Tom Selleck doesnโt need an introduction. The now-78-year-old actor has been in show business for decades, and despite his recent health scares, he doesnโt seem to have any plans on retiring. In recent years, heโs starred in the successful seriesย Blue Bloods.
Selleckโs 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 wasnโt 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 โ early life
Selleck dreamt about enrolling at the University of Southern California (USC), but his family couldnโt 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.
โI never did school plays. I had no interest,โ Tom told in 2015.
After some time, Selleck understood that basketball probably wouldnโt 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 onย The Dating Game.
Tom Selleck was offered a spot on 20th Century Foxโs talent program shortly after. He started crafting his skills, but after two years, he took leave for six months of active duty.
![Tom Selleck](https://cdn-main.newsner.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2022/08/05194050/tomselleck2-scaled.jpg)
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 didnโt arrive.
Tom Selleck in โMagnum, P.I.โ
According to Tom, that was why many thought he was an overnight success when he landed the role of Thomas Magnum inย Magnum, P.I.
In reality, he had struggled and fought desperately hard.
โThe luckiest thing that happened was that I didnโt get a real job until I was 35,โ Selleck
โWhen 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 donโt graduate โ because the audience wonโt accept them as grown up.โ
Magnum, P.I.ย became a huge success. The crime drama television series aired between 1980 and 1988 and brought Tom instant celebrity status. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series five years in a row โ he finally won it in 1984. If it wasnโt for the show, he may have quit acting for good.
Tom reached cult status throughย Magnum,ย P.I.,ย and his career ever since has been nothing short of an incredible success story. Other credits include films likeย Three Men and a Babyย andย In & Out. He was also introduced to a new generation of fans when he starred as Monica Gellerโs older boyfriend, Richard Burke, beginning in Season 2 of the hit comedy seriesย Friends.ย
In 2010, Selleck got the role of Frank Reagan on the drama seriesย Blue Bloods, which opened a new and exciting chapter for him. The show has aired for 13 seasons.
![Tom Selleck](https://cdn-main.newsner.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2022/08/05194049/tomselleck1-scaled.jpg)
โI never thought Iโd be lucky enough to do a show that had that long a run. Maybeย Magnum, P.I.ย could have reached that number because nobody wanted to cancel it. I was the guy causing the divorce,โ Selleck explained.
Tom Selleck says his back is โmessed upโ
โIโd 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 asย Blue Bloodsย is a tiny, tiny percentage. This is a validation that weโre all fighting the good fight. All the actors are very committed to the work. So, itโs a number that gives reward for the professionalism of this entire cast.โ
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.
Selleckโs 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.
โMy backโs kind of messed up,โ Selleck shared.
โWhen you do stunts in moviesโI do a lot of themโyouโre taking a risk, but youโre also sitting around a lot. So you might do a fight scene, and then you sit in your chair, and itโs not like you have a personal trainer saying, โOkay, weโre ready to go, but Tom needs ten minutes of stretching and warm-up.โ
โAnd I think the price,โ he added, โI see it with peers, I talk to them sometimes. You just see the price of all those stunts. They werenโt that hard, but I think itโs the stop-and-go of all that stuff.โ
![Tom Selleck](https://cdn-main.newsner.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2022/08/05194052/tomselleck4-scaled.jpg)
Selleck once revealed that he doesnโt like going to the gym, though heโs trying to keep fit by working at the family ranch in Ventura, California.
โI have a 63-acre ranch, and I do not all, but a lot of, the grunt work. Clearing brush, planting trees. Weโve got about a hundred ancient oaks I planted. Iโve probably planted a thousand trees myself.โ
Tom Selleck โ iconic mustache
While Tom Selleck has a great interest in horses outside his ordinary work, he is also on the brink of becoming a writer.
Speaking withย last year, the star actor revealed he is writing a book.
โIโm halfway done. Itโs about my 50 years in show business. The tentative title is,ย Donโt Know Where Iโm Going, But Thereโs No Use Being Late. I doubt if Iโll change it. Thatโs the story of an actorโs life. You finish your job, a show or a movie, and youโre unemployed. Itโs fun. I hope the book is kind of funny because I donโt take myself that seriously. A sense of humor is almost essential for a long career as is a sense of humor in your work,โ he said.
Since Tom Selleck became a household name throughย Magnum P.I., his mustache has been iconic. It has become one of those things that you associate with Selleck, and he was worried that the facial hair would significantly affect his career. Tom felt like he was stuck with it forever.
โAfterย Magnum, I think I went, โOh my gosh!โ Iโm going to live with mustache questions for the rest of my life,โ he once said.
![](https://cdn-main.newsner.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/06/08124143/GettyImages-86039330.jpg)
โMost of the time I got hired they said the mustache is okay, but you gotta shave it off for the job. I was born without it and Iโm prepared to work without it.โ
Meanwhile, Selleck joked that he might have gotten theย Blue Bloodsย job only because of the facial hair.
โWell, it meant a job onย Blue Bloods,โ he said. โThe director said maybe you can play this guy without a mustache. I said, โSure, I was born that way.โโ
Tom Selleck ditches signature mustache โ almost unrecognizable
The mustache has, as mentioned, been iconic for Selleck. But now, he is unrecognizable as he has shaven it off.
The 78-year-old actor had not been spotted in public for more than a year when he was photographed driving his silver pickup truck near his residence.
Tom Selleck hasnโt been spotted in public for many, many months. However, on a rare public outing at the end of September, he was photographed while driving his pickup truck near his house, who had gotten hold of the pictures, reported.
Selleck was pretty much unrecognizable, as he had ditched his signature mustache. Instead, he rocked a full beard as he ran errands in the San Fernando Valley.
It goes without saying that Tomโs career is one to admire. But another thing to celebrate is his loyalty to hisย wife, Jillie Mack. While many celebrity marriages come and go, the pair have been happily married for over 35 years.
In an interview with Closer Weekly, Selleck recalled the first time he met Jillie Mack at a performance of the musicalย Cats, in which Mack was starring. It was the 1980s after Selleckโs decade-long marriage to model Jacqueline Ray ended.
![](https://cdn-main.newsner.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2021/03/05210816/selleck2.jpg)
While Selleck says heโs 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.
Tom Selleck โ family
โShe had to go on [stage]. I was hemming and hawing, and she finally asked, โDo you want to meet for a cocktail?โโ Selleck.
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.
โI quit Magnum to have a family,โ Tom Selleck told People in 2012.
โIt 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.โ
โWe both thought it was the best environment for Hannah to grow up,โ Jillie Mack added.
Tom โ a great fan of nature and the outdoors โ was keen on sharing his passion with his daughter. Soon enough, heโd 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.
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