Personal life

Hillerman was born in Denison, Texas, the son of Christopher Benedict Hillerman, a gas station owner, and Lenora Joan (née Medlinger). 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 on his discharge he moved to New York City to study at the American Theatre Wing. In 1957, he began his career in professional theater.

Hillerman retired in 1999, and now resides in his home state of Texas. As of 2010, he was confined to a mobility scooter.

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), At Long Last Love (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. (1980-88). Hillerman learned to speak with the English accent of Higgins by watching and listening to performances by Laurence Olivier. He had acted as Magnum's foil and often used Higgins's catchphrase, "Oh my God!" whenever Magnum did something Hillerman's character would probably call, "Utterly ridiculous and stupid!"

In 1982 John Hillerman played in the television 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 reunited him with Jeff MacKay, who portrayed "Mac" MacReynolds in Magnum P.I..

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	They Call Me MISTER Tibbs	Reporter	Uncredited
1971	Lawman	Totts
1971	The Last Picture Show	Teacher
1972	What's Up, Doc?	Hotel Manager Kaltenborn
1972	The Carey Treatment	Jenkins
1972	Skyjacked	Walter Brandt
1972	The Outside Man	Manager
1973	The Thief Who Came to Dinner	Edmund Lasker
1973	High Plains Drifter	Bootmaker
1973	Paper Moon	Deputy Hardin/Jess Hardin
1973	The Naked Ape	Psychiatrist
1974	Blazing Saddles	Howard Johnson
1974	The Nickel Ride	Carl
1974	Chinatown	Yelburton
1975	At Long Last Love	Rodney James
1975	The Day of the Locust	Ned Grote
1975	Lucky Lady	McTeague
1977	Audrey Rose	Scott
1979	Sunburn	Webb
1981	History of the World, Part I	Rich Man (French Revolution)
1984	Up the Creek	Dean Burch
1989	Gummibärchen küßt man nicht	Padre
1996	A Very Brady Sequel	Dr. Whitehead

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Sweet, Sweet Rachel	Medical Examiner	Television film
1972	The Sixth Sense	Adrian Weems	Episode: "Once Upon a Chilling"
1972	Mannix	Larry Lawton	Episode: "Light and Shadow"
1972	The Great Man's Whiskers	Major Underwood	Television film
1973	Mannix	J. H. Morell	Episode: "Silent Target"
1974	Maude	Drunk	Episode: "The Commuter Station"
1974	Kojak	Mark Gallant	Episode: "The Only Way Out"
1974	The Law	Thomas Rachel	Television film
1975	Mannix	Norman Thompson	Episode: "Search for a Dead Man"
1975	The Bob Crane Show	Dean Harrington	Episode: "The Son of the Campus Capers"
1975-76	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"
1976-80	One Day at a Time	Mr. Connors	6 episodes
1977	Delvecchio	Dr. Augustus Hamilton	Episode: "Licensed to Kill"
1977-78	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	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"
1980-88	Magnum, P.I.	Jonathan 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 Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
1982	Tales of the Gold Monkey	Monocle	2 episodes
1982	Simon & Simon	Jonathan Higgins	Episode: "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend"
1983	The Love Boat	Manfred	Episode: "The Last Case"
1986	Murder, She Wrote	Jonathan 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	Television film
1990-91	The Hogan Family	Lloyd Hogan	13 episodes
1992	Murder, She Wrote	Edgar Greenstreet	Episode: "Murder on Madison Avenue"

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Category	Result
1982	Magnum, P.I.	Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV	Nominated
1984	Magnum, P.I.	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
1985	Magnum, P.I.	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
1986	Magnum, P.I.	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
1987	Magnum, P.I.	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]