Walter N. Hiller Jr.; Launched Talent Agencies

Walter N. Hiller Jr., 72, Hollywood agent who represented such entertainers as James Earl Jones and Ted Danson. A native of Chicago, Hiller began his career with the Toni Co. there. He moved to Los Angeles in 1954 and worked as a talent agent with MCA and Ashley Steiner Famous before creating his own Hiller Agency in 1963. In 1976, he and Richard Bauman joined forces to form Bauman Hiller Associates, which has represented Jones, Danson and, among others, Jean Stapleton, John Ritter, Joe Lando, Penny Marshall and Bonnie Franklin. Hiller was known for his integrity in the talent business and for entertaining clients and associates with his own cooking. On Sunday in Los Angeles of cancer.