Actor Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by neighbor Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez following a longstanding feud.
SAN ANTONIO — Many questions remain after the shocking death of actor Jonathan Joss Sunday night at a home on the south side.
The 59-year-old actor, who is legally known as Jonathan Joss Gonzales, was shot to death outside his family’s home on Dorsey Street, which burned down in a fire back in January. His neighbor, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 59, is facing a murder charge in his death.
Other neighbors had known the two to be in a longstanding fued. Witnesses said they often faced off with weapons and gunshots were heard from both men’s houses in the evenings. The men’s confrontations had never turned into actual violence until Sunday.
Joss was born and raised in San Antonio and attended McCollum High School. He attended San Antonio College and eventually graduated from Our Lady of the Lake University with a degree in theater and speech.
His acting career led to his iconic roles in ‘King of the Hill” as John Red Corn and “Parks and Recreation” as Chief Ken Hotate. He also appeared in roles in Tulsa Kings and the Magnificent Seven.
FOX recently announced a revival of King of the Hill that catches up with the characters more than 15 years after the show ended in 2009. Video from an audience member at a panel discussion at ATX Film Festival about the revival shows Joss getting up to speak from the audience and express dissapointment that he was not invited to participate in the panel. He was escorted out by security after his remarks.
Show runner Mike Judge said at the event that Joss was returning for the revival to provide the voice of John Red Corn.
Saturday, a day before his death, Joss posted a video to his Instagram page from an autograph signing at Tribe Comics and Games in Austin where he discusses recording lines for the new revival series. That post has turned into a condolence post with hundreds of comments from fans expressing sadness for the actor’s death.
He also appeared on Rogue Media Networks podcast “BWAA: A King of the Hill podcast” a few days earlier. The network posted condolences to the actor as well, saying “He was very kind and grateful to us and I want to remember him that way.”
Joss’ husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, stated in a Facebook post that he believed the motivation for the shooting was homophobia. He said the couple over the years had endured homophobic slurs and attacks. He said in the statement that on Sunday, he and Joss were checking mail at the burned out house and were attacked by the suspect, who yelled homophobic slurs before firing shots at them. The statement also says Joss pushed his husband out of the way and saved his life.
Some of the King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation costars posted condolences to the late actor.
Chris Pratt posted on his Instagram stories, “Damn. RIP Jonathan. Always such a kind dude. He played Ken Hotate in Parks and was also in Mag 7 [The Magnificent Seven]. Sad to see. Prayers up. Hug your loved ones.”
King of the Hill actor Toby Huss, who voiced both Kahn and Cotton on the show, wrote on his Instagram Stories: “RIP old friend. Godspeed.”