Boomhauer

Boomhauer is a fictional character in the animated series King of the Hill. The character is voiced by the series' creator/writer/producer Mike Judge.

Character
Boomhauer is the neighbor of the characters Hank Hill, Dale Gribble, and Bill Dauterive, and the four have been close friends since childhood. "Boomhauer" is in actuality his last name, as is proven by visits from his brother Patch Boomhauer and his father "Dr. Boomhauer". His primary pursuits are fast cars and chasing women. He currently drives a 1968 Dodge Coronet. Boomhauer spends most of his spare time drinking Alamo Beer with Hank, Dale and Bill in the alley behind Hank’s house. Boomhauer favors animal-print bikini briefs, which has been observed a few times in the show when he’s appeared without his blue jeans. In an episode where Hank, Bill, Dale, and Boomhauer are stuck in the water because they jumped off a boat, Boomhauer confesses that he dyes his hair ("Hank's on Board").

Boomhauer is apparently highly intelligent and often gives advice to his friends. Once after giving advice to Bobby Hill, Bobby replies by saying “I can see why my dad's always quoting you, Mr. Boomhauer.” In another episode, he mentions that his mother wanted him to become an electrical engineer. Given the opportunity, Boomhauer will also demonstrate that he is, in fact, quite cultured. In "Ceci N’Est Pas Une King of the Hill" Hank Hill makes remarks about art that deride its modern state provoking Boomhauer to call him ignorant, going so far as to cite Dadaism and the famed Marcel Duchamp work Fountain., he is also the only one who understood the meaning behind Kahn's story at Buckley's funeral.

Trademark Speech Pattern
Boomhauer’s speech patterns are nearly incomprehensible to the untrained audience and serve as a recurring theme. He mumbles and invariably uses the words "dang ol’" as an all-purpose adjective, sometimes several times in a single sentence. He also uses the phrases "I tell ya what" and "man" frequently. His poor enunciation and heavy Southern accent sometimes lead to misunderstandings about his mental capacity. In one episode, he was admitted to a mental hospital in downtown Houston after he drifted in on the river in a tube and was found in his Speedos, sunburned, drunk, dehydrated, and babbling incoherently. All of the regular characters on the show understand most of what he says. There is a recurring joke in which Hank occasionally cannot understand Boomhauer due to extenuating circumstances such as a bad telephone connection or an echo. Often, the closed caption texts of Boomhauer’s mumblings are clearer than his spoken words. An example of a typical line of dialog:
 * Yeah man, I tell ya what, man, that dang ol’ internet, man, you just go in on there and point and click, talk about w-w-dot-w-com, mean you got nekkid chicks on there, man, just go click, click, click, click, click, it’s real easy, man.

Boomhauer’s speech is satirical of “rednecks” using phrases such as "dang ol'" “dad gum” and “yeah, man talkin’ ’bout.” Nevertheless, he sings clearly, as evidenced by his rendition of “Blue Moon of Kentucky” in Episode 6.9 (“The Bluegrass Is Always Greener”). The singing was done by country star Vince Gill. In “A Fire Fighting We Will Go”, an incident at the local firehouse is shown the way he remembers it, with Hank, Dale, and Bill mumbling and himself speaking clearly. Mike Judge has stated that the inspiration for Boomhauer’s voice came from a message left on his answering machine by an irate viewer of Beavis & Butt-Head. Season 1 episode "Hank's Got the Willies" cleverly shows Boomhauer and the famously-incomprehensible Bob Dylan conversing with one another.

Early promotional spots for the series featured clips of Boomhauer speaking, intercut with text that presented the term "Boombonics" in the style of a dictionary entry as a parody of Ebonics. The word was broken down into syllables, with proper pronunciation and the definition, "See gibberish."

Family
Boomhauer has had four relatives that have appeared on the show. His grandmother, his “Meemaw” (a Southern term for grandmother), and his father, Dr. Boomhauer, and mother, Mrs. Boomhauer. Mrs. Boomhauer and Meemaw both have the same speaking patterns as Boomhauer; Dr. Boomhauer does not speak. The fourth family member is Boomhauer’s sleazy brother, Patch, voiced by Brad Pitt in his only appearance. Patch prepares to marry Boomhauer’s ex-girlfriend, Katherine (Laura Dern). The wedding does not take place because Katherine learns of her fiancé’s promiscuous behavior, and possibly because she still harbors feelings for Boomhauer.

Romantic Life
Although considered something of a playboy by his neighbors, he has trouble getting over break-ups. When his ex-girlfriend Katherine left him and went off to college, Boomhauer spent two days sitting in his hot tub, nursing a broken heart. When he meets a jogger whom Bill lusts after, he spent many days (and nights) with her, before he got up the courage to ask her to marry him, offering Meemaw's ring. To his horror, she had been sleeping with another man and only dated him for the sex. Adding insult to injury, she admitted that she hadn't understood much of what he'd said since they met and mistakenly referred to him as "Boomhauser". Crushed, Boomhauer goes speeding down the street with “Barracuda” playing, crying in sadness.