Tom Selleck’s career has been quite successful. The next season of Magnum, P.I., and Blue Bloods will air soon.

Selleck’s roles have been challenging. The 77-year-old has a history of performing his stunts, which has backfired.

Tom Selleck didn’t always want to be an actor. Born in Detroit on January 29, 1945, he grew up in California’s San Fernando Valley.

Early Tom Selleck

Selleck’s family couldn’t afford USC tuition.

Grant High School graduation, 1962. He decided to live with his parents after enrolling at Los Angeles Valley College to save money.

Tom’s early years suggested he’d pursue athletics rather than acting. He aspired to play pro basketball. Imagine how delighted he was to receive a basketball scholarship to USC.

No school plays for me. Tom informed AARP in 2015 he wasn’t interested.

College basketball is difficult. During the 1965-1966 season, he scored four points in seven games for USC. He went scoreless in three games the next year.

Tom is described as “agile and swift” in USC’s school guide. Business major jumps well and is mobile. Shooter’s practicing hustle impresses coaches. Needs defense.”

Tom couldn’t compete with his larger teammates.

Selleck: “I was good, but not good enough.”

Tom Selleck’s debut

Selleck knew basketball wasn’t his future career. He obtained a second job to pay for his tuition. The hopeful student appeared in ads in The Dating Game.

It wasn’t his proudest moment, but it affected his future more than he thought.

The dating show was “humiliating and embarrassing,” he said. Losing. Twice. I wasn’t amusing or witty.”

Soon after, 20th Century Fox’s talent program gave Selleck a spot. After two years, he went on active duty for six months.

Selleck was fired after returning. But he was convinced he’d succeed as an actor.

In the 1970s, he appeared in many TV shows. Selleck starred in six TV pilots in his mid-30s. His breakthrough never came.

According to Tom, many thought he was an overnight success with Magnum, P.I.

“Magnum P.I.” breakthrough

He had fought desperately.

“I didn’t obtain a real job until 35,” Selleck said.

I looked 35 at 25 but sounded 15. Many good performers succeed as young leading men but fail as adults because audiences won’t accept them.

P. I was successful. The 1980-1988 criminal drama made Tom a star. He received an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1984 after five nominations.

Selleck suffered as an actor for over a decade and came close to quitting.

If Magnum hadn’t worked, he wouldn’t have worked again.

Tom’s career has been a huge success since Magnum. Three Men and a Baby and In & Out are other credits. In Season 2 of Friends, he played Monica Geller’s older lover, Richard Burke.

In 2010, Selleck landed the role of Frank Reagan on the television series Blue Bloods. The 13th season will air this fall.

Tom Selleck’s backache

Selleck is worth $45 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Many movies and TV shows have stuntmen. For a few, having someone else do their stunts is unthinkable.

Selleck has done most of his feats personally, but it’s expensive. His body has changed, he says.

Selleck: “My back’s messed up.”

“When you do stunts in movies—I do a lot—you take a risk but sit around a lot. So you complete a fight scene and sit in your chair; no one tells you to stretch and warm up.

“I see the price with peers. I talk to them,” he added. All those stunts cost you. They weren’t hard, but the stop-and-go was annoying.

Selleck doesn’t enjoy the gym. Instead, he works out at his family’s ranch in Ventura, California.

“On my 63-acre ranch, I handle much of the grunt work. Tree-planting, brush-clearing. I planted 100 old oaks. I’ve planted 1,000 trees.”

Tom Selleck: wife, daughter Hannah

Tom’s career is admirable. His commitment to Jillie Mack is also noteworthy. They’ve been married for 35 years, while many celebrities divorce.

Selleck told Closer Weekly he first met Jillie Mack at a Cats performance. In the 1980s, Selleck’s marriage to Jacqueline Ray dissolved.

Selleck admits he’s not as slick with the ladies as his on-screen competitors, but he approached his future wife backstage.

“She had to perform.” She inquired, “Do you want to meet for a cocktail?” after I dithered. Remembered Selleck.

Selleck and Mack married privately in 1987. Hannah was born a year after their wedding.

Since then, Selleck had put his family before stardom and kept his personal life private.

“I left Magnum for family”

He put his acting career on hold to be with his wife and daughter.

Tom Selleck quit Magnum in 2012 to start a family.

This ranch has helped me find balance after a long period on the train.

Jillie Mack added, “We thought it was the greatest place for Hannah to grow up.”

Tom, an outdoorsman, wanted to share his hobby with his daughter. Soon, he told her.

Hannah was raised on Tom and Jillie’s 65-acre Ventura ranch. Both father and daughter love horses; they started breeding them. Hannah went pro and did great.

She’s competed in grand Prix events and won medals.

Hannah Selleck placed fifth in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the 2015 Canadian Pacific Grand Prix.

Horse-loving

2018 accident broke Selleck’s tibia and fibula. She was told she might never run again, but that wasn’t true.

Later, she founded Descanso Farm, a successful breeding and training company. She and her father, Tom hope to continue loving horses for years.

We’ll always love Tom Selleck and wish him and his family health and happiness.

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