"King of the Hill" and "Pocahontas II" Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Passes Away at Age of 59

Joss was also known for his live-action roles in "The Magnificent Seven," "True Grit," and "Parks & Recreation."

Some sad news today from the world of Disney-owned animation: actor Jonathan Joss, best known to animated sitcom fans as John Redcorn in 20th Television Animation’s King of the Hill, has passed away at the age of 59.

In addition to his King of the Hill role, for which he appeared as a voice actor in 34 episodes of the original series and had already recorded parts of the upcoming revival, Jonathan Joss also provided voices for Disney’s direct-to-video sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. For the Disney-owned ABC Network, he played a Comanche in the 1994 miniseries James A. Michener’s Texas. On the big screen, he portrayed Bent Twig in Warner Bros.’ Almost Heroes, a Casino Host in (also-now-Disney-owned) Fox Searchlight’s Johnson Family Vacation, and for Paramount he worked with the Coen Brothers as His Tongue In the Rain in the 2010 remake of True Grit. More recently, he played Denali in Sony’s The Magnificent Seven remake and an American Indian on TV in Universal’s The Forever Purge.

On television, Joss was known for his recurring role as Ken Hotate on NBC’s Parks & Recreation, as Lou on Showtime’s Ray Donovan, and as Bad Face on Tulsa King for Paramount+. Back in the 90s he also had a recurring role on Walker, Texas Ranger for CBS and in recent years he had ventured into video game voice work with Red Dead Redemption, Wasteland 3, and CyberPunk 2077. According to reports from the San Antonio Police Department, Joss was killed by a neighbor this past Friday night, and the suspect has since been arrested. Jonathan Joss is survived by his husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales, and he will surely be missed by friends, family, and those who knew him and worked alongside him in the entertainment industry.