Thomas William Selleck (born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His most famous role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988). For this role, he received five Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and won in 1984. From 2010 to 2024, he portrayed NYC Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in Blue Bloods. From 2005 to 2015, he played Jesse Stone, a police chief in a small town with challenges, in nine television films based on the novels by Robert B. Parker.
In films, Selleck played Peter Mitchell, a bachelor architect, in Three Men and a Baby (1987) and its sequel Three Men and a Little Lady (1990). He has appeared in more than 50 film and television roles since Magnum, P.I., including the films Quigley Down Under, Mr. Baseball, and Lassiter. He had recurring roles as Dr. Richard Burke, a love interest for Monica Geller, in Friends; as Lance White, a kind and honest partner, in The Rockford Files; and as A. J. Cooper, a casino owner, in Las Vegas. He also starred in the television Western film The Sacketts, based on books by Louis L'Amour.
Selleck was a spokesman for the National Rifle Association of America and a spokesperson for advertisements in National Review magazine. He co-founded the Character Counts! organization. He also served as an infantryman in the California Army National Guard from 1967 to 1973, reaching the rank of sergeant.
Early life and education
Thomas William Selleck was born in Detroit, Michigan, on January 29, 1945, to Martha Selleck, who was a housewife, and Robert Dean Selleck, a real estate developer. He has an older brother named Robert, a younger sister named Martha, and a younger brother named Daniel.
Selleck is mostly of English ancestry, but he also has Irish and German roots from his mother’s side. From his father’s side, he is a direct descendant of David Selleck, an English colonist who moved to Massachusetts from Somerset, England, in 1633. This makes Selleck the 11th generation of his family born in North America.
Selleck’s family moved to Los Angeles in 1948 and lived in Sherman Oaks. He graduated from Grant High School in 1962, along with future Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz. He then enrolled at Los Angeles Valley College, living at home and saving money. Selleck, who is 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 meters) tall, transferred to the University of Southern California during his junior year to play basketball for the USC Trojans men’s team. He also played baseball as a pitcher and designated hitter for the USC team. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and the Trojan Knights. While studying business administration, a drama coach encouraged Selleck to try acting. In his senior year, he left the university to pursue acting. He later studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse under Milton Katselas.
Military service
After receiving a notice to join the military during the Vietnam War, Selleck joined the California Army National Guard. He served in Company C, 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry from 1967 to 1973, and he reached the rank of sergeant.
Career
Tom Selleck first appeared on television in 1965 as a college student on The Dating Game. He returned to the show in 1967, where he participated in the first game, and actors Bill Dana and Casey Kasem played in the second game. Soon after, he appeared in commercials for products like Pepsi-Cola.
He began his acting career with small roles in movies such as Myra Breckinridge, Coma, and The Seven Minutes. He also acted in many television series, miniseries, and TV movies. He was the spokesperson for Salem cigarettes and Revlon’s Chaz cologne. In 1971, he appeared in a commercial for Right Guard deodorant. In 1972, he starred in the B-movie Daughters of Satan and appeared in a commercial for Dubonnet aperitif with Farrah Fawcett. He also acted in a commercial for Close-Up toothpaste in 1977 and Safeguard deodorant soap in 1972. In the 1970s, he had a recurring role as private investigator Lance White in The Rockford Files.
Selleck enjoys outdoor activities, marksmanship, and collecting firearms. These interests led him to roles in Western films. In 1979, he played cowboy Orrin Sackett in The Sacketts, based on a book by Louis L’Amour, alongside actors Sam Elliott, Jeff Osterhage, Glenn Ford, and Ben Johnson. That same year, he appeared in Concrete Cowboys with Jerry Reed. In 1982, he starred in The Shadow Riders, another L’Amour adaptation. One of his most famous Western films is Quigley Down Under, but he won a Western Heritage Award for his role in Last Stand at Saber River in 1997.
Selleck’s big break came in 1980 when he was cast as Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I.. The show’s producers would not allow him to work on other projects, so he had to decline the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, which went to Harrison Ford. The pilot episode for Magnum, P.I. was delayed for over six months due to a writers’ strike.
In Magnum, P.I., Selleck played a former Navy SEAL who became a private investigator in Hawaii. The show ran from 1980 to 1988, with eight seasons and 163 episodes. He won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1984. His character was known for his mustache, Hawaiian-style shirts, Detroit Tigers baseball caps, and driving an open-top Ferrari 308 GTS. After the show ended, it became the most-watched one-hour program in syndicated reruns until 1998.
In 1984, Selleck introduced Nancy Reagan at the Republican National Convention. He was offered the lead role in Baywatch but refused it because he did not want to be seen as a sex symbol. The role went to David Hasselhoff. During Magnum, P.I., he appeared in films such as Lassiter and Runaway, and in Three Men and a Baby, which was a major box office hit in 1987. In 1989, he starred in Her Alibi and An Innocent Man.
In 1990, he played an American sharpshooter in the Australian Western Quigley Down Under, a role he considers one of his best. During the 1990s, he appeared in Three Men and a Little Lady, Folks!, Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, Mr. Baseball, In & Out, and The Love Letter. In In & Out, he played his first gay character, Peter Malloy.
In 1993, Selleck voiced advertisements for AT&T titled “You Will,” which asked questions like, “What if you had the technology to ______?” In the mid-1990s, he played Richard Burke, Monica Geller’s older boyfriend, in Friends. His role earned him an Emmy nomination in 2000. He also hosted a special series on TLC called The Practical Guide to the Universe, discussing stars, planets, and galaxies.
In 1998, Selleck took the lead role in the CBS sitcom The Closer, playing Jack McLaren, a publicist. The show was canceled after 10 episodes due to low ratings. His last two Western roles were in Crossfire Trail (2001) and Monte Walsh (2003). In 2001, he played Murray in a Broadway revival of A Thousand Clowns. The production closed due to the 9/11 attacks.
In 2004, Selleck portrayed General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the A&E movie Ike: Countdown to D-Day. Since 2005, he has played Jesse Stone, a lawman, in a series of made-for-TV movies based on Robert B. Parker’s novels. He also acts as a producer for the series. In 2006, he appeared in Boston Legal as Ivan Tiggs and voiced Cornelius Robinson in Meet the Robinsons (2007).
In 2007, Selleck joined Las Vegas as A. J. Cooper, the owner of a casino. He replaced James Caan and returned to a regular role in a drama series for the first time since Magnum, P.I.. He also began doing voice-overs for Florida’s Natural orange juice. In 2010, he was cast as NYC Police Commissioner Frank Reagan.
Personal life
From 1971 to 1982, Selleck was married to model Jacqueline Ray. During this time, he adopted her son, Kevin Shepard (born 1966), who later became the drummer for the American rock band Tonic. On August 7, 1987, Selleck married Jillie Joan Mack (born 1957), whom he met in Britain. They have one daughter, Hannah (born December 16, 1988).
Selleck has stated he is Episcopalian. He received guidance from Blue Bloods co-star Bridget Moynahan on how to properly cross himself while portraying his Catholic character, Frank Reagan.
Selleck and his family live near Thousand Oaks-Westlake Village, California, on a 60-acre (24 hectares) avocado ranch in Hidden Valley, which was previously owned by Dean Martin. In a 2012 interview with People, Selleck described working on his ranch: "I enjoy spending time outdoors, fixing roads, and clearing brush. I dislike going to the gym, so working on the ranch is more enjoyable than exercising on a stationary bike."
He has mentioned that he does not personally use text messages or email.
Selleck is skilled in indoor and beach volleyball, playing the outside hitter position for the Outrigger Canoe Club in Honolulu. A teammate, Dennis Berg, noted, "Tom was a great teammate, appreciative of being part of a talented group, and practiced and played hard when his Magnum schedule allowed. He was patient with us, and we enjoyed the large crowds at national tournament matches."
Selleck is a fan of ice hockey and has attended Los Angeles Kings games at Staples Center. He lists Anže Kopitar and Alexander Frolov as favorite players. He was once a minority owner of the Detroit Tigers, his childhood favorite baseball team. In 1986, Selleck hit a batting-practice home run while training with the Tigers. For his role in the film Mr. Baseball, he practiced with the Tigers in 1991 for three weeks, even participating in an exhibition game against Cincinnati. Tiger manager Sparky Anderson put him in as a pinch hitter, and Selleck fouled off three pitches before striking out. He believes this training helped him in his film role by giving him experience through team meetings and understanding how players work together.
Larry Manetti, one of Selleck's Magnum co-stars, praised him in his 1996 memoir Aloha Magnum. Manetti highlighted Selleck's strong work ethic during long shoots in Hawaii, his support for Hawaiian charities, and his willingness to help the show's cast and crew.
In February 2009, Selleck became the national spokesman for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's new Education Center on the National Mall.
After James Garner's death in 2014, Selleck said, "Jim was a mentor to me and a friend, and I will miss him." Two years later, before filming his sixth season of Blue Bloods, he stated, "It's like my mentor, who never wanted to hear he was my mentor [James Garner], I don't accept the mentor role. That they feel that way is flattering, but it adds pressure."
Selleck faced a lawsuit from the Calleguas Municipal Water District for allegedly transferring about 1.4 million U.S. gallons (5.3 million liters) of water from the Calleguas district to the Hidden Valley Municipal Water District during a severe California drought. He used the water to irrigate his avocado farm. He settled the case by paying $21,685.55 to the Calleguas district, which covered the district's private investigator fees.
Political views
Tom Selleck has been a member of the board of directors for the National Rifle Association (NRA) and worked as a spokesperson for the group. He left the board on September 18, 2018, but stayed a member of the NRA. After his friend Charlton Heston stopped being an NRA spokesperson in 2003, Selleck took over that role. In 2002, Selleck gave the rifle he used in the movie Quigley Down Under (a special 13-pound [5.9 kg] single-shot 1874 Sharps Rifle with a 34-inch [86 cm] barrel) and six other guns from his films to the NRA. These guns are displayed in the NRA's exhibit "Real Guns of Reel Heroes" at the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia.
To promote his movie The Love Letter, Selleck appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show on May 19, 1999. During the interview, O'Donnell asked him about his support for gun ownership and an advertisement he appeared in for the NRA. At the end of the interview, Selleck said, "It's your show, and you can talk about it after I leave." Later, he told Shaun Robinson, "I still like Rosie. I think she needs to take a deep breath and stop thinking everyone who disagrees with her is evil." In 2000, Selleck said he has always been interested in politics because he finds it "fascinating."
For many years, Selleck appeared in television ads for National Review. He also subscribes to The New Republic. Selleck describes himself as "a registered independent with a lot of libertarian leanings."
During the 2016 presidential election, Selleck did not support Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Instead, he voted for former Dallas Police Department Chief David Brown, saying he was deeply moved by Brown's grace and leadership during the 2016 Dallas police shooting.
Blue Bloods co-star Abigail Hawk said Selleck keeps his opinions private but tries to form his views by reading news sources with different political views. She said, "He always took the most left-wing news source and a right-wing news source, read them both, researched the entire spectrum, and then made his decision based on all that information."
Awards and honors
On April 28, 2000, Selleck was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Pepperdine University. He was selected for this honor because of his strong character and values. He serves as a board member of the nonprofit Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics and is a co-founder of the Character Counts Coalition. In 1986, he received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. In 1989, he was given the Golden Plate Award by the American Academy of Achievement.