Dale Gribble

Dale Alvin Gribble, also known as Dale Gribble and Rusty Shackleford, is one of the main characters from the King of the Hill series.
== Charactah Account ==
Dale rounds out Hank's circle of friends. Dale, an exterminator by trade, is a paranoid conspiracy theorist who has prepared for just about any unlikely situation you can think of. And yet, he can't seem to figure out that his lovely wife Nancy is having an affair right under his nose.
Dale is highly suspicious of all levels of government and ardently defends his Second Amendment rights, once remarking, "Guns don't kill people; the government does." Dale also refuses to pay taxes, does not vote, and occasionally prints his own currency. He runs away and sweats a lot when the IRS comes knocking on his door.
Dale, unlike Hank and Bill, has very little physical strength.
== Appearance ==
=== Cartoons ===
* King of the Hill
* King of the Hill Season 2
* King of the Hill Season 3
* King of the Hill Season 4
* King of the Hill Season 5
* King of the Hill Season 6
* King of the Hill Season 7
* King of the Hill Season 8
* King of the Hill Season 9
* King of the Hill Season 10
* King of the Hill Season 11
* King of the Hill Season 12
* King of the Hill Season 13
=== Video Games ===
* Animation Throwdown: The Quest for Cards
* King of the Hill
* Warped Kart Racers
== Trivia ==
* Dale appears to fail at everything Hank excels at, work, women, sports, lawn care etc...but succeeds at what Hank fails at. He is very close with his son, has no problem with expressing emotion or affection, and isn't ashamed to have interests or hobbies that aren't necessarily "manly" such as baking, being able to cook macaroons and cookies.
* Despite his stubborn personality he is, ironically, much more accepting and tolerant of other people's lifestyles than his friends. For example; He not only had no issue with his father being gay, but also showed little discomfort at the flamboyant rodeo, unlike Hank, Boomhauer and Bill.
* Dale presumably suffers from Paranoid Personality Disorder, although it is unknown how he acquired the disorder.
* Dale's mother is deceased, this fact being learned in the episode "Bobby on Track".
* The one episode where Dale does not make an appearance (and neither do Bill or Boomhauer) is "An Officer and a Gentle Boy."
* In "Soldier of Misfortune", Dale gives his middle name as Alvin when holding an impromptu vote for president of the Arlen Gun Club. It is reasonable to assume that this is his actual middle name, given the respect that Dale holds for the club and the position of President.
* Even after countless clues, Dale never found out about the affair of his wife, Nancy Hicks-Gribble, and close "friend", John Redcorn. The closest he ever came to learning of the affair was when Peggy was about to tell him but didn't since Peggy knew Dale was a good father and did not want to ruin the relationship between him and his family. He once had a subconscious dream that in "Vision Quest" that was telling him about Redcorn's involvement, but he seemed to misread the situation completely: A native American man with a ceremonial headdress was making love to his wife and he was handed Joseph wearing the same headdress. It is possible he does know and is simply in denial.
* However it is also likely that he truly doesn't know, and his inability to see the truth of Nancy and Redcorn's relationship is an intentional joke from the writers; as despite his paranoid personality and habit of creating ludacris conspiracy theories from little to no evidence, he is unable to figure out what is happening right in front of him despite overwhelming and obvious evidence.
* Nancy has also noted to Hank that it is easy to fool Dale if that person is someone he trusts. Suggesting that once he trusts somebody he never doubts them, no matter what.
* In ”The Exterminator”, it is revealed that Dale likes eating nine small meals per day.
* Dale is extremely close to Hank's father, Cotton. He respectfully always addresses him as colonel and shares Cotton's sense of humor.
* In two episodes, Dale has been known to speak fluent Russian and have an interest in Russia's controversial president Vladimir Putin.
* Dale seems to understand Bobby and be more attentive to his personal interests than either of his parents.
* The license plate on Dale's truck is LXD-352.
* Dale wears a hat with the Mack truck company on it.
* In "Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do", it was revealed by Bobby that Dale reads romance novels.
* Dale shares his last name with Gribble, an underwater crustacean that is, in essence, the equivalent of an underwater termite. This most likely coincides with Dale being an exterminator.
* He has been known to try surviving outside his house. Quite possibly this helped keep him alive when he thought he had rabies in "To Kill a Ladybird" and again in "Master of Puppets".
* Dale always wears eyeglasses with clip-on sunglasses on a hinge.
* He personally seems to respect Bill the least, taking every opportunity to insult him.
* He can eat more hot dogs at once than Bill, once accomplishing eating 34 hot dogs in a hot dog contest tryout.
* The first time Dale uses the alias Rusty Shackleford is at a Mason Lawnmowers seminar.
* Dale's "Bugabago", a reference to RV manufacturer Winnebago, is a 1992 Dodge Grand Caravan and later a 95’ caravan.
* Dale has also been seen owning and driving A dark green 1971 Ford F-100 in the early seasons.
* Dale was originally going to be voiced by Steven Root, but Root did not feel he suited the character. He was instead voiced by Johnny Hardwick.
* At the end of "Night and Deity", Dale reveals that his favorite show is Sanford and Son. In "Hilloween" he is also seen watching it. This is also referenced in the episode "Pregnant Paws", when Dale briefly stops in front of the TV set (which is playing Sanford and Son) before proceeding to arrest Jim Helstrom. In the closing credits of the same episode, he is seen watching the show with Jim. In "The Texas Skillsaw Massacre" Dale has a poster of Fred Sanford in his basement, covering the entrance to his secret tunnel.
* In the episode "King of the Ant Hill", Dale attempts to persuade Hank to reconsider hiring him to spray his lawn, explaining to Hank that he has dedicated his professional career to the study and control of arthropods. Dale, continuing to elaborate on his experience and expertise as an exterminator, explains that he's "personally taste-tested each and every household insecticide."
* It is possible that he and Boomhauer are very close. In one episode, it is revealed they take a yearly fishing trip together without Bill or Hank. Also, when Hank isn't the one to talk Dale out of something, it is usually Boomhauer - that, or Boomhauer is almost always with Dale on his crazy schemes. Dale also rarely insults Boomhauer or has a bad word to say about him, being the first to stick up for him in "Luanne's Saga" after Hank jumps to the conclusion that Boomhauer is dating Luanne. Dale also has remarked "Boomhauer you're a genius!" In multiple situations.
* In the episode "DaleTech", Dale tells Cotton that he’s allergic to citrus fruit when Cotton asked him if he was the one who drank Hank’s grapefruit juice.
* He shares a birthday with Van Cliburn (July 12).
* In the episode "Dog Dale Afternoon", it is revealed that Dale has an immunity to tear gas due to his frequent exposure to pesticides.
* In the episode "The Order of the Straight Arrow" we see that as a child Dale was tallest in his friend group.
* It is implied that Dale suffers from multiple eating disorders, In the episode "Tankin' It to the Streets" Kahn refers to him as an "anorexic chainsmoker" Dale in fact confirms this possibility. In the eposode "Dog Dale Afternoon" Dale mentions "The binging, The purging" Indicating that he suffers from bullimia, not anorexia. This is contradictory the episode "Peggy's Headache" Where he appears very confident about his "track team" body, saying that Hank "May not have the best body on the block, But he has a good head on his shoulders"
== Gallery ==
File:Dale Gribble Render 01.png
File:Dale Gribble 01.png
File:Dale Gribble 02.png
File:Dale Gribble 03.png
File:Dale Gribble Fan Art 01.png
== External Links ==
* Dale Gribble at King of the Hill Wiki
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:King of the Hill