I’ve Waited 20 Years to Meet Tom Selleck to Tell Him THIS Moving Story, and My Wish Came True!
Ever since I found out that CBS would be honoring the cast of Blue Bloods (Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes) at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, I was equal combination scared out of my mind and excited like a kid on Christmas (or, in my case, Hanukkah). What ended up happening was greater than anything I could have ever imagined.
Ever since I found out that CBS would be honoring the cast of Blue Bloods (Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes) at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, I was equal combination scared out of my mind and excited like a kid on Christmas (or, in my case, Hanukkah). What ended up happening was greater than anything I could have ever imagined.
It was June 5, 1992. My life changed forever when my mom got into a car accident on the way to pick me up from school. Not a little fender bender—my mom flew through the windshield of her car and wound up in a ditch, unconscious. Doctors assured us she would live, but the quality of her life wouldn’t be known for some time. We were warned of permanent brain damage, memory loss, and the inability to do simple tasks like talk, walk or drive. It was the scariest moment of my life. And so, every night, once we got home from the hospital, my Dad put in the only movies that he knew would cheer me and my sister up—or at least take our mind off of the unfathomable circumstances—Three Men and a Baby and Three Men and a Little Lady.
Although big hits in 1987 and 1990, the Three Men films meant more than any box office total could. I looked almost identical to the young Mary in Three Men and a Little Lady, and seeing her being raised by three dads in an unusual situation provided some comfort in a world that was no longer normal for me. These movies had heart, humor, and romance, and yes, even at the young age of 10, I had the biggest crush on Tom Selleck.
I’m happy to say that three weeks post-accident, my mom miraculously recovered. To this day, the doctors don’t quite know why, though they’ve mentioned her remarkable health and fitness routine, the love of her family, and lots of prayers. So, it did not go unnoticed that Tuesday—June 5, 2012—20 years to the exact day—I was going to be interviewing Tom Selleck. Life is funny, isn’t it?
And after all those years, I got a chance to tell him.
Looking dapper in a beige and cream-colored suit with his lovely wife Jillie Mack at his side, I explained the very same story from above to Tom Selleck. With obvious emotion in his eyes, he looked at me intently and said, “Thank you for that. I can’t tell you what that means to me to hear.” He proceeded to ask how my mom was (aside from being the reincarnation of Lucy Ricardo, she’s totally fine), and explained to me how important those films were to him as well. “That’s why I liked doing Friends. That’s why I liked doing Three Men. Because there was heart. You could laugh, and you could cry.”
What about the third film–Three Men and a Bride–that has been in the works for almost three years now? Well, it’s still in the works–in the scripting stage–and though Disney checked the availability of Tom, Ted Danson, and__Steve Guttenberg__, the project is still active, but it won’t move forward until a script is finished–and one that the three guys are happy with–and as Selleck says, “Stays true to the first two.”
And what about the role that put him on the map? (Magnum P.I. for all you young un’s). There was only one thing I wanted to know…
Glamour: Is it safe to say that the Magnum theme song to is your favorite of all time?
Tom Selleck: Yeah! I wonder why! And my high school friend, Mike Post, wrote that song. He’s much more successful than I am! He’s a big-time composer.
Who knew?! Check out the theme song below, and go rock those aviators.
