Joseph Gribble

Infobox character | colour = #ffaa44
name = Joseph Gribble


caption = The two incarnations of Joseph Gribble
portrayer = Brittany Murphy (seasons 1-4)
Breckin Meyer (seasons 5-)
creator =
gender = Male
first = Pilot (episode 1.01)
last =
cause =
age = 13
born =
occupation =
title =
family = Nancy Gribble (mother)
Dale Gribble (stepfather)
John Redcorn (biological father)
(Half-sister through John Redcorn)
spouse =
children =
relatives =
footnotes =

Joseph John Gribble (Redcorn) is a character on the animated television series "King of the Hill". He was raised by Dale Gribble and his wife Nancy. Originally, Nancy falsely attributed Joseph's traits to him having a Jamaican grandmother. It is possible Joseph believed this for a time as in "Traffic Jam" Bobby refers to Joseph and himself as white, which causes Joseph to hesitantly say "yeah." Dale, a paranoid conspiracy theorist, believes that aliens impregnated Nancy using his own seed while he was searching for UFOs at Marfa, Texas; he is completely unaware of his son's resemblance to John Redcorn, Nancy's personal migraine manager, though most others around him could tell very easily. In actuality, John Redcorn had been having an affair with Nancy, and Joseph is the product of that relationship. Dale, though paranoid, has never had a clue about it. Joseph is a student at Tom Landry Middle School and is Bobby Hill's best friend. Joseph is also very attracted to Bobby's cousin, Luanne Platter. Joseph was also an early bloomer, hitting puberty before most of his friends, including Bobby (who still hasn't) despite the fact that he is several months younger than Bobby. Bobby was once jealous that Joseph was tall, dark and surprisingly handsome and being pegged as an adult, starting in season 5's "I Don't Want to Wait for Our Lives to Be Over" the first episode to include Joseph once he began puberty.

John Redcorn has tried to subtly instruct Joseph in his Native American culture, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. All things considered, Joseph is more like Dale's son than John Redcorn's - the two are very close and share a penchant for conspiracy theories. Indeed, Peggy once seriously considered revealing John Redcorn and Nancy's relationship to Dale, but balked in the end when she considered the effect it would have on Dale's relationship to Joseph.

He may have been conceived in the Arlen Caves, featured in the episode "The Son That Got Away." The Arlen Caves, a popular make-out spot for teenagers, is described by Peggy as the place where roughly half of Arlen's unwanted pregnancies occur. After hearing this, Nancy and John Redcorn exchange uncomfortable glances, which may be meant to imply this is where they had sex before Joseph was born.

Ever since Joseph's growth spurt Dale, already somewhat of a coward, has been particularly scared of him. In one episode Dale said "I'll tell you a bed time story like I used to before you had a moustache and became so frightening." Dale will occasionally run away in fear from Joseph if having a conversation with him while Joseph is lifting weights.

Brittany Murphy voiced the character in seasons 1 – 4. In season 5, the character experienced a growth spurt and the first stages of adolescence, necessitating a change in voice actors. Breckin Meyer currently provides the voice for him.

External links

* [http://www.fox.com/kingofthehill/ FOX Broadcasting Company: King of the Hill]