Everyone knows America's favorite Hawaiian shirt-clad private investigator from the popular television series Magnum, P.I. But where did Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor, Tom Selleck come from? We've gathered up everything you need to know about America's mustached sweetheart:
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Originally born in Detroit, Michigan, Tom Selleck's family first moved to a suburb of Los Angeles, California when he was a child. While attending the University of Southern California he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and played for the Men's Basketball team. Though he was pursuing a degree in Business, upon a suggestion he started taking acting classes. He booked his first television role in college on The Dating Game and was hooked.
Many don't realize that Selleck received a draft notice for the Vietnam War and joined the California Army National Guard from 1967 to 1973. After this stint, he was a booking machine taking Hollywood by storm.
His big break came from Magnum, P.I., leading to opportunities in feature films like Three Men and a Baby. It was a hard road getting there though. This show, which won Selleck an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series came after six other pilots were filmed and didn't get picked up to series. Despite his success, his role as Thomas Magnum prohibited him from working on other products at the time due to a delay in shooting the pilot, so he had to infamously pass on the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Though Harrison's Ford's performance was iconic, it's hard not to imagine what it would have been like if Indy had a mustache.
Selleck starred in various classic films such as Quigley Down Under, but he's made quite the television career for himself. He popularly played Monica's boyfriend, Dr. Richard Burke, on Friends and serves as producer for his made-for-TV Jesse Stone series based on Robert B. Parker's novels. The fifth movie was even based on Selleck's original story (he acts, writes, produces -- what can't the man do?). He's currently starring as police commissioner Frank Reagan in the ninth season of CBS drama, Blue Bloods.
He doesn't spend all his time on a tv show though. Selleck is currently married to Jillie Mack (he shares a son with first wife Jacqueline Ray) and they have a daughter, Hannah. He lives with his family on a 60-acre avocado ranch in Hidden Valley, California that was formerly owned by Dean Martin. As a big fan of the outdoors, Selleck works the ranch himself. An avid rifle collector, he succeeded friend Charlton Heston as spokesperson member of the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association (NRA) though he recently resigned from the board.
With 83 credits on IMDB and a brief stint on Broadway under his belt, Selleck has become a true American treasure in the television/film community.
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