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Hillerman

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RIP John Hillerman:

The New York Times reports that John Hillerman, who played Higgins, the by-the-books thorn in Thomas Magnum’s (Tom Selleck) side in Magnum P.I., died on Thursday. He was 84. Hillerman, who retired from acting about 17 years ago, had a long career in Hollywood that began with roles in sitcoms in the 1970s. His TV credits included One Day At a Time, The Love Boat, Murder She Wrote, and The Betty White Show, and he appeared in films such as The Last Picture Show and Blazing Saddles. He is best remembered, however, for playing the aforementioned uptight Jonathan Quail Higgins III, the role that would earn him both an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor. Though his famous character may have had a British accent, Hillerman was born in Denison, Texas and returned to his home state after retiring. He died in his Houston home.

Yes, folks; there was a time in the history of American television when American actors were hired to play characters with British accents. I know it sounds shocking, but it is, in fact, true.

I watched the entire first run of Magnum P.I. when I was a kid. When I got to college and started working at the Instructional Media Center, I met a scurrilous rogue by the name of Erik Loomis. Eventually, along with an assorted crew of miscreants, we watched the entire run of Magnum on daytime cable. Even though the oldest episodes of Magnum were only about 15 when we started re-watching, the series felt very dated to me, more dated, for example, than the Sopranos is today. I suspect that this may be an artifact of who we were at the time; I watched Magnum the first time as a pre-teen to teen, and the second time as an emotionally immature adult. FWIW, if you rewatch today it does feel dated in a lot of ways, but the production is strong and most of the performances (especially Hillerman, who was consistently outstanding) have aged well.

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