Some celebrities land roles as voice actors because of their distinct timbre, ability to affect their voice in interesting ways, or their sheer star power—Tom Petty, however, got his role as the voice of a famous cartoon character for a hilariously different reason altogether. (Although, we imagine the rockstar’s star power certainly helped.)
The former Heartbreakers frontman voiced Elroy Kleinschmidt on the beloved animated series King of the Hill for six seasons. The husband of main character Hank Hill’s niece-in-law, Luanne Platter, “Lucky” Kleinschmidt boasted blonde, shaggy hair, crooked teeth, and Petty’s instantly recognizable nasal draw.
According to the show’s creator, those similarities were not accidental.
Why Tom Petty Landed the Role of This Cartoon Character
In a 2009 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Mike Judge, creator of King of the Hill, discussed his prolific television career—including when he convinced an international rockstar to join the cast. Judge recalled the day he and showrunner John Altschuler were brainstorming about the show’s then-newest character, Elroy “Lucky” Kleinschmidt.
“John Altschuler, who ran the show for the last seven/eight years, had written this character named Lucky and described him as looking like ‘Tom Petty without the success,’” Judge recounted. “We thought, what if we tried to get Tom Petty? And he said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’ And he was great—just killed at the table read. Then he said, ‘Anytime you want me to do it, I’ll do it.’ Turns out he really meant it.”
Petty voiced Lucky for 28 episodes of King of the Hill. He became a fan-favorite character, thanks to his unassuming charm and the subtle nods to Petty the show writers slipped into the script (like when Lucky told Bobby he would help him run down that dream of eating tortilla chips directly off the production line, referencing Petty’s 1989 hit “Runnin’ Down a Dream” from Full Moon Fever).
The Sad Fate Of Lucky and Luanne
After Tom Petty died in 2017, King of the Hill creator Mike Judge released a statement about his former cast member. “We had all grown up on his music, that unique voice of his, and to have him as the voice of Lucky on King of the Hill was just wonderful,” Judge said, per Rolling Stone. “He was always a pleasure to work with—such a funny guy. He will be greatly missed.”
In a sad and ironic turn of events, the woman who voiced Petty’s character’s opposite, Luanne Platter, also met a tragically premature death. Brittany Murphy voiced Luanne for the entirety of the original King of the Hill series from 1997 to 2010. Like Petty, Murphy suffered cardiac arrest that led to her death. The coroner determined her death was accidental and caused by pneumonia, iron-deficiency anemia, and multiple drug intoxication. When news first broke of the King of the Hill revival set to release in 2025, fans were quick to point out the real-life fates of Lucky and Luanne’s voice actors.
“I’m beyond excited king of the hill is coming back but the thought of brittany murphy and tom petty not being able to come back?!! I’M SOBBING,” one fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “King of the Hill reboot should lean into Tom Petty & Brittany Murphy’s absence by having Hank and Peggy raise their child, which forces them to confront the modern world way more as retirees,” another X user wrote.
Photo by Ray Mickshaw/WireImage
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