Biography
John Hillerman was an American actor. Born in Denison, Texas, he studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and served in the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1957. After discharge he moved to New York, where he trained at the American Theatre Wing and worked in theatre for twelve years before relocating to Hollywood in 1969.
His film roles included the English teacher in The Last Picture Show (1971), Howard Johnson in Blazing Saddles (1974) and Russ Yelburton in Chinatown (1974). He was best known for playing Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on the television series Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988). For the role he received five Golden Globe nominations, winning in 1981, and four Emmy nominations, winning in 1987. He retired from acting in 1999.
