Hank Hill - Character Biography

Character Biography

Hank Hill was born 1953 at Yankee Stadium in New York City (at 3:07 pm, measuring 19.5 in and weighing 7.5 lbs). 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. After referring to himself as a native Texan for forty years, he was sad to learn he was born in New York, but over time accepted 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 Cotton Hill 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 (273 as Cotton once stated), meaning he likely has several other illegitimate brothers and sisters of Hank, although none of these other relatives have been confirmed throughout the series.

Hank is an Eagle Scout. Hank is naive, closed-minded and afraid of taking risks, but generally a good person. Although he is traditionally conservative in his attitude, in how 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 neighbors Bill and Dale.

In most openings of King of the Hill, it starts with Bill, Dale, and Boomhauer all agreeing to something before the action kicks in, drinking from Alamo branded beer cans. A running joke throughout the series is an angry Hank yelling "I'm gonna kick your ass!" This is just a threat; he 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. One characteristic when Hank lies is he turns his head or looks around the room.

Hank is a known workaholic who "sells propane and propane accessories" as an assistant manager at the fictional Strickland Propane, a local propane dealership. Much to the discomfort of his boss Buck Strickland, he refuses to miss a day 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, despite repeated attempts at suggesting too much work will make him sloppy. He even went into work when his hero Tom Landry died (though he thought it was Dusty Hill making it up). When he gets a phone call in the middle of the night, he often immediately starts with the Strickland slogan, "Strickland Propane, taste the meat, not the heat" showing his dedication to his work.

He was briefly promoted to manager when Buck's wife/ex-wife (affectionately referred to as "Mis 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, before being demoted again after he blurted out "I love you" to Buck. Unlike Buck and his business enemy, M. F. Thatherton, 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, as well as the prestigious Blue Flame of Valor Award.

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 (and wants his son Bobby Hill to follow his footsteps and start a propane business of his own). Hank loves his job very much, but throughout the series always makes a big deal out of it when his closest friends and even family find his occupation boring and somewhat useless. In the episode "A Fire Fighting We Will Go", Bobby questions Hank about his new job as a volunteer fireman, in which Bobby says he is surprised because Hank always seems to exaggerate and make a big deal about being a propane salesman. Although Hank is often confused and irritated by Bobby's eccentricities, he clearly loves his son, even though he's uncomfortable in saying it to his face. He even feigns an interest in Bobby's passions such as comedy and theatre. Hank is relieved when his Laotian-American neighbor Kahn tells him that he caught Bobby and Connie taking their clothes off since, up until that time, Hank was uncertain of Bobby's interest in girls. From his eccentricities, Hank often says of Bobby, "That boy ain't right."

In the first episode of the series, his wife Peggy Hill prompts Hank to tell his son that he loves him — after he finally manages to do so, Bobby says that he thought of himself as 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.

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. A running joke throughout the series is that they would have more kids if it wasn't for Hank's "narrow urethra". A topic Hank is sensitive about and often becomes annoyed about if brought up to people outside of the immediate family.

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 saw it as punishment from God for doing a celebratory dance after scoring a touchdown earlier during the game. After graduating from high school, he went on to work as a salesman at Jeans West, a clothing retailer, until Buck found that he was a good salesman and hired him at Strickland Propane, where he taught Hank everything about propane and propane accessories. According to his neighbor Dale, he also had a brief stint as a tractor salesman.

Despite the fact that his career in propane is later shown to have started with a chance meeting with Buck Strickland, in episode "Order of the Straight Arrow" a flashback to 1966 shows younger Hank, Dale, Bill and Boomhauer on a scouting trip, talking about what they're going to do when they grow up. Hank says, "I'm going to sell propane and propane accessories... if my grades are good enough." which is confusing since he met Buck at Jeans West, although it can be explained if Hank mistakenly puts in his adult passion for propane into memories from his childhood. This same episode reveals that boys entering the Order are 12 years old, which would give Hank a birth date of sometime in 1954 or 1955. In the second season episode "Hank's Dirty Laundry," Hank himself states his birth year as 1953.

Hank drives a red Ford Super Duty, which replaced his original truck, a red Ford Ranger after it was destroyed by a train, despite trying to make it last as long as mechanically possible. He gives great love and affection to his lawn and his Bloodhound, Ladybird. In one episode, Peggy is bitter for throwing a special birthday party for Ladybird but not for herself, where it is implied in some episodes she believes Hank spends more time with Ladybird and being house proud than he does with her, as suggested in another episode where he mourns over his sub-par lawn compared to his neighbors, remarking. "I put so much work into this, my sweat, blood, tears, all the tender feelings I should have given my family."

Hank's idol is Outlaw Country singer Willie Nelson (despite multiple differences between the personalities of the two), 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 Luanne's 21st birthday he put I Want to Know What Love Is on the jukebox 6 times in a row.