John Hillerman

John Hillerman
Hillerman and Betty White, 1977.
Born	John Benedict Hillerman (1932-12-20) December 20, 1932 Denison, Texas, USA

John Benedict Hillerman (born December 20, 1932) is an American actor, known for his starring role on the television show Magnum, P.I.

Early life

Hillerman was born in Denison, Texas, the son of German Americans Lenora Joan (née Medlinger) and Christopher Benedict Hillerman, a gas station owner. His father was the grandson of immigrants from Germany and France. His mother was the daughter of immigrants from Austria and Germany. Young Hillerman grew up in Denison and attended St. Xavier's Academy. After graduation, he attended the University of Texas at Austin for three years where he majored in journalism. In 1953, he joined the United States Air Force, serving for four years and achieving the rank of Sergeant. During his years of military service, he worked with various theatrical groups, and upon his discharge he moved to New York City to study at the American Theatre Wing. In 1957, he began his career in professional theater as the resident juvenile at Chautauqua Playhouse in Middleton, Ohio.

Career

Hillerman appeared on Broadway in 1959 and worked in live performances in a variety of venues before making his motion picture debut in 1970. He had roles in such noteworthy films as The Last Picture Show (1971), What's Up, Doc? (1972), High Plains Drifter (1973), Paper Moon (1973), Blazing Saddles (1974), and Chinatown (1974). His other roles include Lucky Lady (1975), and a small appearance in the comedy film Up the Creek (1984).

In 1975, he was a co-star in Ellery Queen as Simon Brimmer, a radio detective who hosted a live radio show and tried to outsmart Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton). From 1976 to 1980, he had a recurring role as Mr. Conners on the television series One Day at a Time, and he co-starred as Betty White's ex-husband on the short-lived The Betty White Show in 1977.

He is probably best remembered for his role as former British Army Sergeant Major Jonathan Quayle Higgins III ("Higgins") on the television series Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988). The English accent that Hillerman used as Higgins in Magnum P.I. and in other roles is not natural. Hailing from Texas, Hillerman had to learn this accent, which he developed by watching and listening to the performances of Laurence Olivier.

In 1982 John Hillerman played in the T.V. pilot of Tales of the Gold Monkey, where he played a German villain by the name of "Fritz the Monocle".

In 1984, he hosted the David Hemmings directed puzzle video Money Hunt: The Mystery of the Missing Link. In 1990, Hillerman returned to television to perform for one season as Lloyd Hogan in the series The Hogan Family. That same year, Hillerman portrayed Dr. Watson to Edward Woodward's Sherlock Holmes in Hands of a Murderer.

In 1993, he appeared in Berlin Break for one season. He played the role of Mac Mackenzie, a former spy and currently the proprietor of "Mac's", a bar in West Berlin considered to be neutral territory during the Cold War. He teamed up with two jobless spies as investigators: Valentin Renko (Nicholas Clay), an ex-KGB agent, and Willy Richter (Kai Wulff), an ex-BND (West German secret service) operative. The show also featured Jeff MacKay (who played "Mac" MacReynolds in Magnum P.I.).

Hillerman retired in 2009, and now resides in his home state of Texas.

Awards and nominations

• Hillerman was nominated for the Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1988 for his role in Magnum, P.I. He won the award in 1982.

• Hillerman was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 for his role in Magnum, P.I. He won the award in 1987.

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	They Call Me MISTER Tibbs	Reporter	Uncredited
1971	Lawman	Tots
1971	Sweet, Sweet Rachel	Medical Examiner
1971	The Last Picture Show	Teacher
1972	What's Up, Doc?	Hotel Manager
1972	The Carey Treatment	Jenkins
1972	The Great Man's Whiskers	Major Underwood
1972	Skyjacked	Walter Brandt
1972	The Sixth Sense	Adrian Weems	Episode: "Once Upon a Chilling"
1972	The Outside Man	Manager
1972	Mannix	Larry Lawton	Episode: "Light and Shadow"
1973	The Thief Who Came to Dinner	Edmund Lasker
1973	High Plains Drifter	Bootmaker
1973	The Naked Ape	Psychiatrist
1973	Mannix	J. H. Morell	Episode: "Silent Target"
1974	Maude	Drunk	Episode: "The Commuter Station"
1974	Blazing Saddles	Howard Johnson
1974	Kojak	Mark Gallant	Episode: "The Only Way Out"
1974	The Nickel Ride	Carl
1974	Chinatown	Yelburton
1974	The Law	Thomas Rachel
1975	At Long Last Love	Rodney James
1975	Mannix	Norman Thompson	Episode: "Search for a Dead Man"
1975	The Day of the Locust	Ned Grote
1975	The Bob Crane Show	Dean Harrington	Episode: "The Son of the Campus Capers"
1975	Lucky Lady	McTeague
1975-1976	Ellery Queen	Simon Brimmer	8 episodes
1976	Serpico	Raoul Christie	Episode: "Rapid Fire"
1976	Hawaii Five-O	Donald Blair	Episode: "Man on Fire"
1976	Wonder Woman	Conrad Steigler	Episode: "Wonder Woman vs Gargantua"
1976-1980	One Day at a Time	Mr. Connors	6 episodes
1977	Delvecchio	Dr. Augustus Hamilton	Episode: "Licensed to Kill"
1977	Audrey Rose	Scott
1977-1978	The Betty White Show	John Elliott	14 episodes
1978	Hawaii Five-O	Nelson Bodine	Episode: "A Stranger in His Grave"
1978	Little House on the Prairie	Sterling Murdock	Episode: "Harriet's Happening"
1979	Sunburn	Webb
1979	The Love Boat	Ed Hartnett	2 episodes
1980	Soap	Minister	Episode: "3.12"
1980	Young Maverick	McBurney	Episode: "Makin' Tracks"
1980	Hart to Hart	Victor Sutter	Episode: "Cruise At Your Own Risk"
1980	Tenspeed and Brown Shoe	William Whitney	Episode: "Diamonds Aren't Forever"
1980	Lou Grant	Sturbridge	Episode: "Pack"
1980-1988	Magnum, P.I.	Higgins	158 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film (1983, 1985, 1987-1988) Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (1984-1986)
1982	Tales of the Gold Monkey	Monocle	2 episodes
1982	Simon & Simon	Johnathan Higgins	Episode: "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend"
1983	The Love Boat	Manfred	Episode: "The Last Case"
1984	Up the Creek	Dean Burch
1986	Murder, She Wrote	Higgins	Episode: "Magnum on Ice"
1989	Around the World in 80 Days	Sir Francis Commarty	3 episodes
1990	Hands of a Murderer	Dr. John Watson
1990-1991	Valerie	Lloyd Hogan	13 episodes
1992	Murder, She Wrote	Edgar Greenstreet	Episode: "Murder on Madison Avenue"
1996	A Very Brady Sequel	Dr. Whitehead

External links

• John Hillerman at IMDb
• John Hillerman at the Internet Broadway Database