Boomhauer

Boomhauer (voiced by Mike Judge) is a character in the animated series King of the Hill. Hank Hill, Dale Gribble and Bill Dauterive are his neighbors, and the four have been close friends since childhood. Boomhauer spends most of his spare time drinking beer with Hank, Dale and Bill in the alley behind Hank’s house. During the course of the series Boomhauer’s first name has never been revealed, nor is it told exactly what he does for a living (one episode mentions that Boomhauer is on worker's compensation; another reveals that his parents are rich after having won the lottery; and a third implies that Boomhauer receives favors from the various women with whom he sleeps). His primary pursuits in life are fast cars and loose women.

Boomhauer tends to mumble his speech very rapidly with a unintelligible southern United States accent to the point that he has been mistaken for mentally disabled, and was once admitted to a mental hospital. Despite the apparent incomprehensibility of his speech, all of the characters on the show understand what he is saying to some extent. Often, the closed caption text of Boomhauer's mumblings is much more clear that his spoken words. Boomhauer's bizarre speech patterns serve as a recurring theme. An example of a typical line of dialogue:
 * Yeah man, I tell ya what, man, that dang ol' internet, man, you just go on there and point and click, talk about w-w-dot-w-com, an' lotsa nekkid chicks on there, man, click, click, click, click, click, it's real easy, man.

Though his speech is difficult to follow, Boomhauer sings clearly, as evidenced by his rendition of "Blue Moon of Kentucky" in Episode 6.9 ("The Bluegrass Is Always Greener"). The sung vocals were actually voiced by country singer Vince Gill.

Boomhauer has had four relatives that has appeared on the show. His mother, and his "Meemaw" (southern slang for grandmother) who both have the same speech impediment as Boomhauer's. Boomhauer's father is drawn in one episode, though he does not speak. He is referred to simply as Dr. Boomhauer. The fourth family member is Boomhauer's brother, Patch Boomhauer, who was voiced by Brad Pitt in his only appearance, when he was preparing to marry Boomhauer's ex-girlfriend. The wedding never did occur.

Despite his speech impediment, Boomhauer is apparently highly intelligent, and often gives advice to his friends. Once after giving advice to Bobby Hill, Bobby replied by saying "Wow Mr. Boomhauer, Dad was right. You ARE smart."

Boomhauer favors animal-print bikini briefs, which has been observed a few times in the show when he's appeared without his blue jeans.

Though Boomhauer is 100% player, he deeply believes in the sacredness of marriage.

Trivia

 * It is revealed in the episode "A-Firefighting We Will Go" that in Boomhauer's imagination, he is the only clear speaker, while everyone else mumbles incoherently.


 * A King of the Hill Season 1 DVD special feature titled "Making of King of the Hill" explains that Boomhauer's voice was inspired by an angry (yet funny) voicemail Mike Judge received while he was producing Beavis and Butt-head.


 * Boomhauer's first name has never been revealed, though many fan sites list his first name as being "Jeff."