Magnum Mania!

Tonight I will raise a toast to, "The Regiment", in your honour!

Absolutely gutted as well.

Almost like losing a family member...

Mahalo, John

My thoughts repeatedly return to Mr. Hillerman since hearing the news of his passing yesterday afternoon. Like all of us, I'm not a stranger to bad news and to loss. Yet learning of an actor's passing, of the loss of a man I didn't know at all, still got to me. I've been walking a little more slowly today. My eyes seem to drift onto my shoes. I've been wearing a frown. Higgins was never real, and still I feel a little older and little bit lost upon realizing that Higgins just isn't around anymore. That makes no sense. The shows been gone for how many years now? And Higgins was never around at all.

But Mr. Hillerman's acting sure impacted my life - during those formative years of my boyhood, when impressions I seldom recognized or understood played some small part in forming who I would become. I sit in my home office typing on this blog, surrounded by my two, old sets of Encyclopedia Britannicas, with my pair of German shepherds at my feet, with my bookcases and typewriters, and I don't have to look at my photograph of Higgins with his dobermens posted on my wall to realize how I'm trying to capture a little of that character Mr. Hillerman delivered into our lives through a glass television screen. I've been blessed to know many wonderful mentors, and thanks to Mr. Hillerman, I count a television character among them.

Mr. Selleck may have been the star of the show, but I believe Mr. Hillerman was the show's heart. Mr. Hillerman was the other half of the equation, the perfect foil to the hero, a man who could be adversary and closest friend all at the same moment. And though he was a native Texan, Mr. Hillerman carried such a bittersweet honor to the character of an old British sergeant, a man of a fading empire, who weekly watches a younger comrade of the current superpower tackle the dangers of the day. And Mr. Hillerman played the part with such ease. He tricked the audience. He let the viewers think the show was about Magnum. But I think it was as much about Higgins.

I've watched Mr. Hillerman give wonderful performances in Ellery Queen, in Chinatown and in Paper Moon. And I always grin from ear to ear if I'm watching an older show and see Mr. Hillerman make an unexpected appearance. You'd think I was cheering for that uncle in the family who makes his living in Hollywood.

Last night, it was time for "Holmes Is Where the Heart Is." Tonight, I think I'll watch "Computer Date." I wish I had a smoking jacket to wear, and a fine brandy to sip. I'd sit in front of my home's fire and raise a first toast to the regiment.

God bless you, Mr. Hillerman. You were wonderful.

Amazing reply, thank you. I, too, upon hearing of his passing, immediately watched "Holmes Is Where The Heart Is" which I feel was Mr. Hillerman's greatest performance of the entire series. Well done.

A sad day indeed but peppered with happy memories of a very fine actor's performances.
Wonderful to read such heartfelt tributes on the forum as well.

So, we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon is still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.

All great stuff! As for me, I fall asleep nearly every night watching the next Magnum episode in the series. I have for the past several years found tremendous comfort and solace in the rhythms of the show. More often than not, this special solace is derived from the mere voices of the characters. I drift off with Higgins' in mid lecture or remonstrance, a smile playing on my face. My wish tonight is that John Hillerman's final days offered him as much peace as his acting skills offered me. It is with a heavy heart that I will press play on my DVD tonight. However, I look forward to yet another visit from an old friend whom I never actually met.

For those of us in the Commonwealth, today marks Remembrance Day (our Veterans Day). As I pause to remember my grandfathers who served and the countless soldiers who gave their lives in war, I’ll pay a special tribute to John Hillerman, who brought so many stories of military conflict and adventure to life.

Coops wrote:Amazing reply, thank you. I, too, upon hearing of his passing, immediately watched "Holmes Is Where The Heart Is" which I feel was Mr. Hillerman's greatest performance of the entire series. Well done.

Hey Coops. If memory serves, don’t you live near the Hillerman Estate? Wondering if there’s any local tribute we can be a part of (like sending flowers or something).

Hi Styles... I saw this in the Honolulu Advertiser.

At his request no services will be held, Chris Tritico said.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/11/0 ... ies-at-84/

I can see Higgins in a celestial setting, reading Byron to the Anglo - Hawaiian Society Of Angels.

Thanks for all the loving and funny memories you left us with Mr Hillerman and rest in peace.

Sam wrote:Hi Styles... I saw this in the Honolulu Advertiser.

At his request no services will be held, Chris Tritico said.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/11/0 ... ies-at-84/

That’s a shame. I guess it’s normal if you’re elderly and you’ve never married or had kids. I wonder why he was alone all these years?

Damn, these last few years have been rough celebrity death-wise. One guest spot Hillerman had that I feel the need to point out is his role on Soap, he plays a minister who’s doing marriage counseling on two of the main characters and for a cast as talented as Soap’s he still manages to stand out because of how funny he is. Rest In Peace, Mr. Hillerman.

My dream of a reboot with the original cast is over forever.....

Hopefully the site bosses will update the MPI news page with something about JH's death.