Character
Higgins plays Magnum's foil. Higgins has been described as representing "the pomposity, elitism, and stuffiness of the Old Guard (literally and figuratively)". John Hillerman has stated that "Higgins in any situation thinks he's the only sane character there, and everyone else is stark raving mad".
In one episode, a Jewish rabbi recounts an encounter with a young Higgins. He describes how in 1946 Higgins refused a standing order to fire on Jewish refugees trying to reach Palestine. When asked how he could disobey, Higgins replied "I was obeying a higher law that does not permit me to shoot unarmed refugees looking for a home."
Higgins is often known for his tendencies to ramble when someone asked him a question. He usually manages to relate it usually to a story in either Korea or World War II but sometimes other events; in one episode, when he is being robbed by people in costumes he says, "I believe I've been in a situation much like this...actually, no, this is a first...but I read about something like this once."
Read more about this topic: Jonathan Higgins
Famous quotes containing the word character:
“Taught from their infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and, roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison. Men have various employments and pursuits which engage their attention, and give a character to the opening mind; but women, confined to one, and having their thoughts constantly directed to the most insignificant part of themselves, seldom extend their views beyond the triumph of the hour.”
—Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
“The actor should not play a part. Like the Aeolian harps that used to be hung in the trees to be played only by the breeze, the actor should be an instrument played upon by the character he depicts.”
—Alla Nazimova (1879–1945)
“In my experience, persons, when they are made the subject of conversation, though with a Friend, are commonly the most prosaic and trivial of facts. The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the character of individuals. Our discourse all runs to slander, and our limits grow narrower as we advance. How is it that we are impelled to treat our old Friends so ill when we obtain new ones?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)