Anthony Grove Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008
) was an American author of
detective novels and nonfiction works, best known for his mystery novels featuring
Navajo Nation Police officers
Joe Leaphorn and
Jim Chee
Jim Chee is one of two Navajo Tribal Police detectives in a series of Mystery fiction, mystery novels by Tony Hillerman. Unlike his superior Joe Leaphorn, the "Legendary Lieutenant", Chee is a staunch believer in traditional Navajo culture; indeed ...
. Several of his works have been adapted for film and television, including the
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
series ''
Dark Winds''.
Biography
Early life and family
Tony Hillerman was born in
Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, to August Alfred Hillerman, a farmer and shopkeeper, and his wife, Lucy Grove. He was the youngest of their three children, and the second son. His paternal grandparents were born in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and his maternal grandparents were born in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. He was a first cousin once removed of actor
John Hillerman. He grew up in
Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, attending elementary and high school with
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...
children.
Jeffrey Herlihy argues that this background made possible "a significantly different portrayal of Native Americans in his writing",
in comparison to other authors of his time. "Most obviously important," Hillerman said of his childhood, "was growing up knowing that Indians are just like everybody else. You grew up without an 'us and them' attitude about other races."
World War II
Hillerman was a decorated combat veteran of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, serving from August 1943 to October 1945 as a mortarman in the
103rd Infantry Division in the
European theatre. He earned the
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...
, the
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...
with
Oak Leaf Cluster, and a
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
. He was wounded in 1945, and the injuries included broken legs, foot, and ankle, facial burns, and temporary blindness.
Education
Hillerman attended the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
after the war, meeting Marie Unzner, a student in
microbiology
Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...
. The couple wed and had one biological child and five adopted children.
He graduated in 1948 with a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
(BA) degree in journalism.
Journalism
From 1948 to 1962, he worked as a journalist, moving to
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
, in 1952.
In 1966, he moved his family to
Albuquerque, where he earned a master's degree from the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...
. During his time as a writer for the ''
Borger News-Herald'' in
Borger, Texas, he became acquainted with the sheriff of
Hutchinson County, the man upon whom he would pattern the main character in his Joe Leaphorn novels. He taught journalism from 1966 to 1987 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and also began writing novels. He lived there with his wife Marie until his death in 2008. At the time of his death, they had been married 60 years and had 10 grandchildren.
Fiction
A consistently bestselling author, he was ranked as New Mexico's 22nd-wealthiest man in 1996. He wrote 18 books in his Navajo series. He wrote more than 30 books total, among them a memoir and books about the Southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
, its beauty, and its history. His literary honors were awarded for his Navajo books. Hillerman's books have been translated into eight languages, among them Danish and Japanese.
Hillerman's writing is noted for the cultural details he provides about his subjects: Hopi
The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...
, Zuni, European settlers, federal agents, and especially the Navajo Nation Police. His works in nonfiction and in fiction reflect his appreciation of the natural wonders of the American Southwest and his appreciation of its indigenous people, particularly the Navajo
The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language.
The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...
. His mystery novels are set in the Four Corners area of New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
and Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, sometimes reaching into Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
and Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, with occasional forays to the big cities of Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and New York City. The protagonists are Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee
Jim Chee is one of two Navajo Tribal Police detectives in a series of Mystery fiction, mystery novels by Tony Hillerman. Unlike his superior Joe Leaphorn, the "Legendary Lieutenant", Chee is a staunch believer in traditional Navajo culture; indeed ...
of the Navajo Nation Police. Lt. Leaphorn was introduced in Hillerman's first novel, '' The Blessing Way'' (1970). Sgt. Jim Chee was introduced in the fourth novel, ''People of Darkness
''People of Darkness'' is a crime fiction, crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the fourth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1980. It is the first novel in the series to feature Officer Jim Ch ...
'' (1980). The two first work together in the seventh novel, '' Skinwalkers'' (1986), considered his breakout novel, with a distinct increase in sales with the two police officers working together.
Hillerman repeatedly acknowledged his debt to an earlier series of mystery novels written by British-born Australian author Arthur W. Upfield and set among Australian Aborigines
Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands.
Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 years ...
in remote desert regions of tropical and subtropical Australia. The Upfield novels were first published in 1928 and featured a half-European, half-aboriginal Australian hero, Detective-Inspector Napoleon (Bony) Bonaparte. Bony worked with deep understanding of Aboriginal traditions. The character was based on the achievements of Tracker Leon, a biracial Aboriginal Australian man who worked for the Queensland Police and whom Upfield had met during his years in the Australian bush.
Hillerman discussed his debt to Upfield in many interviews and in his introduction to the posthumous 1984 reprint of Upfield's ''A Royal Abduction.'' In the introduction, he described the appeal of the descriptions in Upfield's crime novels. It was descriptions both of the harsh Outback
The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...
areas and of "the people who somehow survived upon them" that lured him. "When my own Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police unravels a mystery because he understands the ways of his people, when he reads the signs in the sandy bottom of a reservation arroyo, he is walking in the tracks Bony made 50 years ago."
He also mentioned Eric Ambler
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 23 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books ...
, Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century.
Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...
, and Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
as authors who influenced him as he wrote the Leaphorn and Chee novels.
In an interview published in ''Le Monde
(; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'', Hillerman said his Navajo name means "He who is afraid of his horse".
Death
Tony Hillerman died on October 26, 2008, of pulmonary failure in Albuquerque at the age of 83, and was interred at Santa Fe National Cemetery.
Recognition beyond the US
Hillerman's novels were popular in France. Hillerman credits that popularity both to French curiosity about other cultures and to his translator, Pierre Bondil.
Legacy and honors
Hillerman is considered one of New Mexico's foremost novelists. The Tony Hillerman Library was dedicated in Albuquerque in 2008, and the Tony Hillerman Middle School (part of Volcano Vista High School) opened in 2009. ''Dance Hall of the Dead'', published in 1973, earned Hillerman the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in 1987, a French international literary honor. Hillerman was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Literature (Litt.D.) from the University of New Mexico in 1990. He was awarded the Owen Wister Award in 2008 for "Outstanding Contributions to the American West."
Awards
Hillerman was a decorated combat veteran of World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
; he earned the Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...
, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
as a mortarman in the 103rd Infantry Division.
He won and was nominated for numerous awards for his writing and his work with other writers. His first nomination came in 1972, with his novel '' The Fly on the Wall'' being nominated for an Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...
in the "Best Mystery Novel" category. Two years later his novel '' Dance Hall of the Dead'', second book in the Leaphorn-Chee series, won the 1974 Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...
for Best Novel. He was again nominated for the "Best Mystery Novel" Edgar Award in 1979 for '' Listening Woman'' and lastly in 1989 for '' A Thief of Time''. Hillerman's non-fictional work ''Talking Mysteries'' was nominated in 1992 for the Edgar Award in the "Best Critical or Biographical" category.
In 1987, Hillerman received the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for ''Dance Hall of the Dead''. In 1991, Hillerman received the MWA's Grand Master Award. Hillerman received the Nero Award for ''Coyote Waits'' and the Navajo Tribe's Special Friends of the Dineh Award.
Hillerman has also been successful at the annual Anthony Awards
The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America.
Categori ...
. His novel '' Skinwalkers'' won the 1988 Anthony Award for "Best Novel", and in the following year ''A Thief of Time'' was nominated for the 1989 Anthony Award in the same category. His next nomination was for his ''Talking Mysteries'' non-fictional work which was nominated at the 1992 Anthony Awards. His novel '' Sacred Clowns'' received a "Best Novel" nomination at the 1994 Anthony Awards, and the following year his short-story collection ''The Mysterious West'' won the 1995 Anthony Award in the "Best Anthology/Short Story Collection" category. His last win came at the 2002 Anthony Awards at which he won the "Best Non-fiction/Critical Work" award for his memoir '' Seldom Disappointed''.
Two of the Navajo Police novels won The Spur award, given by the Western Writers of America annually. ''Skinwalkers'' won the award in 1987 for Western Novel, and '' The Shape Shifter'' won in 2007 for Best Western Short Novel.
'' Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir'' won the Agatha Award
The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short ...
in 2001.
Hillerman's novels were recognized at the Macavity Awards
The Macavity Awards, established in 1987, are a group of literary awards presented annually to mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. ...
. ''A Thief of Time'' won the "Best Novel" award in 1989, and ''Talking Mysteries'' won the "Best Critical/Biographical" award in 1992. ''Seldom Disappointed'' also received a nomination in the "Best Biographical/Critical Mystery Work" category in 2002.
He received the Parris Award in 1995 by Southwest Writer's Workshop for his outstanding service to other writers. In 2002, Hillerman received the Agatha Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement, given by Malice Domestic for mystery novels in the spirit of Agatha Christie.[
]
Bibliography
Joe Leaphorn and
Jim Chee
Jim Chee is one of two Navajo Tribal Police detectives in a series of Mystery fiction, mystery novels by Tony Hillerman. Unlike his superior Joe Leaphorn, the "Legendary Lieutenant", Chee is a staunch believer in traditional Navajo culture; indeed ...
books
The first three books feature Joe Leaphorn only (and only as a supporting secondary character in the first novel.) The next three books feature Jim Chee only. Leaphorn and Chee begin working together in the seventh novel, '' Skinwalkers''.
#'' The Blessing Way'' (1970);
#'' Dance Hall of the Dead'' (1973);
#'' Listening Woman'' (1978);
#''People of Darkness
''People of Darkness'' is a crime fiction, crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the fourth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1980. It is the first novel in the series to feature Officer Jim Ch ...
'' (1980);
#'' The Dark Wind'' (1982);
#'' The Ghostway'' (1984);
#'' Skinwalkers'' (1986);
#'' A Thief of Time'' (1988);
#'' Talking God'' (1989);
#'' Coyote Waits'' (1990);
#'' Sacred Clowns'' (1993);
#'' The Fallen Man'' (1996);
#'' The First Eagle'' (1998);
#'' Hunting Badger'' (1999);
#'' The Wailing Wind'' (2002);
#'' The Sinister Pig'' (2003);
#'' Skeleton Man'' (2004);
#'' The Shape Shifter'' (2006);
Continuation of Leaphorn and Chee series
In 2013, Hillerman's daughter Anne Hillerman published '' Spider Woman's Daughter'' (), the first new novel since 2006 featuring Hillerman's Navajo Police characters; the novel's protagonist is Jim Chee's wife, Officer Bernadette Manuelito. Leaphorn's involvement is curtailed in the first chapter of the book. Leaphorn is the victim of an assassination attempt, spends half of the book in a coma, and later was severely limited in his ability to communicate. Chee and Bernadette Manuelito are the crime solvers from that book forward in the series, with Leaphorn never fully active in the investigations (though he regains his faculties over time and consults often).
# 2013 ''Spider Woman's Daughter'' .
# 2015 ''Rock With Wings'' .
# 2017 ''Song of the Lion'' .
# 2018 ''Cave of Bones'' .
# 2019 ''The Tale Teller'' .
# 2021 ''Stargazer'' .
# 2022 ''The Sacred Bridge'' .
# 2023 ''The Way of the Bear'' .
# 2024 ''Lost Birds'' .
Three-in-one volumes
*''The Joe Leaphorn Mysteries: Three Classic Hillerman Mysteries Featuring Lt. Joe Leaphorn: The Blessing Way, Dance Hall of the Dead, Listening Woman'' (1989);
*''The Jim Chee Mysteries: Three Classic Hillerman Mysteries Featuring Officer Jim Chee: People of Darkness, The Dark Wind, The Ghostway'' (1990);
The first appearance of Jim Chee in the Leaphorn-Chee series is in ''People of Darkness''. In these three books, Joe Leaphorn is only briefly mentioned once, as "Captain Leaphorn at the Chinle substation" (''POD'', ch. 6). In the later books, where he is again prominent along with Jim Chee, he is "Lieutenant Leaphorn."
*''Leaphorn & Chee: Three Classic Mysteries Featuring Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee : Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, Talking God'' (1992), ; reprinted (2001),
*''Tony Hillerman: Three Jim Chee Mysteries: People of Darkness, The Dark Wind, The Ghostway'' (1993);
*''Tony Hillerman: The Leaphorn & Chee Novels: Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, Coyote Waits'' (2005);
*''Tony Hillerman: Leaphorn, Chee, and More: The Fallen Man, The First Eagle, Hunting Badger'' (2005);
Other novels
*'' The Fly on the Wall'' (1971)
*''The Boy Who Made Dragonfly'' (for children) (1972)
*''Buster Mesquite's Cowboy Band'' (for children) (1973)
*'' Finding Moon'' (1995)
Other books by Hillerman (memoirs and nonfiction)
*''The Great Taos Bank Robbery'' (1973);
*''The Spell of New Mexico'' (1976);
*''Indian Country'' (1987);
*''Talking Mysteries'' (with Ernie Bulow) (1991);
*''The Tony Hillerman Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to His Life and Work'' by Hillerman, Martin Greenberg (1994);
*''Canyon De Chelly'' (1998);
*'' Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir'' by Tony Hillerman (2001);
Anthologies
*''Best of the West: An Anthology of Classic Writing from the American West'' (1991);
*'' The Mysterious West'' (1995);
*''The Oxford book of American Detective Stories'' (1996);
*''Best American Mysteries of the Century'' (2000)
*''New Omnibus of Crime'' (2005);
About Hillerman, nonfiction, by others
*''The Ethnic Detective: Chester Himes, Harry Kemelman, Tony Hillerman'' by Peter Freese – including a detailed analysis of ''Listening Woman'' (1992);
*''Tony Hillerman: A Critical Companion (Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers)'' by John M. Reilly (1996);
*''Tony Hillerman: A Life'' by James McGrath Morris (2021);
*''Tony Hillerman's Indian Country Map & Guide, first edition by Time Traveler Maps'' by Tony Hillerman (1998);
*''Tony Hillerman's Navajoland: Hideouts, Haunts and Havens in the Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Mysteries'' by Laurance D. Linford, Tony Hillerman (2001);
Expanded Third Edition (2011); .
*''Tony Hillerman's Indian Country Map & Guide, second edition by Time Traveler Maps'' by Tony Hillerman (2003);
Books of photos
*''Rio Grande'', Robert Reynolds (text by Hillerman) (1975)
*''New Mexico'', photography by David Muench (text by Hillerman) (1975)
*''Indian Country: America's Sacred Land'', Bela Kalman (text by Hillerman) (1987)
*''Hillerman Country'' (1991)
*''Kilroy Was There: A GI's War in Photographs'' (2004) (with Frank Kesseler)
Adaptations
* ''The Blessing Way'' was adapted into a five-part installment of '' The Zero Hour'' syndicated radio program in 1973, hosted by Rod Serling
Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...
.
*'' The Dark Wind'' (1991) is a film adaption of ''The Dark Wind'' from the Leaphorn and Chee book series.
* ''Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries'' (2002) is a PBS miniseries that adapted '' Skinwalkers'', ''Coyote Waits'', and ''A Thief of Time'' from the Leaphorn and Chee book series.
*'' Dark Winds'' (2022) is a TV series on AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
adapted from the Leaphorn and Chee book series.
References
External links
The Tony Hillerman Portal
��An interactive guide to the author's life and work. A project of the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico Libraries
Inventory of the Tony Hillerman Papers, 1964–1996
, Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico Libraries
"Tony Hillerman's New Mexico"
''¡Colores!''. Purrington, Chris (producer) (May 11, 2004). PBS. KNME-TV.
Unofficial homepage
Obituary
in the ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillerman, Tony
1925 births
2008 deaths
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American novelists
Agatha Award winners
American male novelists
American mystery writers
American people of German descent
Anthony Award winners
Burials at Santa Fe National Cemetery
Deaths from respiratory failure
Edgar Award winners
Macavity Award winners
Nero Award winners
Novelists from Oklahoma
People from Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma
Recipients of the Silver Star
United States Army personnel of World War II
United States Army soldiers
University of New Mexico faculty
Writers from New Mexico
Writers of Native American crime fiction