Next Exit Observations: 12/16/15

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

I Feel Old Now After Finding Out I'm Older Than This Popular TV Show

Happy 35th Anniversary, 'Magnum, P.I.': 20 Things You Didn't Know About the Classic Tom Selleck Drama

2. Orson Welles Played a Major Role. The iconic director provided the off-camera voice of Thomas Magnum’s pal Robin Masters, the wealthy author and playboy who owned Robin’s Nest, the lavish Hawaiian estate where Magnum lived. Still, an ongoing storyline — which remained ambiguous through the end of the series — had Magnum questioning whether or not the estate’s majordomo Jonathan Higgins was actually Masters.

8. Magnum’s Signature Look Has Been Preserved for Posterity: While it’s not as iconic as Selleck’s ‘stache, another item closely associated with Thomas Magnum is his colorful Hawaiian shirt collection. The most famous one, the “Jungle Bird,” is a bright red button down featuring parrots and banana leaves. That shirt — along with Magnum’s beloved Detroit Tigers baseball cap and the team ring he and his friends wore as a symbol of their service during the Vietnam War — was presented by Selleck to the Smithsonian in 2011.

20. Harrison Ford Owes Tom Selleck a Thank-You Note: Selleck famously had to turn down the role of Indiana Jones — after George Lucas had chosen him for the part — because CBS wouldn’t allow him time off from Magnum, P.I. to film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Selleck’s career has gone pretty well in spite of missing out on Indy… but he did get a chance to play an Indy-esque character. Season 8’s “Legend of the Lost Art” found Higgins charging Magnum with finding a missing ancient scroll, which resulted in Selleck donning a costume that included a Jones-ish hat and bullwhip.

Complete list (Yahoo.com)