Tom Selleck has had fans swooning for decades, and he still gets heart rates rising at the age of 76. Midlands Directory detailed Selleck was born in Detroit, Mich. in January 1945 and he grew up with his parents, Martha and Robert, along with three siblings. Brother Robert was born in 1944, while sister Martha came eight years later. Younger brother Daniel completed the family in 1955.
In Michigan, the family patriarch worked as a carpenter. However, he made a big change and moved the family to Sherman Oaks, Calif. to pursue a career in real estate when Selleck was in middle school. He told AARP, “He worked for his realtor brother on straight commission and bought a 1,000-square-foot house for $10,000 on the GI Bill.” His mother her kids to take risks, and he explained his parents “walked their talk. I don’t have any tragic stories of parental rejection. They taught me everything I know.”
Selleck attended Grant High School and played sports while there, graduate in 1962. He hoped to attend the University of Southern California, but it wasn’t in the budget right out of high school. Instead, he spent a couple of years at Valley Junior College before landing a basketball scholarship and transferrin to USC. While in college, Selleck studied business administration as he played basketball and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. He also modeled to earn extra money, and he showed an interest in acting after a drama coach gave him a nudge.
Tom Selleck’s early career included commercials and two Dating Game appearances : In addition to modeling to help cover his college tuition, Tom Selleck told AARP he appeared on “The Dating Game” twice, in 1965 and 1967. “Humiliating and embarrassing,” he said. of the experience. “I lost. Twice. I wasn’t particularly funny or glib,” he recalls.
Despite failing to score the dates, Selleck did snag an opportunity. In 1967, he was given a spot in a new talent program for 20th Century Fox, and focused on it for two years. “I was on my own with no frame of reference, no connection. I’d never done a play in my life. I started at about thirty-five bucks a week, and every six months you either got fired or renewed,” Selleck detailed of the program (per Midlands Directory).
In the midst of that program, Selleck left in order to serve in the California National Guard. He ultimately served for six years, from 1967 to 1973, during the height of the Vietnam War. After an active duty stint of six months, Selleck returned home to learn he’d lost his spot in the talent program. Despite that, he started landing commercials, first for SafeGuard and eventually doing dozens of advertising spots.Director Robert Sallin, who did the SafeGuard spot, noted on YouTube “This was Tom’s first and he was so awesome, I gave him the.” He told me many years later that it was his only suit and he wore it for every casting interview.”
