American actor John Benedict Hillerman was born on 20th December 1932 in Denison, Texas and passed away on 9th November 2017. He had never married.
When he was 10 years old, John started showing interest in opera and went to Dallas to see performances there. After graduating, he went to university and majored in journalism. From 1953 to 1957, John served the US Air Force and obtained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Whilst there, he worked with a theatrical group and soon became interested in acting, so much so that he professionally performed in theatrical productions for 12 years. In spite of this, however, he was incapable of making a living and hence decided to go to Hollywood and try his luck there.
1970 marked Hillerman’s film debut in ‘They call me Mr Tibbs!’. For the rest of that decade, he constantly acted in various other movies and TV programmes like ‘Paper Moon’, ‘Chinatown’, ‘One Day at a Time’, ‘The Betty White Show’ and ‘Little House on the Prairie’.
At the beginning of the 80s, John auditioned and was chosen to act in a supporting role alongside Tom Selleck in the famous crime drama series ‘Magnun P.I.’, in which he portrayed former British Army Sergeant Major Jonathan Higgins. This programme aired for 8 years between 1980 and 1988. John once stated that his was his favourite role ever. Apart from ‘Magnum P.I,’, Hillerman starred in several other movies and series such as ‘Simon & Simon’, ‘The Love Boat’, ‘Murder, She Wrote’ and ‘Up the Creek’.
Until his retirement from acting, John continued with his profession and starred in a movie, a TV film and a couple of TV series.
During his +40-year career, Hillerman won a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe Award, both for his role in ‘Magnum P.I.’.
John passed away on 9th November 2017 from cardiovascular disease at the age of 84.
*Image: no infringement intended. Source: The Movie Database