Jonathan Joss, ‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor, Is Fatally Shot by Neighbor, Police Say
A neighbor in San Antonio who opened fire on the actor during a dispute was charged with murder, the authorities said. Mr. Joss also appeared in “Parks and Recreation.”
Jonathan Joss in 2021. It was not clear what led to a dispute in which a neighbor fatally shot Mr. Joss. Credit...Derek Storm/Everett Collection/Alamy
Jonathan Joss, the actor best known for his voice work on the animated television show “King of the Hill,” was shot and killed by a neighbor on Sunday night during a dispute in San Antonio, the authorities said.
Mr. Joss, who was 59, voiced John Redcorn on “King of the Hill” and also appeared in “Parks and Recreation,” “Ray Donovan” and “Tulsa King.”
The neighbor, who was identified by investigators as Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 56, was taken into custody shortly after the altercation and charged with murder, the San Antonio Police Department said on Monday.
The police did not say what had led to the dispute, which happened around 7 p.m. on the south side of San Antonio.But in a
post on Mr. Joss’s Facebook page on Monday, his husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, described the shooting as a hate crime and said that the two of them had been repeatedly harassed because they were gay. He wrote that they had returned to a property where Mr. Joss’s home had burned down earlier this year when the shooting occurred.
“He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us,” he wrote in a statement. “He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.”
Mr. Kern de Gonzales said that he and Mr. Joss had reported the harassment several times in the past to the authorities, but that it had continued.
A police spokesman disputed Mr. Kern de Gonzales’s account about what had motivated the attack.
“Our investigation has found no evidence whatsoever to indicate that Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation,” the spokesman said in a statement. “We take such allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information. Should any new evidence come to light, we will charge the suspect accordingly.”
When officers responded, they found Mr. Joss near the street and attempted lifesaving measures, the Police Department said. Paramedics pronounced him dead when they arrived.
The police referred questions about how many times Mr. Joss had been shot to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Information on whether Mr. Ceja Alvarez had a lawyer was not immediately available on Monday.
Mr. Joss, who was of Apache and Comanche descent, often played Native American roles during his roughly three-decade acting career.
John Redcorn, left, and Luanne on “King of the Hill.” Credit...FOX
His most famous one was the character of John Redcorn on the animated series “King of the Hill,” a Native American masseur and New Age healer who carries on a lengthy affair with Nancy Hicks-Gribble that leads to a baby. He appeared in 34 episodes of the show from 1997 to 2009, according to IMDb, the entertainment database. Mr. Joss was set to return to the role in the show’s upcoming revival, Variety reported, which will premiere on Hulu in August.
From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Joss appeared in five episodes of the NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” as a Native American chief, Ken Hotate.
Mr. Joss also played smaller parts in the movie “True Grit” and the television shows “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “Friday Night Lights."
In January of this year, Mr. Joss lost his home of decades in San Antonio and a dog in a fire, the television station
KSAT reported. At the time, he told the station that his home did not have electricity or gas because it had been vandalized and that he may have left something on that caused the fire. He said that he did not have a job.
A fan in San Antonio created a GoFundMe page to raise money for Mr. Joss after the fire, which started to receive new donations after Mr. Joss’s death.
A full list of survivors for Mr. Joss was not immediately available on Monday.
Mr. Joss grew up in San Antonio and received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Our Lady of the Lake University there, according to a
profile on the college’s website.
