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<\/p>\nTom Selleck wasn\u2019t sure that 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.<\/p>\n
Selleck dreamt about enrolling at the University of Southern California (USC), but his family couldn\u2019t afford the cost of tuition.<\/p>\n
In 1962, he graduated from Grant High School. After enrolling at Los Angeles Valley College, he decided to live at home with his parents to save money.<\/p>\n
In his early days, it seemed more likely that Tom was to 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.<\/p>\n
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LOS ANGELES \u2013 1980: Actor Tom Selleck poses for a portrait in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Donaldson Collection\/Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cI never did school plays. I had no interest,\u201d Tom told AARP in 2015.<\/p>\n
But playing basketball at a high college level was easier said than done. As reported by KSL, he scored just four points in seven games for the USC Trojans during the 1965-1966 season. The year after that, he was scoreless in three games.<\/p>\n
An excerpt from USC\u2019s school guide reads that Tom was an \u201cagile and quick performer who adds depth on front line. Business administration major is good jumper with fine mobility. Rapidly improving shooter has impressed coaches with his hustle in practice. Needs to work on defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
But in the end, Tom simply couldn\u2019t compete with his bigger, taller teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pretty good, but I wasn\u2019t good enough,\u201d Selleck recalled.<\/p>\n
In the back of his mind, Selleck understood that basketball probably wasn\u2019t going to 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 a couple of gigs in television commercials and appeared on The Dating Game.<\/p>\n
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Youtube\/TBS<\/p>\n
Looking back, it wasn\u2019t his proudest moment, but it would affect this future more than he ever could\u2019ve imagined.<\/p>\n
\u201cHumiliating and embarrassing,\u201d he recalled of being on the dating show. \u201cI lost. Twice. I wasn\u2019t particularly funny or glib.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shortly after, though, Selleck was offered a spot on 20th Century Fox\u2019s talent program. He started crafting his skills, but after two years, he took leave to do six months of active duty.<\/p>\n
Upon returning, Selleck was dropped. But instead of giving up, he was confident that he would make it as an actor.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t arrive.<\/p>\n
According to Tom himself, that was why many thought he was an overnight success when he landed the role of Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P. I.<\/p>\n
Breakthrough on \u2018Magnum P. I\u2019
\nIn reality, he had struggled and fought desperately hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe luckiest thing that happened was that I didn\u2019t get a real job until I was 35,\u201d Selleck explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was 25, I looked 35 but sounded 15. There are a lot of very good actors who make it as younger leading men but don\u2019t graduate \u2014 because the audience won\u2019t accept them as grown up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Magnum, P. I became a huge success. The crime drama television series aired between 1980 and 1988, and it brought Tom instant celebrity status. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series five years in a row \u2013 he finally won it in 1984.<\/p>\n
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK \u2013 JULY 27: Tom Selleck seen out and about in Manhattan on July 27, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Kamau\/GC Images)<\/p>\n
For more than a decade, Selleck had struggled to make it as an actor, and he was close to giving up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if Magnum hadn\u2019t worked out, I\u2019d never have worked again in this business,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n
Tom reached cult status through Magnum, and his career ever since has been nothing short of an incredible success story. Other credits include films such as Three Men and a Baby and In & Out. He was also introduced to a new generation of fans when he starred as Monica Geller\u2019s older boyfriend, Richard Burke, beginning in Season 2 of the hit comedy series Friends.<\/p>\n
In 2010, Selleck got the role of Frank Reagan on the drama series Blue Bloods, which opened a new and exciting chapter for the actor. The show has just been renewed for its 13th season, which will premiere this fall.<\/p>\n
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Selleck has a net worth of around $45 million.<\/p>\n
In many films and series, actors have their own stunt-person. Often it can be a dangerous job, but for a small few, having someone else perform their stunts is simply out of the question.<\/p>\n
Selleck\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy back\u2019s kind of messed up,\u201d Selleck shared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you do stunts in movies\u2014I do a lot of them\u2014you\u2019re taking a risk, but you\u2019re also sitting around a lot. So you might do a fight scene, and then you sit in your chair, and it\u2019s not like you have a personal trainer saying, \u201cOkay, we\u2019re ready to go, but Tom needs ten minutes of stretching and warm-up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think the price,\u201d he added, \u201cI see it with peers, I talk to them sometimes. You just see the price of all those stunts. They weren\u2019t that hard, but I think it\u2019s the stop-and-go of all that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selleck once revealed that he doesn\u2019t like going to the gym, though he\u2019s trying to keep fit by working at the family ranch in Ventura, California.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a 63-acre ranch, and I do not all, but a lot of, the grunt work. Clearing brush, planting trees. We\u2019ve got about a hundred ancient oaks I planted. I\u2019ve probably planted a thousand trees myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
It goes without saying that Tom\u2019s career is one to admire. But another thing to celebrate is his loyalty to his wife, Jillie Mack. While many celebrity marriages come and go, the pair have been happily married for 35 years.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Closer Weekly, Selleck recalled the first time he met Jillie Mack at a performance of the musical Cats, in which Mack was starring. It was the 1980s, after Selleck\u2019s decade-long marriage to model Jacqueline Ray ended.<\/p>\n
While Selleck says he\u2019s not as smooth with the ladies as his on-screen counterparts, he approached his future wife backstage, though she was the one who made the first move.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had to go on [stage]. I was hemming and hawing, and she finally asked, \u2018Do you want to meet for a cocktail?’\u201d Selleck recalled.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Ever since, Selleck has put his family ahead of stardom and has tried to keep his personal life out of the Hollywood spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI quit Magnum to have a family\u201d
\nIn 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI quit Magnum to have a family,\u201d Tom Selleck told People in 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe both thought it was the best environment for Hannah to grow up,\u201d Jillie Mack added.<\/p>\n
Tom \u2013 a great fan of nature and the outdoors \u2013 was keen on sharing his passion with his daughter. Soon enough, he\u2019d passed it on to her!<\/p>\n
Tom and his wife Jillie live on the 65-acre ranch in Ventura, and it was there Hannah was brought up. Both father and daughter share a passion for horses; later on, the two had a side business breeding horses. Hannah moved on to pursue riding professionally, and boy, did she do well.<\/p>\n
Over the years, she\u2019s qualified for several grand Prix level competitions, collecting several medals.<\/p>\n
Hannah Selleck finished top-five in St. Moritz, Switzerland; Belgium; the Netherlands; and the Canadian Pacific Grand Prix at the 2015 Longines Masters of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Selleck shattered her tibia and fibula in a 2018 incident. As a result, she was told that she might not even be able to run again \u2013 but luckily, that wasn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n
Later, she translated her passion for horses into a highly successful breeding and training operation named Descanso Farm. Hopefully, she and father Tom will be able to keep their passion for horses intact for many years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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