1. Anthony Grove Hillerman 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.
26 Facts About Tony Hillerman
1. 2.
Tony Hillerman was the youngest of their three children, and the second son.
3.
Tony Hillerman's paternal grandparents were born in Germany, and his maternal grandparents were born in England.
4.
Tony Hillerman was a first cousin once removed of actor John Hillerman.
5.
Tony Hillerman grew up in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, attending elementary and high school with Potawatomi children.
6.
Tony Hillerman was a decorated combat veteran of World War II, serving from August 1943 to October 1945 as a mortarman in the 103rd Infantry Division in the European theatre.
7.
Tony Hillerman earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and a Purple Heart.
8.
Tony Hillerman was wounded in 1945, and the injuries included broken legs, foot, and ankle, facial burns, and temporary blindness.
9.
Tony Hillerman attended the University of Oklahoma after the war, meeting Marie Unzner, a student in microbiology.
10.
Tony Hillerman graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism.
11.
Tony Hillerman taught journalism from 1966 to 1987 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and began writing novels.
12.
Tony Hillerman lived there with his wife Marie until his death in 2008.
13.
Tony Hillerman wrote more than 30 books total, among them a memoir and books about the Southwest, its beauty, and its history.
14.
Tony Hillerman's books have been translated into eight languages, among them Danish and Japanese.
15.
Tony Hillerman's writing is noted for the cultural details he provides about his subjects: Hopi, Zuni, European settlers, federal agents, and especially the Navajo Nation Police.
16.
Tony Hillerman discussed his debt to Upfield in many interviews and in his introduction to the posthumous 1984 reprint of Upfield's A Royal Abduction.
17.
Tony Hillerman mentioned Eric Ambler, Graham Greene, and Raymond Chandler as authors who influenced him as he wrote the Leaphorn and Chee novels.
18.
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.
19.
The Tony Hillerman Library was dedicated in Albuquerque in 2008, and the Tony Hillerman Middle School opened in 2009.
20.
Tony Hillerman was a decorated combat veteran of World War II; he earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart as a mortarman in the 103rd Infantry Division.
21.
Tony Hillerman won and was nominated for numerous awards for his writing and his work with other writers.
22.
Tony Hillerman was again nominated for the "Best Mystery Novel" Edgar Award in 1979 for Listening Woman and lastly in 1989 for A Thief of Time.
23.
In 1987, Tony Hillerman received the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere for Dance Hall of the Dead.
24.
Tony Hillerman received the Nero Award for Coyote Waits and the Navajo Tribe's Special Friends of the Dineh Award.
25.
Tony Hillerman received the Parris Award in 1995 by Southwest Writer's Workshop for his outstanding service to other writers.
26.
In 2002, Tony Hillerman received the Agatha Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement, given by Malice Domestic for mystery novels in the spirit of Agatha Christie.