Dennis Burkley obit

'King of the Hill' Actor Dennis Burkley Dies at 67

He was not on the list.

Dennis Burkley, a burly character actor who played truckers, bartenders, bikers and rednecks during a busy four-decade career that included a stint as the voice of Principal Moss on Fox’s King of the Hill has died. He was 67.

Burkley died early Sunday in his sleep at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., agent David Ankrum tells The Hollywood Reporter. He had been battling health problems for some time, said his son, Shawn.

The fun-loving Burkley, who was born in Van Nuys, Calif., but grew up outside Dallas, stood 6-foot-3 and for a time weighed more than 300 pounds (he lost a considerable amount of weight in recent years). He often sported a dark, scruffy beard and a Texas accent in a prolific career that began in the early 1970s and included more than 130 film and TV credits.

Two of his more memorable roles were as a giant, mute biker who befriends Eric Stoltz’s character in Peter Bogdanovich’s Mask (1985) and as another biker, a racist named Sonny Crockett on four 1983 episodes of Hill Street Blues. (Anthony Yerkovich, a writer and producer on that show, gave the character played by Don Johnson that same name a year later when he created the stylish cop show, Miami Vice.)

Burkley also starred as Redd Foxx’s junkyard partner Cal Pettie on Sanford, a reboot of Sanford and Son that ran two seasons on NBC from 1980-81. (Demond Wilson, who played Foxx’s son and partner on the original series, did not want to partake.)

Burkley, whose pals called him "Big D," voiced Carl Moss, the principal of Tom Landry Middle School in Arlen, Texas, on 35 episodes of King of the Hill, which aired for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2008.

Burkley also had parts in such films as Heroes (1977), The Slugger’s Wife (1985), Murphy’s Romance (1985), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986), No Way Out (1987), Who’s That Girl (1987), Fletch Lives (1989), The End of Innocence (1990), The Doors (1991), Rush (1991), Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), Tin Cup (1996), Touch (1997) and Hollywood Homicide (2003).

Burkley’s TV résumé also includes guest-star stints on such shows as Emergency!, Kojak, Starsky and Hutch, McCloud, One Day at a Time, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Baretta, Maude, The Rockford Files, B.J. and the Bear, The Fall Guy, The Dukes of Hazzard, Who’s the Boss?, Designing Women, Ellen, NYPD Blue, JAG, The Drew Carey Show and My Name Is Earl.

After attending Grand Prairie High School and getting his master’s in theater at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Burkley headed back to the Los Angeles area, where he cleaned swimming pools while pursing an acting career. One pool he cleaned belonged to Five Easy Pieces director Bob Rafelson, who gave Burkley a bit part in Stay Hungry (1976), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first credited feature role.

Burkley co-wrote, directed and appeared in the 2005 independent comedy Repetition, about students in a Los Angeles acting class, featuring F. Murray Abraham, Mark Hamill and Robert Englund.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1973      Bummer!             Butts    

1974      Nightmare Honeymoon Bubba  

1976      Stay Hungry        Heavy #2             

1976      The Call of the Wild         Stoney TV movie

1977      Heroes Gus       

1978      Laserblast            Deputy Pete Ungar         

1985      Mask     Dozer   

1985      The Slugger's Wife           Chuck   

1985      Murphy's Romance         Freeman Coverly             

1986      Stewardess School           Snake Pellino    

1987      Wanted: Dead or Alive   Farnsworth        

1987      Malone                 Dan Bollard        

1987      Who's That Girl Benny  

1987      No Way Out        Mate    

1988      Pass the Ammo Big Joe Becker  

1989      Fletch Lives         Joe Jack               

1989      An Innocent Man             Butcher               

1990      Lambada              Uncle Big            

1990      The End of Innocence     Tiny       

1991      The Doors            Dog       

1991      Suburban Commando    Deak     

1991      Rush      Motorcycle Guy               

1992      Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot      Mitchell               

1992      Wishman             Max the Squealer            

1992      Four Eyes and Six Guns Luke Doom         TV movie

1992      Sidekicks              Hank     

1992      Beyond the Law                Oatmeal              

1993      Son in Law           Theo     

1996      Tin Cup                 Earl       

1996      Cheyenne           Knopfler              

1997      Touch    Hillbilly

1997      Fathers' Day       Calvin   

1997      Con Air Dale       Uncredited

1998      Possums              Orville Moss      

1998      The First 9½ Weeks         Sheriff Marlon Tolette   

2000      Vice       Sgt. Hunt            

2001      Knight Club         Redneck              

2001      Wish You Were Dead      Sam Daniels       

2003      Pauly Shore Is Dead         Celebrity Judge #3          

2003      Hollywood Homicide       Hank the Bartender        

2005      Repetition           Teacher               

2005      Keep Your Distance         Gus       

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1976      Starsky & Hutch                Eddie Bell            Episode: "Omaha Tiger"

1976      Family   Roy Axelrod        Episode: "Point of Departure"

1976      McCloud              Big Mama            Episode: "Bonnie and McCloud"

1976      One Day at a Time           Photographer    Episode: "The Maestro"

1976–1978          Maude Sam Dickey         3 episodes

1976–1979          The Rockford Files            Various Characters          3 episodes

1977      Quincy, M.E.       Thomas "Tom-Tom" Tomlinson Episode: "No Deadly Secret"

1977–1978          Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman   Mac Slattery       85 episodes

1978-81  The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo

1978      Baretta Ronco   Episode: "It's a Boy"

1979      B. J. and the Bear             Harry Cunningham           2 episodes

1979      Hanging In           Sam Dickey         2 episodes

1980      The Dukes of Hazzard     Bubba   Episode: "Find Loretta Lynn"

1980–1981          Sanford                Cal Pettie             26 episodes

1981      The Greatest American Hero       Preacher              Episode: "Hog Wild"

1982      Gimme a Break!                Dr. George Avery             Episode: "Porko's II"

1983      Amanda's            Billy Rae               Episode: "The Man Who Came on Wednesday"

1983      Hill Street Blues                Sonny Crockett 4 episodes

1984      Night Court         Cannibal               Episode: "The Blizzard"

1985      The Dukes of Hazzard     Mickey Larsen   Episode: "Strange Visitor to Hazzard"

1986      Who's the Boss?               Pee Wee              Episode: "When Worlds Collide"

1987      Outlaws                Farmer Episode: "Primer"

1989      Who's the Boss?               Pee Wee              Episode: "Tony and the Professor"

1991      The New WKRP in Cincinnati       Jocko     Episodes: "Here Comes Everybody" Parts 1 & 2

1991      Designing Women           Buford Episode: "The Pride of Sugarbakers"

1993      Family Matters Repairman          Episode: "An Officer and a Waldo"

1994      The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air           Hatfield McCoy Episode: "Fresh Prince: The Movie"

1995      ER           Tom Perry           Episode: "What Life?"

1996      NYPD Blue           Ernie 'Pig'            Episode: "Auntie Maimed"

1996      Renegade            Smokey                Episode: "Self Defense"

1996      Dave's World     Rude Guy             Episode: "Missed Manners"

1996      High Incident     Det. Cryer            Episode: "Who'll Stop the Bombs?"

1996      Baywatch Nights               Horace Calhoun                Episode: "The Cabin"

1997      Coach    Joe Bob                Episode: "A Boy and His Doll"

1997      Living Single        Jonathan Remington       Episode: "The Clown That Roared"

1997      Pacific Blue         D.W. McQueen Episode: "Inside Straight"

1997      The Visitor          Louie     Episode: "Caged"

1998      Tracey Takes On...            Fat Detective     Episode: "Religion"

1998      JAG        Jungle Larry        Episode: "Yesterday's Heroes"

1998      Players Sonny    Episode: "Con-tinental"

1998      Home Improvement       Larry      Episode: "Tim's First Car"

1998      Martial Law        Warden Jalouse                Episode: "Lock-Up"

1999      The Jamie Foxx Show      Duke      Episode: "Bro-Jack"

2000      The Magnificent Seven Horace Episode: "Serpents"

2000      The Fugitive        Bill          Episode: "Guilt"

2001      The Drew Carey Show    Biker #3                Episode: "Drew and the Motorcycle"

2001      Dead Last                            Episode: "Laughlin It Up"

2002      Reba      Fred       Episode: "He's Having a Baby"

2005      The Exonerated                Sheriff Carroll    TV movie

2005–2008          My Name Is Earl                Various Characters          3 episodes

1997–2010          King of the Hill   Principal Moss   Voice, 35 episodes