Cotton Lyndal Hill is a fictional character in the Fox animated series King of the Hill voiced by Toby Huss. He was the father of Hank Hill, Good Hank Hill, Junichiro, and, according to him, at least 270 possible others. He was a World War II veteran who had his shins "blowed off by a Japanman's machine gun" in combat and later had his feet attached to his knees as a result. This made him a foot shorter than his relatives and caused a characteristic waddle. According to Hank, Cotton was 6'4" with his shins and was 5'0" without them. Despite his disability, he eventually reached the rank of Colonel in the Texas State Defense Forces and was addressed as such by his friends. Cotton Hill dies in the 12th season of King of the Hill at age 80 after suffering severe burns from slipping on a flat top grill.
Hank Hill (left), former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (middle), and Cotton Hill (right).
King of the Hill is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that initially aired on Fox from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, with four more episodes airing in syndication from May 3 to 6, 2010. The series centers on the Hills, an American family in the fictional city of Arlen, Texas, as well as their neighbors, co-workers, relatives, classmates, friends, and acquaintances. Series protagonist, patriarch, and everyman Hank Hill works as assistant manager at Strickland Propane. He lives in a ranch-style house with his wife Peggy, his son Bobby, his niece Luanne, and his pet bloodhound Ladybird. Hank's neighbors are his longtime friends Bill Dauterive, a divorced, bald, overweight military barber and former high school football star; Dale Gribble, a paranoid, pro-gun, anti-government pest exterminator; and Jeff Boomhauer, a charismatic, soft-spoken, often unintelligible bachelor whose occupation is revealed in the final episode of the series. The show's realistic approach seeks humor in the conventional and mundane aspects of everyday life, such as blue-collar workers, substitute teachers, and the trials of puberty.
The design of King of the Hill was based on Texas suburbs from the 1950s such as Arlington.
Over time, series co-creator Mike Judge took a more reduced role in the production of episodes.