Dale Horvath was a main character in the first 2 seasons of the AMC's The Walking Dead. He was a member of the surviving Atlanta group first led by Shane Walsh and then his best friend Rick Grimes. Dale primarily acted as a voice of reason and a moral compass for the group.
He was portrayed by Jeffrey Demunn.
History[]
Dale appears in the series pilot when Rick tries to contact the survivor camp. He is also seen on several occasions watching over around on the roof of his RV. After Rick takes charge of the group following his return, Dale witnesses Shane pointing his gun at him. At the CDC, he comforts Andrea who is in mourning over the death of her sister Amy and he tells her that it is necessary to make a fresh start. When the lab is about to explode, Dale convinces Andrea to leave with the others.
In season 2, tensions between him and Shane rise and he quickly realizes that the latter sacrificed Otis during their mission to recover the meds and save Carl. He intervenes by hiding the weapons in the forest and points his rifle at Shane to prevent him from taking them. However, he cannot bring himself to shoot and reluctantly gives the guns, and Shane kills all of the Walkers in the barn at Hershel's farm. When Rick brings Randall Culver back to the farm, the group must decide his fate. Dale is the only one who wants to spare him and tries in vain to dissuade the others from executing him. Going outside at night, he notices a wildly mutilated cow and is attacked by the Walker that Carl had teased earlier. Dale is then disembowelled to death and the group can only watch him suffer. It is finally Daryl who kills him with a bullet in the head to avoid his resuscitation in Walker.