John Benedict Hillerman (December 20, 1932 – November 9, 2017) was an American actor best known for his starring role as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on the television series Magnum, P.I.

[4][6] He became interested in acting after working with a theatrical group in Fort Worth during his service: "I was bored with barracks life.

"[4] After his 1957 discharge, he moved to New York City to study at the American Theatre Wing, and performed in professional theater for the next twelve years, in productions such as Henry IV, Part 2 and The Great God Brown.

[4] Hillerman worked steadily thereafter in motion pictures and television through the 1970s, including notable supporting roles in the 1974 films Chinatown and Blazing Saddles.

[12] In 1982, Hillerman starred in the television pilot of Tales of the Gold Monkey, as a German villain named Fritz the Monocle.

[13] He hosted the 1984 David Hemmings-directed puzzle video Money Hunt: The Mystery of the Missing Link.

[9] Mac teamed up with two jobless spies as investigators: Valentin Renko (Nicholas Clay), an ex-KGB agent, and Willy Richter (Kai Wulff), an ex-BND (West German secret service) operative.

[6] The show reunited him with Jeff MacKay, who portrayed "Mac" MacReynolds in Magnum P.I..[15] After Hillerman retired from acting in 1999, he returned to his home state of Texas.