You Never Know is by TV actor, leading man, and pop culture hearthrob Tom Selleck. This is a memoir in which he focuses on his professional life, rather than his personal life. This is a treat for fans of Magnum P.I. which fills over half this book, but leaves fans of his other work with a mixed response.
His 'accidental career' began in college when he went on The Dating Game for a laugh, and was noticed by agents. He details his commercials for Safeguard, Close-Up, and Dubonnet with an unknown Farrah Fawcett. In the last training program offered by Fox Studios, he learned movement, diction, and publicity, with people like Sam Elliott and Lyle Waggoner. Studying and 'laying bricks' towards a career continued with parts on many TV shows including The Rockford Files, and many leads in failed buddy-cop TV pilots. Films followed with Mae West, and star roles in Daughters Of Satan and Terminal Island, before returning to TV for a pilot being shot in Hawaii, as the series Hawaii Five-O wrapped up. Probably the most publicized story of the book is his being cast by Steven Speilberg and George Lucas for a new adventure film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. His contract for Magnum was picked up at the same time, conflicting schedules, and the rest is history.
Magnum, P. I. debuted in 1980 and became a worldwide hit, running for 8 seasons until 1988. Thomas Magnum and Tom Selleck became household names. Over half this book details the development, breakdown of individual shows, and each season (including many celebrity guest stars like an unknown Sharon Stone).
For fans of the show of great interest, but he stops there, neglecting the majority of his work.
He details filming High Road To China and Lassiter while on hiatus, and post-Magnum he filmed the hit Three Men And A Baby. Despite the detail included earlier in the book, he doesn't mention what I thought was a star turn in Coma, and the thirty years of his career post-Magnum - hits like Quigley Down Under, In and Out, and the 9 (!) Jesse Stone TV mysteries; my personal favourite An Innocent Man; an Emmy-award winning guest spot on Friends, and the Michael Crichton action movie Runaway; even Mr. Baseball and Her Alibi.
He does give a brief mention to Blue Bloods, another massive hit TV series which has been going for 14 seasons, far longer than Magnum, P. I.
Tom Selleck won Golden Globe and Emmy awards for his work on Magnum, P.I., a true cultural phenomenon. Readers would be better served by a title (like) Magnum & Me, as this is what is essentially delivered. Fans of his other work will have to wait for 'part two' for the rest of the story. Dealing only with his professional life also makes this feel lobsided.
I am a fan, excited to read this and entertained, but felt let down.
This is all he wanted to share, but I wished for more.
2024 / Hardcover / 340 pages
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