigner, as on Louanne's 21st birthday he put I Want to Know What Love Is on the jukebox 6 times in a row.

Hank is an Eagle Scout. Hank is naive, closed-minded and afraid of taking risks, but generally a good person. Although he dislikes change and novel situations, he can adapt to them quite well, quickly mastering unfamiliar social milieus. He can be pushed too far on occasion, usually by his neighbors Bill and Dale. A running joke throughout the series is an angry Hank yelling "I'm gonna kick your ass," a threat which, when he makes good on it, he acts out literally, and rarely if ever harms anyone. Hank's honesty and naivete often get him in unpredictable and troublesome situations. Ultimately, Hank cares for the people around him, particularly his family and friends and is always out to do what is right. Whenever Hank has to lie or speak reluctantly about something, he turns his head or looks around the room.

Personality

Unusual for an animated show, much of the humor of the show relies on Hank being a reserved, relatively introverted man, who struggles to show emotion, or to cope with advances in the modern world. He is uncomfortable with intimacy and sexuality (as demonstrated by the running joke throughout the series, in which Hank is extremely averse and overreacts to physical contact (usually with his well known scream, "BWAH!") or anything involving sexuality regarding his niece, Luanne), but he has a healthy relationship with his wife, as well as the rest of his family. He believes passionately in hard work, honesty, and tradition; and is a proud Texan and American, to the point of occasionally struggling to suppress mild xenophobia. He is, however, a highly respected authority among his friends and family, who often seek his help and advice, knowing that he will always advocate doing the right thing in the right way.

Hank is against charcoal, butane (which he refers to as a "bastard gas") and the use of propane alternatives (such as electric water-heaters, heaters, stoves and ovens.) Hank believes that propane is the best source of fuel and is known to try to “convert” people to propane use. When niece Luanne Platter uses charcoal on burgers at a barbecue (Peggy and Bobby find them delicious and eat them all), Peggy and Bobby are horrified to learn that they enjoy charcoal grilling.

Hank is often regarded as a Southern redneck who has difficulty accepting change. Everybody looks to Hank when they have any seemingly useless or dull work that needs to be done. When his dog Ladybird attacked a black repairman (voiced by Bernie Mac) working on their heating system, he was accused of being racist, and it was later proven that he is not. He refuses to let mechanics touch his truck, feeling that he can accomplish anything without help. Hank has briefly worked at Mega-Lo Mart as a propane salesman trainee after Mega-Lo Mart drove Strickland Propane out of business. Hank's reserved nature probably resulted from years of verbal abuse from his father Cotton Hill. However, if sufficiently provoked, Hank has proven not to be a pushover, often ending disputes with his self-popularized quote "I'm going to kick your ass." He is also staunchly pro-Texas. In the episode "Texas City Twister," in which a tornado has torn off all his clothes, he is given the choice of covering himself with the Texas flag or a potted cactus. With barely a thought, he chooses the cactus, thereby sparing the flag.

He is for the most part a staunch conservative (he once said dreamily that he missed voting for Ronald Reagan.) He was initially a huge fan of George W. Bush, but had second thoughts about voting for him because of his weak handshake, and when asked if he would vote for "the other guy," presumably Al Gore, he said "I don't know." He is a Republican, but admires some old-school Democrats such as fellow Texan Lyndon B. Johnson. His purebred Georgia bloodhound Ladybird is named after Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Johnson, and Hank has made mention that the bloodhound's mom helped track down James Earl Ray, assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after an attempted prison escape. However, Hank also shows deference to Jimmy Carter when they meet and greatly respects former Democratic Texas Governor Ann Richards (although he displays great respect for, and deference to, all authority figures, but the respect was most likely the result of Hank's great liking of Texas culture and history as mentioned throughout the show).

In nearly every episode, Hank and his friends Dale, Bill and Boomhauer will stand about in the alley behind Hank's house, drinking Alamo beer and discussing the events of the day. When consensus is reached and at breaks in the conversation, they will give short words of agreement, such as "yup" or "mm-hmm." He considers his wife his best friend and feels that physically punishing children is wrong; he is verbally strict, but not directly abusive. In the episode "Sleight of Hank," it was revealed that Hank has a huge dislike for magicians after seeing David Copperfield make the Statue of Liberty disappear. He has shown to have chiroptophobia, the fear of bats. When surprised, he reacts with a "BWAAAAAH!". This was used in the title of the episode "Mutual of Omabwah", and "Bwah My Nose".

Political parties aside, he is very conservative and old-fashioned, being largely ignorant of new trends; several episodes involve him dealing with things like yoga, boy bands, etc. Hank is portrayed as having traditional family values and he is shown to be uncomfortable with hiring a woman to work at Strickland because she was believed to be too attractive, even though she was overqualified; instead, he hired a man for shallowly expressing a fondness for the Dallas Cowboys and a blatantly fraudulent adoration for propane. The man was later revealed to be a completely unreliable drug addict. His old-fashioned ways extend to a suspicion of new technology. He does however, eventually get a cellphone and briefly becomes addicted to a computer game whose main character is modeled on him. In the episode Jumpin' Crack Bass, Hank made the comment, "Not my president! I voted for Dole!", referencing the 1996 election.

Still, he does share a few progressive values. One of them is his discovery of organic meat in the episode "Raise the Steaks". He even goes as far as to defend hippies, something he seemed somewhat ashamed to do; nevertheless, he agreed with them on natural food. He has also been shown to have fairly moderate views on issues like gay rights and other religions (except perhaps Buddhism). Hank has some environmental leanings (though he distances himself from the movement at large), once lamenting about air pollution in Houston, opposing the building of McMansions, and running for city council on a platform of removing low-flow toilets because they waste more water than they save. Despite his apparent naivety to general things, he has been shown to be very clever in various scenarios. These include tricking a crooked lawyer attempting to sue Strickland into making it appear as though he is the one who injured his plaintiff and forcing a veterinarian who was shaking him down on costly and unnecessary treatments for a soldier's cat to approve the cat's file (Hank told the vet's customers about a completely inefficient imaging machine the vet couldn't afford). Hank also got the see-no-evil parents of a youngster who was bullying him to exert discipline by having Bobby behave exactly like their son toward them.

Hank can be gullible, as for 25 years he bought vehicles at sticker price from Tom Hammond's dealership. He has also been tricked because of his relative ignorance concerning drugs or subcultures. Hence he once mistakenly bought vials of crack believing they were fishing bait and in a time of stress took a hit of marijuana because he thought it was a cigarette. He once introduced a woman named Tammy Duvall (voiced by Renee Zellweger), who later turned out to be a prostitute, to several business associates. This led her former pimp, Alabaster Jones (voiced by Snoop Dogg), to believe he was her new pimp, a role he was forced to act out to rid her of him.

In "Be True to Your Fool", a flashback reveals that shortly after Hank graduated from high school with his three best friends, Dale Gribble, Bill Dauterive, and Jeff Boomhauer, Bill enlisted in the United States Army -- a night of celebratory drinking led them to a punk bar, where the then-formidable Bill saved a drunken Hank from a beating. In gratitude, Hank stumbled off to a tattoo parlor and paid to have Bill's name inked onto his chest before passing out. Only Boomhauer was with Hank, and, unable to persuade the proprietor to ignore Hank's purchase, convinced him to put the tattoo in a less conspicuous place, the back of Hank's head; Hank had completely forgotten that night, but was reminded of it while undergoing treatment for head lice in the present (an affliction caused by an absurd scheme of Bill's). He had the name removed out of disgust, but eventually had a jailhouse tattoo of it put on to show Bill that the two were still friends.

Hank thinks very highly of Texas. He thinks that Texas is superior to all other states in the U.S or at least Hollywood. This is sort of satirical on the stereotype or at least exaggeration of Texan's state pride. In the episode "Returning Japanese Part 1", Hank says "Peggy, I've already chosen the country for our summer vacation, America. And the state, Texas. And the town, Denton. I don't care what their police did to that cyclist. It's still a great town." That was his response to Peggy's ideas for their summer vacation. Later in the episode, he also says to his father Cotton, "Dad, there is no other place I'd rather be" after Cotton said, "Hank, you work at a gas station; fuel this thing up and fly me back to Texas!"

See also

• Peggy Hill
• Bobby Hill

External links

• King of the Hill at IMDb