I was but a wee’ lad when Magnum P.I. was on the air. I still get to catch re-runs before I go to work in the morning.
Anyways what was Magnum’s story? I remember seeing an episode where he talks about his football scholarship. I also see him every now and then dressed up like a commando running through the jungle, and of course in the intro you see him in a Navy uniform.
So…what is his life story? He got a football scholarship to some university, then got a commission as an officer in the Navy and was a SEAL? is this about right for the story concept?
He was in Naval Intelligence, that’s why he’s got that friend “Mack” at Pearl who can look up anything in the computer for him, in exchange for donuts.
I don’t know how he went from fighting on the ground in 'Nam to Naval Intelligence, but maybe there was some weird SEAL/Intelligence fictional crossover he did.
This weekend I had a dream about Tom Selleck. He and I were fully dressed, at a cocktail party, and discussing our commutes to and from work. I woke up and thought, “what a waste of a perfectly good Tom Selleck—why did he even bother showing up for THAT dream?”
He went to the Naval Academy. He did play football there (another reason why several episodes mention how hyped up he is to watch the Army-Navy game). He then went to Vietnam, where he was attached to the NIS and served with TC and Rick. They were all captured at one point by the VC and put into little cages and tortured. While in Vietnam he met and married Michele, a French-Vietnamese woman who was killed, or so he thought, only to reappear years later married to a high-up North Vietnamese official. After leaving Vietnam, I believe he resigned his commission at some point, basically because he was disgusted at the underhanded dealings of the U.S. military establishment. After leaving the navy, he became a P.I.
O the mystery of why I can remember the details of a fake person’s life but I can’t remember to send my mother a birthday card.
One of the tricks I performed for my family as a tyke was to scream “MAGNUM TOOSHIE!” during the credits, when, IRC, there was a quick shot of Selleck ass/underwear. Performing monkey? Moi? nah…
I rememebered all of that (including the fact that Magnum’s father died when he was a lad) but I don’t remember how he first got involved with Robin Masters, providing him with a great home and car. Does anyone remember?
As I recall he simply answered an ad in the paper.
He was a SEAL by the way (in the opening credits he is seen in his Navy whites wearing that big SEAL badge), and some kind of champion swimmer and kayaker too.
Wow. I have another Magnum Question, for which I have just searched the IMDB in vain! What a coincidence.
Anyway: I remember reading an article a few years back about the helicopter guy from Magnum (T.C., right?). The article said he had died with the very same helicopter whilst doing contstruction lifting in Mexico (all from memory, so bear with me). Now, the IMDB states that the actor (Roger Mosley) is still very much alive: he is supposedly O.J. Simpson’s best pal.
So who knows anything about this helicopter accident? Was it just the same heli, and maybe a stuntguy, that crashed?
I’m sure I read something on the Magnum helicopter being in an accident. Help me out. I’ll be able to sleep for the first time in 3 years
Snopes doesn’t have anything like that listed in their “dead onstage” section. However, the incident you describe sounds vaugely like the Vic Morrow death, which you can find at the link above.
Snopes doesn’t have anything like that listed in their “dead onstage” section. However, the incident you describe sounds vaugely like the Vic Morrow death, which you can find at the link above.
Joe_X wrote:
“I was but a wee’ lad when Magnum P.I. was on the air. I still get to catch re-runs before I go to work in the morning.”
A wee lad? Wow, I feel so old! I was living in Honolulu during the entire Magnum PI run, so I think I can help you a bit here.
Joe continued, “Anyways what was Magnum’s story? I remember seeing an episode where he talks about his football scholarship. I also see him every now and then dressed up like a commando running through the jungle, and of course in the intro you see him in a Navy uniform.
So…what is his life story? He got a football scholarship to some university, then got a commission as an officer in the Navy and was a SEAL? is this about right for the story concept?”
The first episode, “Don’t eat the snow in Hawaii,” originally aired back in late 1980. Magnum retires as a Navy Intelligence officer (who worked at Pearl Harbor) and stays as a guest at Robin Masters’ estate (he gets the guest cottage) as Masters’ security-type person (and NOT getting along with the estate’s overseer, Higgins). In the first episode, a navy officer is found dead of an apparent drug overdose. Not believing the cause to be an OD, Magnum asks some of his Viet Nam buddies (T.C. and Rick) to help him out. I think he ends up kind of falling “into” private investigative work.
Bit o’ trivia: Tom Selleck was supposed to play Indiana Jones in Steven Spielberg’s movie, but couldn’t because he was locked into having just signed a contract for the Magnum P.I. series.
SPOILER ALERT:
If in case you’re interested, the series finale has Magnum turning his back on his P.I. life, and he decides re-signs back up with the Navy (if I recall correctly).
