‘King of the Hill’ Actor Dead After ‘Long, Bitter’ Rivalry Finally Erupts

A long-standing feud reportedly escalated into deadly violence Sunday in San Antonio, Texas, claiming the life of “King of the Hill” voice actor Jonathan Joss, according to media reports.

Joss, 59, who voiced the character John Redcorn on the animated sitcom, was fatally shot in the incident. A neighbor is in custody, Austin Fox News outlet KTBC-TV reported.

San Antonio police told the news outlet they received a report of a shooting around 7:00 p.m.

Officers arrived to find Joss lying near the roadway.

They arrested Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, also 59, who lived two doors down, per entertainment news outlet TMZ.

According to that account, Joss once owned a home in the neighborhood, but the house had burned down in February.

“He returned Sunday to collect a victim’s fire fund check,” TMZ reported.

“While there, he found the skeleton of one of his dogs killed in the fire, and it sent him into a rage — he started yelling at anyone he saw in the area.”

The outlet said the neighbor, with whom Joss had “a history” of “both verbal and physical fights in the past,” showed up at the scene, shot Joss, and then fled.

People reported that “the person who shot and killed Joss was ‘homophobic’ and yelling ‘violent’ slurs.”

A man who described himself as Joss’ husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, posted on Joss’ page that the two had been “harassed regularly” by “openly homophobic” individuals.

Gonzales said that after they had discovered the skull of one of their pet dogs, they suffered “severe emotional distress.”

“We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw,” he said.

“While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired,” the account continued.

“Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side,” Kern de Gonzales added. “When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.”

Gonzales claimed in the post that their home “was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire.”

However, according to the New York Post, neighbors said the house burned down because the occupants had reportedly been heating the dwelling with a barbecue pit. They said the power had been shut off because the structure had been deemed unsafe and uninhabitable.

“According to Joss’ neighbors, his rants were not uncommon,” the Post reported. “They claimed the police had been called on the actor several times before his house went up in flames earlier this year.

“They also alleged that Joss would often do weird things like bang pans from his rooftop in the middle of the night.”

The San Antonio Police Department said in a post on social media platform X that “despite online claims of this being a hate crime, currently the investigation has found no evidence to indicate that the Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation.”

Ceja Alvarez has been charged with murder, according to KTBC.

Joss replaced the late Victor Aaron as the voice of John Redcorn on “King of the Hill” in 1997, according to IMDB.

His other TV acting credits included a role as Chief Ken Hotate in “Parks and Recreation,” as well as small roles on “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Ray Donovan,” and “Tulsa King.”

His film credits included “True Grit,” “The Magnificent Seven,” and “The Forever Purge.”

IMDB said Joss was born in San Antonio and attended high school and college there. The site listed Joss’ spouse as “Laurie.”

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