At the apex of Tom Selleck's California ranch, the breathtaking vista stretches out before him. After all, at 79 years old, the actor is well-acquainted with the sight from the peak.
For the past 14 years, Selleck has graced the screens in the popular CBS series "Blue Bloods," portraying the leader of the NYPD and the patriarch of a resilient (and occasionally stubborn) family. While the show is slated to conclude this year, there has been some resistance to this decision, particularly from Selleck himself.
When questioned about the potential end of "Blue Bloods," Selleck responded, "Well, that's a valid question. I remain hopeful that CBS will reconsider. We rank as the third-highest scripted show across all broadcast networks. We dominate the night. The entire cast is eager to return. And I can assure you, we are not in decline. We continue to produce quality episodes and maintain our position. So, who knows? What do you think?"
Tom Selleck's Journey to Success
Tom Selleck, known for his legendary career, has faced challenges with the powers-that-be before. In his iconic role as Thomas Magnum in the '80s, he sported a Detroit Tigers baseball cap as a tribute to his birthplace.
Prior to his Magnum days, Selleck was an athlete at the University of Southern California. Despite a mediocre academic record, he found his way into the advertising world, promoting products like Ban Basic and Safeguard Soap.
During an interview, Selleck revealed his self-encouragement mantra before auditions, where he would remind himself, "You are enough, Tom." This positive affirmation helped him navigate the competitive entertainment industry.
Despite initial setbacks, including failed TV pilots and soap opera roles, Selleck's big break came with "Magnum, P.I." He also had the opportunity to play Indiana Jones, a role offered to him by Steven Spielberg. Selleck was captivated by the script and recognized the potential of the character.
However, in a tale that has become legendary, he was compelled to reject the opportunity to star in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in favor of "Magnum."
In his long-awaited memoir "You Never Know," released this week, Selleck reveals the details of what he describes as "the world series of disappointments," and how he swiftly came to terms with it. "You can either play the victim, or simply smile and say, 'That's truly ironic,'" he remarked. "I had a great job lined up, a job that I would have been thrilled with, 'Raiders' or not."
"Magnum, P.I.," which follows the story of a former Navy SEAL and Vietnam veteran turned private investigator, premiered in 1980 on CBS. The network initially wanted to remove the Vietnam War elements (as the wounds of the war were still fresh at the time), but Selleck and his producer vehemently fought to retain them, resulting in the show becoming a success.
One of the show's most prominent fans was Frank Sinatra, who once expressed his desire to make an appearance on "Magnum" to the show's co-star Larry Manetti.
"Larry comes to me and says, 'Frank wants to do the show,'" said Selleck. "'But he wants to be asked, so you have to call him.' And he wanted to do it right away. So I said [to Sinatra], 'Well, we're gonna have to write it for you. What do you wanna do?' He said, 'Oh, I don't care. Just make sure I get to beat somebody up.'
That was his condition? "Yeah. Well, that's Frank!"
The "Magnum, P.I." guest shot (in which he did get to beat somebody up, pretty decisively) was Sinatra's last acting job.
But it was only the beginning of Selleck's reign as an '80s sex symbol. That smile! That swagger! That mustache!
In private, however, Selleck was smitten by British actor Jillie Mack, whom he first spotted when she was in the London production of "Cats." He said, "I got checked out by some of the cast, never Jillie. One of the cast members told her at half-time, he says, 'You know who keeps staring at you? Tom Selleck.' And – I don't know how to clean this up – she just said, 'Who the f**k is that?' She didn't know who I was from Adam, which to me was the greatest thing in the world!"
They married, in secret, in 1987, just before "Magnum" entered its final season. They've been together ever since.
By that time, Selleck says he was burned out, but he knew he had created something that was more than just a TV show: "When 'Magnum' ended, we got a call from the Smithsonian: 'We wanna honor "Magnum," we need some artifacts.' And they took my hat and the ring I wore – the team ring in Vietnam – and my Hawaiian shirt, the red one. And we went back there and they read the citation. They gave us credit for being the first show that showed Vietnam veterans in a positive light. So, the fight was worth it."
These days he spends most of his non-working time on his ranch, and it's not hard to see why. "You know, hopefully I keep working enough to hold onto the place."
Smith asked, "Seriously, that's an issue? If you stopped working?"
"That's always an issue," he said. "If I stopped working, yeah. Am I set for life? Yeah, but maybe not on a 63-acre ranch!"
Happily he likes his job, and after 60 years in front of the camera, Tom Selleck knows … he's enough.
Asked what he sees down the road, he replied, "Hopefully, work. As an actor, you never lose – I don't lose, anyway – that sense that every time I finish a job, it's my last job."
Does he still have that sense? "I like the fact that there's no excuses!" he laughed. "You just go to work and you do the work. And I have a lot of reverence for what I call 'the work,' and I love it. And I'd like to keep doing it."
READ AN EXCERPT: "You Never Know"
For more info:
- "Blue Bloods" on CBS and Paramount+
- "You Never Know: A Memoir" by Tom Selleck with Ellis Henican (Dey Street Books), in Hardcover, Large Print, eBook and Audio formats, available May 7 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
