This week, Blue Bloods welcomes an iconic guest star with a special connection to series star Tom Selleck. Larry Manetti, Selleck’s Magnum P.I. co-star, appears in a touching story with Eddie and Jamie.
Although Manetti has no scenes with Selleck in this episode, he enjoyed the experience so much that he is eager to return and meet Commissioner Frank Reagan. “I didn’t do any scenes with Tom because it was felt that I might confuse the audience because Magnum is such a fantastic famous show,” Manetti explained to Pop Culture. “And if they’re kind enough to bring me back, maybe I’ll work with him then.”
Manetti was grateful that showrunner Kevin Wade gave him a role that was more than just a one-off cameo. His character is pivotal in the Blue Bloods episode. “Every actor hopes for a role like this, and as actors, you take whatever you can get to pay the bills.” “However, it was a doubleheader,” Maneitti explained. “And I can’t thank Kevin Wade, the show’s executive producer, enough for having the guts and balls to bring me on.” I can’t bend over far enough backward for him.”
Manetti even paid a visit to the most famous ‘Blue Bloods’ set… the Reagan family dinner table.
Manetti also paid a visit to the set, where Selleck and his co-stars gathered every week for a Reagan family reunion. Donnie Wahlberg shared an image of Manetti joining the Blue Bloods team on Instagram to spread the word. “I’ve been around for 50 years, and I’ve never, ever guest starred on a show that had more empathy, genuine warmth, and people going out of their way for me.” Manetti remarked, “I felt like Julius Caesar.”
Despite the fact that Manetti and Selleck never shared a screen, they had a great time together during Manetti’s stay in New York. “I was ecstatic to do this show. “It was such a rush,” Manetti exclaimed. “My wife and I went to Hawaii, and I did a Magnum P.I., and then we flew to New York, and it was heaven.” It was wonderful from the moment I stepped onto the New York earth.
For six or seven nights, Selleck and I had dinner at his favorite restaurant with my wife Nancy. As a result, it was a truly surreal event.”
Manetti remembers the first time he saw Selleck…
Manetti and Selleck have a history that predates their Magnum P.I. days. Both appeared in the 1978 episode “D3ad Guys Finish D3ad” of The Rockford Files. Manetti vividly recalls his first encounter with the future television icon.
“[On] the first day of shooting, I hadn’t met Tom yet, and I was lying on a stage in a big auditorium, next to me was Simon Oakland, the actor,” Manetti recalled. “And I had a duffle bag under my head with a hundred extras.” Nobody could talk to you because you couldn’t hear them. It became completely silent all of a sudden. I jerked up, looked up, and saw this 6-foot-4 creature in a white suit walking in. ‘Who is that?’ I asked Simon Oakland as I looked around. And he said, ‘That’s Tom Selleck, the show’s star.’ ‘He’s prettier than Elizabeth Taylor,’ I said.