Tom Selleck doesn’t need an introduction. The now-78-year-old actor has been in show business for decades, and despite his recent health scares, he doesn’t seem to have any plans on retiring. In recent years, he’s starred in the successful series Blue Bloods.
Selleck’s appearance has been quite a trademark, and we have all gotten used to how he looks. However, now, fans are shocked about one thing that has been removed: His iconic mustache.Tom Selleck wasn’t sure he wanted to be an actor growing up. Born January 29, 1945, in Detroit, Michigan, his family moved to California, where he grew up in the San Fernando Valley.
Tom Selleck – early life
Selleck dreamt about enrolling at the University of Southern California (USC), but his family couldn’t afford the tuition.
In 1962, he graduated from Grant High School. After enrolling at Los Angeles Valley College, he lived at home with his parents to save money.
In his early days, it seemed more likely that Tom would have a career in athletics instead of acting. He was an up-and-coming basketball player and dreamt about going pro. With that in mind, one can only imagine how happy he was after being awarded a basketball scholarship at the University of Southern California.“I never did school plays. I had no interest,” Tom told AARP in 2015.
After some time, Selleck understood that basketball probably wouldn’t be his future career. However, he had a backup plan and took a side job to help pay his tuition. The aspiring student first landed some gigs in television commercials and appeared on The Dating Game.
Tom Selleck was offered a spot on 20th Century Fox’s talent program shortly after. He started crafting his skills, but after two years, he took leave for six months of active duty.
Upon returning, Selleck was dropped. But instead of giving up, he was confident he would make it as an actor.
In the early 1970s, he landed smaller parts in many television series. Then, approaching his mid-30s, Selleck starred in six television pilots. Despite that, his big breakthrough didn’t arrive.
Tom Selleck says his back is “messed up”
“I’d done the number one movie [Three Men and a Baby] in the US and I wanted to have a family. The number of series that have done as many episodes as Blue Bloods is a tiny, tiny percentage. This is a validation that we’re all fighting the good fight. All the actors are very committed to the work. So, it’s a number that gives reward for the professionalism of this entire cast.”
In many films and series, actors have their own stunt-person. Often, it can be a dangerous job, but for a few, having someone else perform their stunts is simply out of the question.Selleck’s done most of his stunts himself in the past, but that has come at a cost. He says his body is not what it used to be.
“My back’s kind of messed up,” Selleck shared.
“When you do stunts in movies—I do a lot of them—you’re taking a risk, but you’re also sitting around a lot. So you might do a fight scene, and then you sit in your chair, and it’s not like you have a personal trainer saying, “Okay, we’re ready to go, but Tom needs ten minutes of stretching and warm-up.”
“And I think the price,” he added, “I see it with peers, I talk to them sometimes. You just see the price of all those stunts. They weren’t that hard, but I think it’s the stop-and-go of all that stuff.”
Selleck once revealed that he doesn’t like going to the gym, though he’s trying to keep fit by working at the family ranch in Ventura, California.
“I have a 63-acre ranch, and I do not all, but a lot of, the grunt work. Clearing brush, planting trees. We’ve got about a hundred ancient oaks I planted. I’ve probably planted a thousand trees myself.”
Tom Selleck – family
“She had to go on [stage]. I was hemming and hawing, and she finally asked, ‘Do you want to meet for a cocktail?’” Selleck recalled.
The date apparently went well, and Selleck and Mack were married in 1987 in a private ceremony. One year after their wedding, their daughter Hannah was born.
Ever since, Selleck has put his family ahead of stardom and has tried to keep his personal life out of the Hollywood spotlight.
In fact, he even let his acting career take a back seat to ensure he had adequate time to spend with his wife and beloved daughter.
“I quit Magnum to have a family,” Tom Selleck told People in 2012.
“It took a long time to get off the train, but I try very hard to have balance, and this ranch has helped me do that.”
“We both thought it was the best environment for Hannah to grow up,” Jillie Mack added.
Tom – a great fan of nature and the outdoors – was keen on sharing his passion with his daughter. Soon enough, he’d passed it on to her!
Tom and his wife Jillie live on the 65-acre ranch in Ventura, and Hannah was brought up there. Both father and daughter share a passion for horses; later on, the two had a side business breeding horses.
If you enjoyed reading this, perhaps you’d be interested in reading about what Tom Selleck’s daughter says he demanded before supporting her.
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