Dale Horvath is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead and was portrayed by Jeffrey DeMunn in the American television series of the same name. The character's death in the latter half of the second season of the show marks a significant departure from the comics, where Dale survived much longer. In both media, he is shown to be the group's primary moral center.
Comic book series[]
Prior to the zombie apocalypse, Dale worked as a salesman, and was married for almost 40 years to a woman named Erma. Following their individual retirements, the two had begun to travel the world together in Dale's newly purchased RV. During the initial stages of the apocalypse, however, she was killed by walkers.
Dale is first introduced as one of the survivors located in the camp where Lori and Carl Grimes are staying, on the outskirts of Atlanta, and his RV becomes the group's camp. When Lori's husband Rick arrives there, Dale tells him he does not trust Shane Walsh, and suspects that he has designs on Lori. Rick ignores him, dismissing Dale's suspicions as superstition. Later, he saves Donna from being bitten by a walker by beheading it, and revealing that even beheading zombies does not fully kill them. Later one night during dinner, Dale reveals that, during his trip to Atlanta for safety, he had picked up the sisters Andrea and Amy. The discussion is interrupted when zombies attack the camp, which results in Amy's death. Dale comforts Andrea as she grieves. After Shane's death, Dale reveals that he knew all along that something was wrong, and that he was one of the few prior to Rick's arrival who wanted to relocate. Shane had refused and Dale only followed because Shane was "the law".
After burying Shane, the survivors set off in Dale's RV away from Atlanta, in an attempt to find somewhere safe. On the way, they run across Tyreese and his family while trying to move a car off the road for the RV to pass. The next night, Lori reveals to the camp that she is pregnant, which alarms Dale, who suspects the child may be Shane's, only to be quieted by Rick who suspects the same, but does not want to think that way at that moment. After this, they once again set off and end up at an estate that appears to be secure and safe, and spend the night. During the night, Donna stumbles upon Dale and Andrea having sex. The survivors remain on the move until Otis accidentally shoots Carl, and they end up on Hershel's farm, under the impression they are able to stay indefinitely. During their stay, Dale attempts to convince Andrea that he has accepted his wife's death and wants to devote his time to her from here on out.
After the group is forced off the farm, they discover a prison. After the group secures the prison, Dale is assigned to various tasks, from patrolling the area to working on repairing the fences. He begins to think that Andrea will not love him due to his age, but she reassures him that she will always want to be with him. Dale patches up both Andrea and Rick after minor incidents, reassuring Andrea that even if she is scarred, she will look pretty. Later, Dale begins to fear that someone else might discover the prison and try to take it from them, and begins to contemplate whether to stay, or leave; Andrea states that she will go where he goes. Dale begins to swap his old camper outfit for prison overalls like the other survivors, and assists Rick in searching blocks, eventually discovering the prison generator. Dale later begins to watch over everybody, including Allen's children, Ben and Billy, while their father is in a coma. After witnessing various dramatic situations unfold within the group, Dale forms a leadership committee with Tyreese and Hershel. The committee disempowers Rick due to his poor leadership. Dale and Andrea eventually become adoptive parents of Donna and Allen's orphaned children, twins Billy and Ben.
Eventually, Lori goes into labor. To keep the generator going, Dale and Billy set out into the car park in order to refuel the generator. During this task, Dale is bitten by a zombie and is only narrowly rescued by the arrival of the raid party, which quickly takes Dale back into the prison in order to amputate his leg so that he does not become a zombie. The leg is amputated correctly and Dale is saved.
As peace and stability return to the prison, Dale begins to suspect that Andrea is falling for Tyreese, who is closer to her age and does not have his disability. Dale's missing leg is replaced by a wooden peg, thanks to Andrea and Tyreese; after asking Tyreese to leave them be, Dale tells Andrea that she can leave him to be with Tyreese if she wants to. She assures Dale that she will always love him. Later that day, the peace ends with the arrival of the Governor and the townsmen of Woodbury. Dale and Andrea swear to protect the twins, no matter what. During the attack, Dale nurses a wounded Andrea and makes the decision to temporarily move out of the prison, accompanied by Glenn and Maggie, in order to protect Billy and Ben.
Dale, Andrea, Maggie, Glenn, Sophia and the twins relocate to Hershel's farm, where Dale intends to live out the rest of his life in peace. The arrival of three strangers - Abraham Ford, Rosita Espinosa, and Eugene Porter- prompts him to follow them in hopes of reaching Washington, DC. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes once again when Ben murders Billy, and Carl shoots Ben in retaliation. Distracted by the pain, Dale lets his guard down during a zombie attack and is bitten. He hides his wound to spare Andrea the knowledge of his impending death. When night falls, he leaves the van and disappears into the forest, only to be abducted by the mysterious Hunters. When Dale awakens, the leader, Chris, introduces himself and tells Dale that they are eating him piece by piece. However, Dale has the last laugh, as he is infected and will spread the disease to the hunters. Furious, the hunters beat him up and try to induce vomiting. They then leave Dale's unconscious body in front of Gabriel Stokes' church to use him as bait.
Dale is carried into the church by the other survivors, and is laid down in a bed. Dale explains his reason for hiding his bite to Andrea, and makes his peace with Rick, thanking him. Dale admits that while it is easy for the group to blame Rick for many of the deaths that occurred, they also have to credit him for being alive as well. Later that night, Dale passes away and Andrea shoots him in the head to prevent him from turning. Later as the survivors burn his corpse in front of the church, Rick thinks back on Dale fondly and admits that maybe Dale was the strongest of them all for holding on to his humanity until the end.
Dale's death makes a significant impact on Andrea, as she often wears Dale's hat in remembrance of him. The grief she carries leads her at one point to contemplate talking to the hat in an attempt to reach him in the afterlife, but she realizes his presence is not with her and opts against it. Her grief eventually sends her into the arms of Rick.
Television series[]
Dale (always depicted wearing a fisherman's bucket hat) had planned to spend his retirement traveling the country with his wife Irma in their RV, but she died from cancer before they were able to. Traveling on his own, he comes across Andrea and Amy during the outbreak and takes them in. Over time, he, Andrea, and Amy bond, and he finds their friendship invaluable in getting past the grief he has over Irma's death. Throughout the first season, Dale is shown to be a self-sufficient man, ever watchful of the changing dynamics among the survivors and is particularly protective of Andrea and Amy. He also provides the group with a variety of modern conveniences to make their situation more bearable.
Season 1[]
Dale first appears in the series premiere "Days Gone Bye", where he is shown with Amy in the camp of survivors outside Atlanta, hearing Rick's calls over the radio but it does not get through and Dale insists Shane try but they are unable to reach him. Lori insists they put up signs to warn people away from Atlanta to prevent them going into the city, as it is overrun, and Dale supports this but Shane rejects it.
In the episode "Guts", Dale keeps watch on the camp from the roof of his RV, and watches Carl while Lori scavenges for food, and later receives T-Dog's radio call from the rest of the group in Atlanta. In the episode "Tell It to the Frogs", Dale greets Rick and the others when they return to camp, and helps Glenn strip a car he had stolen.
In the episode "Vatos", while on lookout Dale notices Jim inexplicably digging holes on the hillside and becomes concerned, bringing Shane, Lori, and others to talk to him. Jim cannot explain why he is digging but says it was because of a dream he had. Later, the campground is attacked by walkers, and Amy is among the camp members killed. Jim then recalls his dream and why he dug the holes – to bury their dead.
In the episode "Wildfire", Daryl and Dale want to kill Jim after they learn he was bitten in the attack, but Rick stops them. Dale attempts to comfort Andrea after her sister's death by telling her how much having the two of them to take care of meant to him. Dale later witnesses Shane's temptation to kill Rick over Lori's affection but says nothing to the others. The group decides to travel to the CDC, and when Dale's RV breaks down along the way, Jim is left behind at his request.
In the episode "TS-19", they find relative stability at the CDC for a brief time before the building is revealed to be connected to a timer, which will detonate the building. Dale is willing to stay behind with Andrea and die with her when she refuses to leave, but she is convinced at the last second to save both of their lives.
Season 2[]
In the second-season premiere "What Lies Ahead", Dale is greatly concerned about Andrea's well-being following her suicide attempt, refusing to give her back her gun. At the same time, he is deeply invested in the search for Carol's daughter, Sophia, as evidenced by his lying to the group about the RV being broken (so that searching for her would be their primary focus).
In the episode "Bloodletting", Dale believes that T-Dog has contracted a blood infection from a wound he received they search for antibiotics; Daryl eventually brings some antibiotics to them that Merle had in his stash of drugs. In the episode "Save the Last One", Andrea proves to Dale that her suicidal tendencies have diminished, and he returns her gun. In the episode "Cherokee Rose", Dale and the rest of the group arrive at Hershel's farm, and set up camp there. He helps the group try to retrieve a walker from a well, but the plan backfires. In the episode "Chupacabra", Andrea confuses Daryl for a walker, and shoots and injures him despite warnings from Dale.
In the episode "Secrets", Dale's distrust of Shane begins to grow as he notices Shane's increasingly reckless behavior and dangerous influence he is putting on the group (most notably Andrea). Dale confronts Shane, but he threatens Dale.
In the episode "Pretty Much Dead Already", Dale tries to hide the group's weapons, but Shane finds him in the swamp and retrieves them despite Dale's bluff to shoot Shane. Returning to the farm with the guns, Shane opens the barn that Hershel was hiding walkers in, and gets the rest of the group to shoot all the walkers. In the episode "Nebraska", Dale keeps an eye on Shane, and warns Lori about his suspicions that Shane killed Otis.
In the episode "Triggerfinger", Dale tells Andrea that he feels Shane is dangerous but she does not believe him.
In the episode "Judge, Jury, Executioner", Dale puts his issues with Shane aside when it comes to dealing with the fate of an outsider. Despite efforts to keep the group from murdering the outsider, he is outvoted and disgusted with the group's "survival of the fittest" mindset. Rick later changes his mind and chooses to spare the boy, but Dale never lives to learn this. During the night, he paces around the farm only to be ambushed and disemboweled by a walker Carl earlier encountered. In great pain and mortally wounded, he is shot in the head by Daryl as a mercy killing - an action Dale seems to approve of, as he raises his head to Rick's gun, that Daryl took gently from Rick's hand. Rick didn't have the stomach to end Dale and submitted to Daryl's intrusion to end the suffering character played by (Jeffrey DeMunn) so Daryl shot him. Dale is buried in the episode "Better Angels" and, at his funeral, Rick vows to honor him by heeding his words, and retaining the group's humanity.