The John Hillerman Thread

[K Hale]

I read a 1988 Honolulu newspaper article about the final episode of MPI being filmed. They interviewed a curmudgeonly old teamster driver named Jim Darcy, described as a "crusty veteran of more than three decades of film industry work in Hawaii, including Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum PI." He retired the day before the final shoot and had plenty to say about how awful the industry is, and the people in it. I won't quote most of it but just to give you an idea:

"I'm glad I'm finished because I won't miss a thing about this business. I told them don't call me back for even one more day. I'm through. I'm fed up with all the bull. ... I won't miss the egos of some actors pretending to be something they're not or will never be."

And what did he have to say about Selleck and Hillerman?

"Tom is a good man. ... And Hillerman is the greatest television personality I've ever worked with."

When even the misanthropic jerks love you, you must be a pretty terrific person in real life.

[No need to know!]

I just found a movie with Hillerman. The quality is really bad, probably an old VHS or something. But the movie actually quite good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj3ohsK9U-4

[K Hale]

I just found a movie with Hillerman. The quality is really bad, probably an old VHS or something. But the movie actually quite good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj3ohsK9U-4

That is a good one.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Caught this last night. Very funny. I used to watch "One Day at a Time" back when I was a kid but never remembered JH being in it. He played Ann Romano's boss. There's some backstory here that I haven't come across yet because he calls her "M.S. Romano" instead of "Ms. Romano."

youtu.be/OMr3YUgWxk8

Hi KHale,
On Halloween there was a Munsters Marathon on, some how Herman wakes up in a closet in a Sorority House. One of the girls there is the star of One Day at a Time, a very young Bonnie Franklin.
By the way the Bio sites online are often far from complete concerning the listing of acting credits, Hillerman probably was in lots of shows early on speaking perhaps one line, that aren't listed. I had no idea Selleck was in Midway till somebody on these boards mentioned it. Jack Nicholson was on Andy Griffith more than once, Clint Eastwood on Mister Ed, Harrison Ford in Get Smart. The all time leader in casting then unknown talent who later became big stars was Twilight Zone, which is just another example of it excelling in all parts of production. Excepting of course the episode starring Magnum alum Carol Burnett, P.U. what a stinker.

"It's been a rough day. I got up this morning and put on a shirt, the button fell off. I opened the car door, the handle fell off. I'm afraid to go to
the bathroom"...Rodney Dangerfield, Great American

[K Hale]

Hoisting a virtual can of Fresca to John Hillerman, who would have been 86 today.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Hoisting a virtual can of Fresca to John Hillerman, who would have been 86 today.

Hi KHale,
I'll drink to that, Happy Birthday Mister Hillerman, a very fine actor. By the way, do you or anybody else out there know if he suffered from some serious malady? He looks almost frail sometimes when called upon to do anything remotely physical.

Maynard G. Krebs: Your a Great American, Dobe.
Dobie Gillis: It's a good thing the Russians don't have my brain.

[K Hale]

You mean before he retired from acting? No, he just wasn’t athletic. There’s a lot of us out there.

[KingKC]

You mean before he retired from acting? No, he just wasn’t athletic. There’s a lot of us out there.

And some of us who were athletic in our younger years are now broken down thanks to all those athletic injuries!!!...lol

[K Hale]

I saw an interview with him from the '80s and he mentioned that he had never been into sports, even as a kid. The interviewer said something like "Well, Hawaii is a great place for outdoor activities. The sun and the great weather. Isn't there anything you like to do outdoors?" and he said sometimes he would go out on the lanai and have a drink.

[rgholmes]

"Well, Hawaii is a great place for outdoor activities. The sun and the great weather. Isn't there anything you like to do outdoors?" and he said sometimes he would go out on the lanai and have a drink.

I was looking for places to live on Oahu because of all the snow here today in Maryland. I wondered where John Hillerman's penthouse was and found this article.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/2824 ... -for-sale/

It mentions that he lived in the penthouse on Ala Moana after Wilt Chamberlain. The article is from 2015, but a search on Zillow revealed it is back on the market for $655,000.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/8 ... ect/14_zm/

Regards,
Gary

[K Hale]

"Well, Hawaii is a great place for outdoor activities. The sun and the great weather. Isn't there anything you like to do outdoors?" and he said sometimes he would go out on the lanai and have a drink.

I was looking for places to live on Oahu because of all the snow here today in Maryland. I wondered where John Hillerman's penthouse was and found this article.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/2824 ... -for-sale/

It mentions that he lived in the penthouse on Ala Moana after Wilt Chamberlain. The article is from 2015, but a search on Zillow revealed it is back on the market for $655,000.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/8 ... ect/14_zm/

Regards,
Gary

That seems like a very good price for Oahu.

It says it was remodeled in 2013. I wonder if it had the Jacuzzi in the master bath when he lived there. Somehow I would expect he got a kick out of it if it did.

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

The idea of Higgy baby living in Wilt's penthouse cracks me up. LOL!

[wes]

I’m not sure if this was posted in the past but while watching “The Last Picture Show” I spotted John Hillerman in it as a teacher. This looks like it was his 3rd role according to IMDB

[K Hale]

I’m not sure if this was posted in the past but while watching “The Last Picture Show” I spotted John Hillerman in it as a teacher. This looks like it was his 3rd role according to IMDB

Peter Bogdanovich, the director, was a good friend of his and used him in a lot of his early film roles.

[K Hale]

Blast from the past: 1974 episode of Kojak with John Hillerman guest starring as (per usual) the villain! He plays a lawyer setting up a guy to be killed. Pretty good!

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x28e0vo