What an absolutely wonderful memoir! I got to know the man behind the words, and that is what draws me to this genre in the first place. In his book, “You Never Know”, Tom Selleck shares his journey in show business, and his personality shines in every line.
The book, putting it roughly, consists of two distinct parts: Tom Selleck’s life before ‘Magnum’ and Tom Selleck’s life during ‘Magnum.’ Devoted fans of the actor might feel that he skipped telling the readers about some really significant parts of his career. For example, a long-running and highly successful TV series, ‘Blue Bloods,’ earned only a brief mention in the epilogue. But to me, Tom Selleck’s choices regarding what to include in his memoir worked great. Partially, maybe this is because I am not a fan; moreover, I watched neither ‘Magnum’ nor ‘Blue Bloods.’ My acquaintance with Tom Selleck’s work might be limited to the movie ‘Three Men and a Baby,’ and of that I have only vague memories, considering that it is a 1987 film and I watched it probably a decade after its release. Another moment that some might have found disappointing is that the author shared very little about his personal life. And I, conversely, found it praiseworthy and enjoyed what Tom Selleck chose to tell us in his book even more.
I think I understand why the author put such a focus on ‘Magnum’ in his memoir. It was his breakthrough, his ‘I made it.’ A life-transforming event. The thing that people, especially those in the creative field, live and work for. ‘Magnum’ was Tom Selleck and Tom Selleck was ‘Magnum.’ He was the star of the show, its lead, its core, the person with whom the world associated the series and on whom the love of the fans concentrated. With other shows and movies, it was different. There, he was one of the stars. In the case of ‘Magnum,’ the limelight was solely on him.
I enjoyed reading about how they made the show. And I especially liked Tom Selleck’s attitude towards the readers. He clearly doesn’t expect everyone to know his work. This is often the case with famous people. They truly believe that every single person on Earth knows everything about their characters, songs, etc. And that instantly puts me off. I’m not a fan material in general, and even when I admire someone’s work, I rarely go and read/watch/listen to everything they’ve ever created (John Steinbeck is an exception).
Tom Selleck comes off as a well-rounded and balanced person. He is also admiringly sensible. Once, he faced a strange situation during the auditions for ‘The Sacketts.’ One of the invited candidates, a better-established actor than Tom Selleck was at the time, felt insulted and left without doing what he was asked to do. But Tom Selleck took it in his stride. “Look, being offended is a choice; you have to make a choice to be offended. I chose not to be offended.” He got the part in ‘The Sacketts,’ and it was a turning point in his career and a one-of-a-kind experience. About the novels of Louis L’Amour, the author of the book on which ‘The Sacketts’ was based, he writes: “To me, they held the heart of our country between their covers.”
I think I liked the book so much also because I share the author’s views on life. His road to the role that changed his life was long and hard. I believe that it helped him that acting wasn’t his first choice for a career. Yet, once he stepped on that path, he pursued his goals relentlessly. True, without nervous fits and depressive bouts of those to whom a creative path was always front and centre. So, when he finally negotiated the deal that would change his life, he didn’t discard everything that had been before that. “It was the whole journey that mattered most. All of it. All twelve years of it. And some of my fondest memories were reserved for the struggle, the path that was littered with so many failures.”
“The hard-earned lesson that all those years had taught me was that you can’t control the outcome, but you’re fully in control of the effort.” This quote tugged at some sensitive strings of my heart. All my life, all through school and during the years of building a career, it was drilled into me that only the result matters. The process is secondary, irrelevant. I was told that no matter how hard you tried, if the set goal wasn’t achieved, you failed. Always an avid reader and eager learner, I didn’t buy it. Regrettably, people in charge kept selling it to me. I don’t think that the general view on this has changed. People are still pushed and manipulated into pursuing rigidly-defined achievements. So, I found it refreshing and heartwarming to read that someone shares my unpopular opinion that effort matters.
This is admirable when a person doesn’t lose himself in the whirlwind of fame. Tom Selleck didn’t stop thinking about others even when he reached the kind of success that a rare person in show business can ever count on achieving. “I had learned many times over by now that life isn’t fair, but at least I could be,” he explains about why he shared his bonus with the ‘Magnum’ cast. The studio refused to pay out bonuses to the cast, claiming that it would set an unwelcome precedent. At the same time, they easily agreed to pay a significant amount as a bonus to the star of the show personally. I think it tells a lot about a person who chooses to use the money in this way.
Tom Selleck bought a huge ranch in California for the money he earned doing ‘Magnum.’ Almost forty years later, he still lives there. If someone still had questions about why he chose to make his memoir a tribute to this particular show, reading about what ‘Magnum’ gave him should have erased them.
Tom Selleck’s life kept providing him with proof of his motto: “…nothing is certain till it’s certain, and always expect the unexpected.” His memoir, in turn, reminded me that the unexpected happening in one’s life might, if only occasionally, be of a nice variety.
Leave a comment