Biography
Natty, mellifluous character actor John Hillerman may have spoken on screen with a pure Mayfair accent, but he hailed from Denison, Texas. Hillerman first gained notice for his fleeting appearances in the films of
Peter Bogdanovich:
The Last Picture Show (1971),
What's Up Doc (1973),
At Long Last Love (1975). He was also a semi-regular for director
Mel Brooks, prominently cast in
Blazing Saddles (1975) and History of the World, Part I (1981). A veteran of dozens of television series, John Hillerman was cast as the insufferable criminologist Simon Brimmer on
Ellery Queen (1975), the star's director (and ex-husband) in
The Betty White Show (1975), and most memorably as the ultra-correct Jonathan Quayle Higgins II, major domo to never-seen mystery writer Robin Masters, on Magnum PI (1980-88). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide