"Porky's Butthole" (found voicemail to Mike Judge; mid-1990s)

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The voicemail notably inspired the voice for King of the Hill character Boomhauer.

Status: Found

Date found: 02 Jul 2022

Found by: ish

Sometime during the mid-1990s, Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge received an unusual voicemail from someone with a deep country accent. The caller was supposedly complaining about the show and its constant commercial interruptions, though referred to it as "Porky's Butthole". Finding the voicemail near-incomprehensible yet hilarious at the same time, Judge would harness it for the voice of King of the Hill character Boomhauer. A highly sought-after piece of King of the Hill lost media, the Porky's Butthole voicemail mysteriously leaked online on 2nd July 2022, with further analysis indicating the caller was actually referring to Looney Tunes.

Background

Prior to King of the Hill's creation, Mike Judge was riding high with Beavis and Butt-Head, which originally ran for eight seasons on the MTV Network from 1993 to 1997.[1] While it proved a highly popular adult cartoon show, it was no stranger to controversy over its vulgar humour and how some scenes allegedly inspired deaths by misadventure.[2][3][1] During this time period, MTV was inundated with complaint calls, including a voicemail by a man Judge described as a "deranged hillbilly".[4][5][6] Lasting about 90 seconds, the caller claimed he had continually contacted MTV for over a month to complain about the endless airings of "Porky's Butthole" and the many commercials that aired in between.[4][5][6] Frustrated the commercials prevented the show from airing on time, he threatened that if nothing was done to resolve his complaint, he would contact the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to forcibly close the channel.[5][6] An MTV receptionist, upon hearing the phrase "Porky's Butthole" be used frequently, naturally assumed the caller was referring to Beavis and Butt-Head and so transferred the voicemail over to Judge for analysis.[4]

Judge recalled that he found it extremely difficult to understand the caller thanks to his fast-talking country accent, only eventually getting the gist of the complaint by replaying the voicemail countless times.[6][4][5] He nevertheless kept the recording after finding it humorous and later found inspiration from it while creating his next adult animated show, King of the Hill.[5][4][6] Notably, Judge based his voice for the character Boomhauer on the "Porky's Butthole" voicemail; this was combined with the voice of a friend who spoke in a deep Louisiana accent when intoxicated; and an Oklahoma City resident who also spoke in a rather difficult-to-comprehend tone while providing Judge directions on the phone.[6][5][4] This established a recurring gag where Boomhauer would speak in an overly quick and almost incomprehensible manner, yet typically imparted intelligent and philosophical points.[7][6] Part of Boomhauer's rant in "Pilot" was directly obtained from the voicemail too.[8]

Recovery

Because of "Porky's Butthole"'s influence on King of the Hill, some fans were keen to have a listen to the voicemail.[9] Notably, Judge claimed in interviews that he kept the call and replayed it countless times.[5][6][4][9] Despite this, the voicemail remained publicly inaccessible for decades.[9] That was until 2nd July 2022, when it was mysteriously uploaded to YouTube by a user called ish.[10] While Judge has never confirmed the video's validity, most listeners have determined it is legitimate as the caller's rant matches up with what Judge recited in interviews for NPR, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and "The Making of King of the Hill".[10][6][4][5] To date, it remains unknown how ish obtained the recording.[10]

YouTube user shortladd3487 provided a full transcript of the voicemail and came to the conclusion that "Porky's Butthole" never actually referred to Beavis and Butt-Head.[11] Rather, the caller was aghast about the frequent airings of Looney Tunes, which at the time was being broadcast on Nickelodeon from late evenings to early mornings without any respite.[12][11] Aside from questioning why anyone would be interested in repeated airing, he was also upset by the generous time given to commercials, which caused episode start times to be delayed for five minutes later than their advertised airdates.[11][5][6] Hence, whenever he wanted to watch a particular episode, he would end up constantly seeing "Porky's Butthole".[11] This, shortladd3487 theorised, was referring to Porky Pig's famous "That's All Folks!" ending which contains a backdrop the caller was presumably describing as a butthole.[13][11] Because of this, the caller made the FCC threat to force episodes to air at the correct time.[5][11]

Judge himself noted the call began with a mention of Looney Tunes.[5] Perhaps most interestingly of all, the caller was probably attempting to contact Nickelodeon instead of MTV but was passed onto the latter because of the similarity between Butthole and Butt-Head.[11][4] Hence, Boomhauer's voice may well be an example of the Butterfly Effect, because had the complainer been more comprehensible, Judge likely would never have obtained that voicemail.[14][4]

Gallery

Videos

The "Porky's Butthole" voicemail.

Mike Judge discussing the voicemail on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

"The Making of King of the Hill" where Mike Judge detailed how the voicemail inspired Boomhauer's voice (11:54-13:04).

Boomhauer's rant in "Pilot" which utilised some of the voicemail's transcript.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Independent summarising the success and influence of Beavis and Butt-Head. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  2. ↑ Deseret News reporting on Beavis and Butt-Head's numerous critics and controversies. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  3. ↑ Ultimate Classic Rock summarising Beavis and Butt-Head's fire controversy. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Vulture listing the 25th October 2011 edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live! where Judge recited the "Porky's Butthole" voicemail. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Internet Archive summarising "The Making of King of the Hill" where Judge detailed how the "Porky's Butthole" voicemail helped inspire Boomhauer's voice. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 NPR interview where Judge discussed the other inspirations for Boomhauer's voice. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  7. ↑ CBR declaring Boomhauer as the most intelligent character in King of the Hill. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  8. ↑ The King of the Hill Quotes Page noting Boomhauer's rant in "Pilot" harnessed some dialogue from the voicemail. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 r/BeavisAndButthead discussing the-then unavailability of "Porky's Butthole". Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 r/videos discussing the public surfacing of the voicemail. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 shortladd3487 providing a transcript and explanation of the "Porky's Butthole" voicemail. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  12. ↑ Retro Junk summarising "Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon". Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  13. ↑ The Phrase Finder summarising Porky Pig's "That's All Folks!" catchphrase. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
  14. ↑ MIT Technology Review explaining the Butterfly Effect. Retrieved 15th Nov '23
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