John Benedict Hillerman (1932 - 2017)

Born 20 Dec 1932 in Denison, Grayson, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Died 9 Nov 2017 at age 84 in Houston, Harris, Texas, United States

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Biography

John Hillerman is Notable.

John Benedict Hillerman was an American actor best known for his starring role as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on the television series Magnum, P.I.

John was born on 20 Dec 1932 in Denison, Texas. His parents were Christopher Hillerman, a gas station owner, and Lenora JoAnn Medinger, who owned a beauty salon. Having developed an interest in opera at the age of 10, he traveled to Dallas to watch Metropolitan Opera productions. After attending St. Xavier's Academy, he attended three years at the University of Texas in Austin as a journalism major.

Between 1953 and 1957, he served in the United States Air Force doing maintenance in a B-36 wing of the Strategic Air Command. He obtained the rank of sergeant. When he became bored with being in the military barracks, he worked with a Fort Wayne theatrical group in order to meet the townspeople. He came to like acting.

After he was discharged in 1957, he moved to New York City to study with the American Theater Wing and perform in professional theater. He stayed in New York for twelve years, during which time he starred in over 100 lead roles, yet, since he couldn't make a living as a stage actor there, he moved to Hollywood in 1969. From 1980 to 1988, he played Jonathan Quayle Higgins III in Magnum, P.I., where he earned five Golden Globe nominations, winning in 1981, and four Emmy nominations, winning in 1987. He retired from acting in 1999.

He passed away in 2017.

Sources

See also:

• Wikipedia: John Hillerman
• Wikidata: Item Q726283, en:Wikipedia