JOHN HILLERMAN

The late John Hillerman, who died recently at 84, was a fascinating actor. Born and raised in Texas, he developed a very convincing plummy British accent. He used it in several TV shows, including Simon & Simon, Murder She Wrote, and especially Magnum P.I. He was so believable as the rather annoying “Jonathan Higgins”  that a British Lord wrote to him, calling him “a credit to the Empire”! 
He is one of those actors you can’t quite recall until you see him. Then most people immediately recognize him.  As far as I can tell, he worked until 1996 and I don’t know why he stopped. Until then, he worked steadily in TV and the movies. His filmography is pretty much limited to character parts, but he landed in some very fine films.
In  The Last Picture Show (1971) he has a minor role as a teacher. This classic film was directed by Peter Bogdanovich from a screenplay by Larry McMurtry. It features Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybil Shepard, Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman. It is the story of a small, dusty Texas town where growing up is hard and growing old is harder. 
What’s Up Doc? (1972) is a terrifically funny, and complicated, film with Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars and Michael Murphy. The plot is about four identical plaid overnight bags which, of course, get to the wrong owners with hilarious results. The story is just too complex to do it justice here, but trust me, it all works out somehow. John Hillerman has a minor role as a hotel manager. Also with a minor role is novelist Phillip Roth. Don’t blink for either of these parts or you’ll miss them. 
High Plains Drifter (1973) is one of a series of “spaghetti westerns” starring Clint Eastwood, who also directed this one. They’re all good, but this is maybe the best one. John Hillerman briefly appears as a bootmaker.
Blazing Saddles (1974) is simply one of the funniest movies ever made. Written and directed by the unmatchable Mel Brooks, it is the story of a small western town in the grip of bad guys. The townspeople hire a black sheriff (Cleavon Little) and a gunslinger (Gene Wilder) to get rid of the baddies. It also features Harvey Korman (as Hedley, not Heddy, Lamarr), Alex Karras, and Madeline Kahn. John Hillerman is on board as Howard Johnson. There is a joke every 10 seconds. This is one of my personal favorites!
Chinatown (1974) is a terrific thriller with Jack Nicholson as a pesky private eye and Faye Dunaway as a woman with terrible secrets. Directed by Roman Polanski, it was nominated for eleven Oscars, but won only for screenplay (Robert Towne). The precious commodity getting people killed is one that is still in play in that area- water. 
John Hillerman plays Russ Yelburton, assistant head of the water department and a thoroughly corrupt guy. 
Mr. Hillerman’s last appearance in a film of any note is as Ned Grote in the frankly mediocre Day Of The Locust (1975).
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. These are adult films.