You Never Know, a fun, funny and sometimes poignant memoir by Tom Selleck, is an entertaining story by one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors. Selleck has been a favorite of mine for years and I loved reading about the ins and outs of his interesting life.
Attending University of Southern California on a basketball scholarship, Tom Selleck was a mediocre student. His close-knit family was very supportive and throughout the memoir he refers to his family with love and respect.
Tom took acting classes and slowly built up his career, typically with smaller roles, eventually becoming one of Hollywood’s favorite leading men. He found fame in the long-running, award-winning television series Magnum, P.I. which was filmed in Hawaii. Each step along the way brought energy to his budding career. As Selleck is fond of saying, “I’m a bricklayer, one brick at a time.” He’s had setbacks, but learned from them. He found mentors and friends from whom he sought wisdom and encouragement. He often quotes words of wisdom from friends such as Sam Elliott, Frank Sinatra, Carol Burnett, and often pays special tribute to his mentor James Garner. He speaks of the challenges actors face in creating movies and TV shows, the long hours, the delays, and the discomforts of various situations.
The memoir takes us along on his several movies and television series. I’ve seen many of them and for years have enjoyed following his career.
I admire Tom Selleck’s forthright style of writing, and his honesty in facing the many challenges of television and movie productions. I very much enjoyed Selleck’s genuine way of sharing his professional and personal life.