Bill Dauterive

Bill Dauterive
King of the Hill character
First appearance	"Pilot" (1997)
Created by	Mike Judge Greg Daniels
Designed by	Mike Judge
Voiced by	Stephen Root
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Title	Sergeant
Occupation	Army Sergeant Barber
Spouse	Lenore Dauterive (ex-wife)
Relatives	Gilbert “Cajun Jerk” Dauterive (cousin) Violetta Dauterive (cousin) Girac Dauterive (cousin-in-law, deceased) Rene Dauterive (cousin-in-law, deceased) Esme Dauterive (aunt) Alphonse Dauterive (uncle)

William "Bill" Fontaine de La Tour Dauterive (/doʊˈtriːv/ dough-TREEV; born June 22, 1953) is a fictional character in the American animated television sitcom series King of the Hill. Bill is a divorced, bald, overweight, clinically depressed military barber and former high school football star, voiced by Stephen Root, and named after series producer Jim Dauterive.

Development

Conception and creation

Stephen Root used his background in Southern theatre to help him develop the voice of Bill. Root attended the University of Florida, and had performed in Southern plays in New York City prior to being chosen for the role. He originally auditioned for the role of Dale Gribble, which "didn't feel right", so he then auditioned for Bill.

Character overview

Personality

Bill is indicated as coming from an upper-class Cajun family in Louisiana, and he speaks fluent Cajun French. His father was abusive, spanking him regularly and making him wear dresses (Bill attempts to justify these actions when brought up). By season 4 Bill's only living male relative is his cousin Gilbert, who still lives in Louisiana. By season 11, the two are guardians of the family's secret barbecue sauce recipe, which Gilbert refuses to allow Bill to sell. (However, Bill eventually gives the recipe to Bobby Hill so he can pass it on to his children, thus keeping the Dauterive tradition alive). Though Bill says he never had any children of his own, there is an opened possibility of him getting one or both of his dead cousins' widows pregnant during his stay at the family mansion while Hank was trying to win money by throwing a football into a big Alamo beer can at the Louisiana Superdome during halftime of the Dallas Cowboys–New Orleans Saints game.

Although overweight, balding, and emotionally needy in his later years, Bill was a muscular, confident athlete with long-flowing hair in his youth. Nicknamed "The Billdozer", he held Arlen High's career touchdown record until a young athlete named Ricky Suggs broke it years later. Bill's bright future was derailed when he attended a Molly Hatchet concert and found his future wife Lenore passed out in his lap in 1991; she would go on to cheat on and humiliate Bill before divorcing him, leaving him a broken shell of his former self. Although there are several factors, it can be assumed that her leaving him was the major cause of his downward spiral.

Bill is often a foil for his friends, who verbally and emotionally put him down on a regular basis, either because they don't realize how hurtful their remarks are or because Bill is too dimwitted to mind very much. He is the first person to be mentioned when any character refers to losers or bemoans a misfortune for fear their lives will be ruined, like his. Bill handles pressure very poorly; he is bad at keeping secrets, and he is quick to panic if a situation becomes tense. He is also shown to be quite gullible and easily manipulated, due in part to his low self-esteem. Of all his acquaintances, Boomhauer and Hank seem to be the ones who give him the most respect.

Bill has an obsessive crush on Peggy, and frequently makes bumbling, inappropriate remarks about her. Although Bill always speaks highly of Peggy and looks to her as the epitome of desire, she looks at him with total contempt. There are popular fan rumors that Bobby Hill is actually Bill's biological son, due to similarities in appearance, Hank's narrow urethra, Bill's obsessive crush on Peggy, and Peggy's disgust towards Bill. He also has a foot fetish, finding Peggy’s naturally over-sized feet very appealing.

When examining Bill's Army medical history, Dale discovered that Bill was unknowingly made part in an experiment called "Operation: Infinite Walrus", to create a hybrid soldier capable of operating in freezing cold waters. It is assumed that the experimental drugs are the cause of his weight gain, excessive body hair, baldness, and terrible body odor and breath until it's revealed that he was in the control group given a placebo. Bill is also shown to have a severe but easily treatable foot fungus, which actually comes in handy once to help Hank get revenge on a fraudulent mold inspector.

Bill's personal hygiene and other habits are shown to be very poor. As previously mentioned, he has severe foot fungus, terrible breath, and body odor (when opening the hatch of a tank Bill had stolen, Hank believed there was a dead animal inside due to the smell). Various comments indicate that he doesn't shower or brush his teeth on a regular basis. He is regularly shown eating food he finds in or under his couch, and has even been shown to eat food without dishes. He has been shown to fall asleep while eating snacks, which attracts animals into his bedroom, though he seems incredulous or apathetic to this.

Bill is also portrayed as being the poorest of Hank's friends. However, he resides in a similar looking house as all the other members of the main cast (one episode reveals he won it in his divorce). Moreover, although Bill is portrayed as poor, he is often seen spending money on extravagant or needless items. This is likely because he generally does not date, nor has any family, leaving him with extra income. Moreover, while Dale and Nancy cannot afford a plastic surgery in the episode "Trouble With The Gribbles", Bill offers to pay for it himself, signifying that he may be wealthier than the Gribble family.

Despite being physically out of shape, a target of many pranks, and incompetent in many areas, Bill is a highly skilled barber, as depicted in the episodes "Hank's Bad Hair Day" and "My Hair Lady." When the Army eliminates its barbers in the former episode, the commander of the base where Bill is stationed creates a fictitious Military Occupational Specialty as a cover for him to continue working as a barber. He is also an exceptional chef whose barbecue is revered among those of Rainey street.

Beyond his surface portrayal as a dim-witted loser, Bill is generally depicted to be a kind, caring and generous person. He genuinely cares for and looks up to his friends and though he is easily tempted by his many vices into selfish choices, he typically realizes the consequences of his actions and tries to ameliorate them. He is shown to be hard-working and eager when it comes to helping his friends, sometimes to a fault.

Health

Bill Dauterive is overweight and balding, and often falls victim to Dale's harassment. Possibly because of low self-esteem and depression, Bill does not regularly brush his teeth, shower, or exercise, only doing these things when dating a woman. When introducing himself to a lawnmower focus group in "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men", he states that he is 5'8". Although currently overweight, Bill is shown to be in incredible shape when first joining the army and, when met by old friends, they are generally surprised to see how out of shape he became. He is depicted as not meeting the Army's Physical Fitness Standards. The likely source of his weight problems comes from his depression.

Despite being the most overweight out of the show's main characters, Bill does on occasion show glimpses of the athleticism he once possessed. In the episode "Bills are Made to be Broken", Bill is allowed to return to high school to regain his touchdown record, because he never graduated and manages to score, despite the best efforts of the defense. Also in the episode "Bulk and the Body Buddies", Bill is shown to be able to bulk up and gain muscle relatively fast when he allows a group of muscle builders to work out in his garage. Although Bill is typically easily bullied by his friends, the times he does decide to stand up to himself people generally back away from him, suggesting he is physically intimidating, despite being overweight. Bill is also shown as being very tough, typically shown working through injuries.

Character biography

Career

Bill holds the fictional military occupational specialty "barber" in the United States Army under Ft. Blanda's H company, 110th infantry. His rank has been revealed through dialogue, in scenes of him wearing obsolete olive drab fatigues as being sergeant, and he appears to wear the insignia of E-5 on his Class A uniform. He has never deployed in his Army career. He briefly served as a recruiter when his position was eliminated for being wasteful, but it was secretly restored when Hank donated a new chair, with a cover job as an electrician. It is revealed in one episode that as an athletic young man entering the army, he wanted to serve in the armored cavalry in a tank crew.

Several times throughout the series Bill is revealed to be very talented at cutting hair. When Hank receives a bad hair cut, Bill is able to fix it quite easily. He revealed to Hank that he dyed the hair of 53 officers who serve at Ft. Blanda. When given other military duties such as recruiting, he has no success. In one episode, it is revealed that the General of the base will not allow anyone besides Bill to cut his hair.

Relationships

Bill Dauterive's ex-wife was named Lenore. During early seasons, he often pined for Lenore to return after she ran out on him, but he was somewhat successful in getting over her in the episode "Pretty Pretty Dresses" after Hank resorts to pretending to be Lenore. Bill then finally symbolically confronts Lenore for leaving him, and after being told "I don't love you anymore" he becomes enraged and yells "You don't deserve William Fontaine de la Tour Dauterive!". Other relationships include Luanne's mother Leanne Platter, Kahn's mother Laoma Souphanousinphone, Reverend Karen Stroup, a woman named Charlene, and former Texas Governor, Ann Richards. He also had a brief, mostly sexual, relationship with two of his cousins' widows.