Magnum Mania!

The Elmo Ziller Story

Episode ID: 39
Episode Number: 2.21
Air Date: 3/25/1982
Writer: Robert Hamilton
Director: Mike Vejar
Producers: Rick Weaver, Andrew Schneider
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Recurring Characters

Glenn Cannon (Doc Ibold)

Guest Stars

Robin Dearden (Lexi Ziller), Barbara Rhoades (Marcella Ziller), Med Flory (Texan #1), John Dennis Johnston (Texan #2), Gillian Dobb (Sylvia)

Plot Outline

Magnum meets Higgins' illegitimate half-brother, a swaggering Texan named Elmo Ziller, who was supposedly murdered. Now, Ziller's daughter asks Magnum to protect her father from ruthless killers, while Ziller asks Magnum to prove that his wife is trying to murder him. Meanwhile, Magnum can't help thinking that Higgins and Elmo are one and the same.

Rating

8.5 (13 votes) MM Episode Forum Thread & Poll

Notes

1 This is the first "Higgins-centric" episode of the series.

2 John Hillerman plays Texas cowboy Elmo Ziller, one of Higgins's illegitimate half-brothers. He will play two more half-brothers in future episodes, Fr. Patty McGuiness in "Faith and Begorrah" (3.23) and Don Luis Mangueo in "Who is Don Luis Higgins?" (6.19). He will also play his own father, Albert Stanley Higgins, in "Deja Vu (2)" (6.2).

3 Higgins met Elmo only once before, on June 6th, 1944 at Omaha Beach! Higgins' first words were, "Get down you bloody fool!". (Noted by Anouk Honore)

4 Rick and T.C. memorably have to dress up as clowns in this story (a shot of Rick as a clown, dodging a raging bull, was used on the 3rd, 4th and 5th season opening credits). Rick looks like some sort of "Rasta-Clown", while T.C. looks positively frightening as a "Psycho-Clown"!

5 The rodeo scenes were filmed at a real working corral in Waimanalo, literally just across the street from the Anderson Estate (aka Robin's Nest).

6 Gillian Dobb has a small role in this episode as hotel desk clerk Sylvia. She would go on to play the reoccurring character of Agatha Chumley, starting with "Black on White" (3.6).

7 Robin Dearden (Lexi Ziller) previously guest starred in Season One's "No Need to Know" (1.5).

Quotes

1
(Magnum is determined to find out if Elmo is really Higgins or not)
Elmo: What the hell are you trying to pull?
Magnum: I wanna pull your mustache!
Elmo: You wanna what?!

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