Uptight, diminutive, mustachioed, often "veddy" (though faux) British and unfailingly urbane, the Texas-born Hillerman created this classic supporting character for 1970s TV. After making an impression as arrogant 1940s radio show detective Simon Brimmer on the NBC revival of "Ellery Queen" (NBC, 1975-76), he further refined the character as the cold fish boss of Bonnie Franklin during the 1976-77 season of the long-running CBS sitcom "One Day at a Time". (He always addressed Franklin as "M S Romano".) Hillerman fared well trading sarcastic quips with Betty White in the superior but short-lived sitcom "The Betty White Show" (CBS, 1977-78). This clever spoof of the TV business revealed his mastery of the deadpan put-down as Hillerman played the estranged ex-husband and director of an Angie Dickinson-like actress in "Undercover Woman", a fictional cop show. He apotheosized the character as the long-suffering major domo Jonathan Higgins in the hugely popular detective comedy-drama "Magnum, P.I." (CBS, 1980-88).
A stage-trained veteran of numerous TV-movies and specials (sans accent), Hillerman was also a busy character player in Hollywood features throughout the 70s, notably in four films by writer-director Peter Bogdanovich: "The Last Picture Show" (1971); "What's Up, Doc?" (1972); "Paper Moon" (1973) as twins, a sheriff and a bootlegger; and "At Long Last Love" (1975) as Burt Reynolds' smooth valet. In films, Hillerman proved most convincing as small-time authority figures tinged with corruption. His other significant credits from that halcyon era include Clint Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter" (1973) as the bootmaker; Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) as Howard Johnson; Roman Polanski's "Chinatown" (1974) as Yelburton, a shady city official; and Stanley Donen's "Lucky Lady" (1975) as a feisty hood.
The young Hillerman majored in journalism at the University of Texas and did a stint in the Air Force (1953-57)--where he achieved the rank of sergeant--before moving from Texas to NYC to pursue a career in the theater. Hillerman lost his thick Southern drawl with a year of intensive speech training the American Theatre Wing (1958-59). He went on to an active 15-year stage career, eleven largely in New York and four in the Theater Club in Washington D.C. Hillerman racked up over a 100 leading roles on and off-Broadway in such plays as "Our Town", "Death of a Salesman", "The Lion in Winter", "The Little Foxes" and "The Seven Year Itch". One early stage role was playing a spear-carrier in a production of "Othello" where he met Bogdanovich. Years later, the young writer-director would cast Hillerman in the landmark drama "The Last Picture Show", his film acting debut.
Hollywood proved a hospitable home for the actor. Hillerman segued between features and TV through the mid-70s before concentrating on the small screen where he made more than one hundred appearances. He struck paydirt as Jonathan Higgins, the repressed and paternalistic foil to the boyishly laid-back Tom Selleck. The role brought Hillerman wealth, international fame, a 1986/87 Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe that same year.