Did John Hillerman model Higgin's accent after Prince Charles?

[MagnumsGMTMaster]

I dunno, but when I heard Prince Charles make a statement after the death of his father Prince Philip, I had a flashback to Higgins making a speech. It just seemed like the same accent and even something his character would say in a similar situation. Did he model his British accent after the royal? Or was it coincidental? I've never thought Higgins sounded like the average Brit I've ever spoken to or heard speak.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I always heard that he modeled it after Laurence Olivier. It's a pretty standard British accent.

[waverly2211]

Hillerman had a voice coach early in his career, Fanny Bradshaw, who encouraged him to listen to Laurance Olivier to cut through his Texan drawl/accent.

During his stint as Simon Brimmer on Ellery Queen he was asked to alter his voice again, Hillerman apparently again relied on listening to Olivier. The EQ production initially wanted to the character to be of English decent and somewhat snobbish, but later decided against it. But in any case, Hillerman still left a bit of it in his character. When he got a call to read for the character Hillerman summoned up what he though Higgins should be, an English Snob, and with the accent he worked on and his experience on EQ, he was the one for the character.

[Pahonu]

Hillerman had a voice coach early in his career, Fanny Bradshaw, who encouraged him to listen to Laurance Olivier to cut through his Texan drawl/accent.

During his stint as Simon Brimmer on Ellery Queen he was asked to alter his voice again, Hillerman apparently again relied on listening to Olivier. The EQ production initially wanted to the character to be of English decent and somewhat snobbish, but later decided against it. But in any case, Hillerman still left a bit of it in his character. When he got a call to read for the character Hillerman summoned up what he though Higgins should be, an English Snob, and with the accent he worked on and his experience on EQ, he was the one for the character.

That’s really interesting information, thanks! I watched the Ellery Queen series during quarantine. It’s enjoyable, but JH is in less than half of them, unfortunately. He makes the episodes he’s in even more fun to watch, though he’s constantly wrong with his solutions to the cases.

Olivier and other British actors, BBC announcers, etc... use RP or Received Pronunciation, unless called on to do otherwise. It’s considered fairly neutral in the UK and sometimes is called the queen’s English. The US has an equivalent for broadcasting called GA or General American. Hillerman sounds pretty close with his accent, though some of the word choices have been less authentic, according to some native speakers on the forum.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Hillerman had a voice coach early in his career, Fanny Bradshaw, who encouraged him to listen to Laurance Olivier to cut through his Texan drawl/accent.

During his stint as Simon Brimmer on Ellery Queen he was asked to alter his voice again, Hillerman apparently again relied on listening to Olivier. The EQ production initially wanted to the character to be of English decent and somewhat snobbish, but later decided against it. But in any case, Hillerman still left a bit of it in his character. When he got a call to read for the character Hillerman summoned up what he though Higgins should be, an English Snob, and with the accent he worked on and his experience on EQ, he was the one for the character.

Simon Brimmer is one of my favorite TV characters ever. So when Magnum PI was announced for the new fall schedule I was looking forward to it because of Hillerman's "Simon Brimmer" and Tom Selleck's
2 turns on The Rockford Files.

[K Hale]

Hillerman had a voice coach early in his career, Fanny Bradshaw, who encouraged him to listen to Laurance Olivier to cut through his Texan drawl/accent.

During his stint as Simon Brimmer on Ellery Queen he was asked to alter his voice again, Hillerman apparently again relied on listening to Olivier. The EQ production initially wanted to the character to be of English decent and somewhat snobbish, but later decided against it. But in any case, Hillerman still left a bit of it in his character. When he got a call to read for the character Hillerman summoned up what he though Higgins should be, an English Snob, and with the accent he worked on and his experience on EQ, he was the one for the character.

That’s really interesting information, thanks! I watched the Ellery Queen series during quarantine. It’s enjoyable, but JH is in less than half of them, unfortunately. He makes the episodes he’s in even more fun to watch, though he’s constantly wrong with his solutions to the cases.

Olivier and other British actors, BBC announcers, etc... use RP or Received Pronunciation, unless called on to do otherwise. It’s considered fairly neutral in the UK and sometimes is called the queen’s English. The US has an equivalent for broadcasting called GA or General American. Hillerman sounds pretty close with his accent, though some of the word choices have been less authentic, according to some native speakers on the forum.

As they should be, for an Englishman who’s lived in the US for many years. Expats always pick up native terms. I was born in Texas but lived in California most of my life until moving back to Texas in 1999. Within a few years I found myself using terms like “I’m fixing to do that” and the like, without even thinking about it. Immersion in a different dialect will do that to you. Same concept as immersion in a foreign language. One begins unconsciously thinking in that language.

[K Hale]

Also: I LOVED Simon Brimmer and thought he could’ve carried his own show. He was far more entertaining than Ellery.

[Pahonu]

Also: I LOVED Simon Brimmer and thought he could’ve carried his own show. He was far more entertaining than Ellery.

He was definitely more entertaining than Ellery. Even Inspector Queen seemed to have more character. There is the slight problem with Brimmer getting the solutions wrong. Did he ever get one right? It seems like in one episode he and Ellery worked together to find the solution rather than competing. I could be totally wrong as I only watched them once through.

[K Hale]

Also: I LOVED Simon Brimmer and thought he could’ve carried his own show. He was far more entertaining than Ellery.

He was definitely more entertaining than Ellery. Even Inspector Queen seemed to have more character. There is the slight problem with Brimmer getting the solutions wrong. Did he ever get one right? It seems like in one episode he and Ellery worked together to find the solution rather than competing. I could be totally wrong as I only watched them once through.

Yes, there was one where they teamed up. I think it was the one that had Betty White in it and she wound up being the killer. Simon, of course, suspected someone else. He was very thorough and logical and was always within a hairsbreadth of getting it right but would always overlook some vital clue that Ellery would point out to everyone at the very end.

I would really have enjoyed a show with Simon and Inspector Queen!

[waverly2211]

Also: I LOVED Simon Brimmer and thought he could’ve carried his own show. He was far more entertaining than Ellery.

He was definitely more entertaining than Ellery. Even Inspector Queen seemed to have more character. There is the slight problem with Brimmer getting the solutions wrong. Did he ever get one right? It seems like in one episode he and Ellery worked together to find the solution rather than competing. I could be totally wrong as I only watched them once through.

Yes, there was one where they teamed up. I think it was the one that had Betty White in it and she wound up being the killer. Simon, of course, suspected someone else. He was very thorough and logical and was always within a hairsbreadth of getting it right but would always overlook some vital clue that Ellery would point out to everyone at the very end.

I would really have enjoyed a show with Simon and Inspector Queen!

Jim Hutton who played Ellery Queen was becoming more difficult on set during the first season. With ho-hum ratings, but a solid following, Hutton was reluctantly offered a contract for a 2nd and 3rd season. Unfortunately Hutton was already starting to suffer Cirrhosis due to his heavy alcohol drinking and rejected the offer. The revamped show would have started with a season premiere where Queen’s father is retiring but has decided to look into an old case that has eluded him for “Years”. With interference from Brimmer and Flannagan a reluctant Ellery tags along with his father and after 2 false solutions, one by Flannagan and the 2nd by Brimmer, Ellery solves the case.

With Inspector Queen’s retirement the show would have had Ellery more at odds with the police and more appearances by popular characters Simon Brimmer and Frank Flannagan. Had Hutton accepted there was a good chance that John Hillerman would have never auditioned for Magnum, P.I.

The creators of the show, even with not so hot ratings, felt the premise of an author being an amateur sleuth was a hit so they reworked the show and 8 years later pitched a show called Murder, She Wrote.

[Pahonu]

Very interesting information, thanks!

[MikeS]

Speaking of Ellery Queen, here's the 8 episodes with John Hillerman... I haven't watched em all so the uploader may have gotten mixed up on a few

<> Ellery Queen: 8 episodes w/ John Hillerman <>
S01E00: Too Many Suspects - https://www.bitchute.com/video/sbQFIo3ug4zl/
S01E02: The Adventure of the Lover's Leap - https://www.bitchute.com/video/0C9AEIhYT8c8/
S01E06: The Adventure of Miss Aggie's Farewell Performance - https://www.bitchute.com/video/k3Skg1r7Dzsp/
S01E09: The Adventure of Veronica's Veils - https://www.bitchute.com/video/OAfyX34Y8Rj9/
S01E10: The Adventure of the Pharaoh's Curse - https://www.bitchute.com/video/33zEiFXkPWrV/
S01E12: The Adventure of the Black Falcon - https://www.bitchute.com/video/o8g6XJQmEuBB/
S01E18: The Adventure of the Two-Faced Woman - https://www.bitchute.com/video/Czoq5BUL5ZkN/
S01E19: The Adventure of the Tyrant of Tin Pan Alley - https://www.bitchute.com/video/POtNjeAuCzaT/

I think the uploader posted all 22 or 23 episodes, man I can't believe the show went as far back as 1975 - time is flyin' by.

[emenius]

When I first watched Magnum P.I. I thought John Hillerman was English. I thought he was great at accents since he could do a Texas accent well. I didn't know until later that is was the other way around. LOL.

Ed