The Beginning
Tom Selleck has been known as a legend for years, from his iconic roles on the silver screen, to his trademark mustache. From humble beginnings to being immortalized as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it was his charming nature and dashingly good looks that won the world over.
Hannah Margaret Select can be described as a blue-blooded Hollywood born elite. Born to famous parents Tom Select and Jillie Mack in Hollywood, California, it seems she had the perfect recipe for a life of glamor and sparkle. Now, it seems he’s passed those good looks on to his daughter, whose questionable career in modeling coupled with her own father’s scandals have all but destroyed their relationship.
Tom Selleck was born in Detroit to two loving parents. When they relocated to California, Selleck started out as a model and got his first break on the ’60s show, The Dating Game.
Cats The Musical
He was so much of an instant sensation that Pepsi seized the opportunity to have him in one of their commercials, the first in a long line of commercials he would go on to do in his career.
Tom Selleck was a 38-year-old divorcé filming on location in London when his coworkers realized that he had developed an obsession with the musical Cats. It was said that, he spent countless nights in the WestEnd, telling fellow Lassiter star, Jane Seymour how great the show was.
It Wasn't Just The Show He Thought Was Great
"I thought it was good, but I couldn't see going back a dozen times," Seymour told People magazine.
It turns out what he actually thought was fantastic, was 25-year-old Jillie Joan Mack, the dancer who played Rumpleteazer.
His First Love
Soon after, a dinner date turned into a romance, and once Mack's contract was up, she moved to Hawaii where Selleck was filming Magnum P.I.
After dating for less than a year, Tom Selleck and model Jacqueline Ray were wed on May 15, 1971. They were married for 11 years, with Selleck even adopting Ray’s son, Kevin.
Finally Famous
Though their marriage didn’t last, his hit show did, which he landed towards the end of their marriage.
When Select was cast in Magnum P.I., his life was forever changed. Through eight seasons and 163 episodes, Selleck’s mustache, Ferrari, Hawaiian t-shirts, and all the classic elements of the show became lasting favorites of fans everywhere.
Last But Not Least
But something was missing…
Selleck wanted to start a family and just seven years after Magnum P.I. ended, he married his second wife, Jillie Mack.
A Loving Father
At a 24-hour wedding chapel in Lake Tahoe, Nevada they were married in a secret ceremony and had only polaroid photos taken so no negatives could be leaked to the press. Maybe secrecy was the key because this time the marriage lasted 30 years and counting.
When his daughter, Hannah, was born, Selleck’s whole life was changed. They made the decision to move to a 60-acre avocado farm outside of Hollywood so they could raise her out of the spotlight.
Young Beauty
But as she grew up, it was the spotlight that she craved.
From a young age, it was apparent that she had inherited her parent’s good looks.
Modeling Career
With her long, slender frame and beautifully defined features, she was stunning at every red carpet event she attended, and the media certainly noticed.
After graduating college, she finally decided to try her hand at a modeling career and was signed as the face of Reviver, an on-the-go wipe designed to freshen up your clothing and eliminate any bad odors.
A Concerned Father
Hannah jumped at the opportunity, but became the center of attention from the media as her racy photos were released.
A source close to the family shared how Selleck was struggling with the situation saying, “He wanted to be sure she was making the right choices. She’s had great success as an accomplished equestrienne and the photos projected a very different kind of image.” Taking a look at these photos, though.
A Dishonest Decision
it’s not hard to see why he was concerned, but it turns out the Magnum P.I.-actor had some scandal skeletons in his closet that were about to become public knowledge.
Selleck’s farm, horses, home and everything he built for himself and his family was threatened when California suffered a terrible drought. The actor went from having everything to suddenly being on the brink of losing it all.
The Wrong Move
All of those years in Hollywood finally caught up to him, and the once honest and upright man did the unthinkable to save his livelihood.
Selleck hired a truck to illegally transfer around $1.4 million worth of water over district boundaries so he wouldn’t lose his farm. In 2015, he was hit with a lawsuit by the Calleguas Municipal Water District whose private investigator discovered that a tanker truck had multiple times been filled at a hydrant in another district and then driven towards Selleck’s property.
Almost Getting Off Scot-Free
So, what was the retribution for his illegal act?
After stealing $1.4 million in water, Selleck only had to pay $21,000 in the settlement. The private investigator alone who uncovered his misdeeds cost the Calleguas Municipal Water District $22,000. How ironic was it that this real P.I.
Sexy Shoot
couldn’t foil the carefully laid plans of a man whose job it was to act the part of one. It just goes to show what lots of money, power, and expensive lawyers will get you.
It’s no surprise then given her father’s dirty secrets that Hannah felt the need to break out on her own and set herself apart from her father and the scandal that had surrounded her immediate family.
Proving A Point
As a teen, she was looking to find herself as an individual, and so she set out to do just that.
Family Drama
There’s no doubt that Hannah has the physique and perfectly toned body for the industry, but with these photos being so far outside her usual “good girl” and accomplished equestrian image, it seems like she’s trying to prove a point to the public.
During one of Hannah's photoshoots, she was photographed with what appears to be meat hanging out of her mouth. It seemed as she got older, the more risqué her photoshoots got, and the media just continued to eat it up.
Broken Relationship
Many questioned how exactly her father felt about these shoots.
Since birth, Hannah meant the world to her father, and he would do anything to protect her.
No Harm, No Foul
Her brief stint with modeling, however, may have been the result of her own father’s scandals and the damaging effect it had on their relationship.
Despite this blight on his character and reputation, Selleck has continued to have an unaltered career. He’s portrayed Police Commissioner Frank Reagan on the hit show Blue Bloods since 2010.
Never A Bad Word
When asked why he wanted to leave Magnum, Selleck replied, “Magnum, P.I. went to 163 shows and we still had ground to cover…I was tired from it because I was in every shot.”
Despite being overworked on Magnum P.I., his co-star, Larry Manetti, gushed about Selleck in his memoir. According to Manetti, there was nothing subpar about Selleck’s work ethic, attitude, charity work, or loyalty to the cast and crew.
Thinking Of Others
So when he received a bonus for finishing the show, it’s no surprise what he spent it on…
Selleck received a $350,000 bonus from Universal Studios during the final season of the show.
Box Office Smash
He immediately used that money to buy lavish gifts for others such as Rolex watches and even a Porsche, but the most touching gesture was when he gave each member of the cast and crew a $1,000 bonus as a symbol of his gratitude
That $350,000 was nothing to Selleck, though. Only a year prior, he had starred in the comedy film Three Men and a Baby.
Friends
After the film launched him to stardom, it went on to gross over $170 million in the States and secure the status of the biggest box office hit of the year. But it was his role in a certain hit tv show that launched his career even further…
Friends fans will remember him as the handsome Dr. Richard Burke, third best guest character on the show and one of the top two fan favorites out of all of Monica’s boyfriends.
A Coninued Legacy
Despite only being on the show for a total of 10 episodes, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
The Magnum P.I. legacy will continue to live on thanks to a spin-off show that’s in the works.
Charitable In Every Way
Eva Longoria will spearhead the sequel as executive producer. The all-female cast will be a wonderfully fresh, modern take on the original and complement the storyline of Lily, Magnum’s daughter, as she travels to Hawaii to follow in her father’s footsteps.
Now, Tom Selleck may be tall, dark and insanely talented, but he’s also an avid philanthropist. To name just a few of his endeavors, he’s a board member for The Joseph & Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics, spokesman for the National Fatherhood Initiative, committee member of the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and active part of the Student/Sponsor Partnership Program in New York City.