Tom Selleck treasured his Magnum P.I. crew, and found a way to show his appreciation.
In an excerpt from his new memoir, You Never Know, published by Business Insider, Selleck recalled his hesitation ahead of returning for Season 8 of the ’80s hit, noting that he “didn’t want anyone to think that last season was just a ploy to get more money.”
After requesting $1,000 bonuses for the crew during contract negotiations so long as the season was filmed under budget and on time, he was shot down, being told that “they could not under any circumstances talk about crew bonuses” because “it would set a dangerous precedent.”
“They always invoked precedent when you had an original thought beyond their contractual boilerplate,” he wrote. “Honestly, that pissed me off.”
The actor hatched a plan in cahoots with his agent Bettye McCart and his lawyer Skit Brittenham in order to secure a “substantial” bonus for just him, which the network was up for.
He then called McCart and Brittenham and “told them to tell Universal — not ask them tell them — to issue thousand-dollar checks to every regular member of our Magnum company in both Hawaii and L.A.”
“And that since it was coming out of my bonus money, there was no precedent involved,” he explained.
Selleck eventually received the ultimate thank you from the show’s crew after they got their checks: “a picture from our L.A. crew standing on a bleacher with big smiles on their faces.”
“In front of them was a very big oversized check for a thousand dollars,” he continued. “The caption below read, ‘Thanks, Tom. What a ‘grand’ gesture.’”
Selleck said the image made him “happy.”
Selleck, whose CBS series Blue Bloods is coming to a close after 14 seasons, is still looking out for his castmates and crewmembers, as he himself is struggling with the show’s cancellation.
In January, he told TV Insider that “CBS will find an awful lot of people aren’t ready to say goodbye to it,” nor does he seem ready. As noted by Variety, while recently speaking with CBS Sunday Morning, Selleck said he “will continue to think that CBS will come to their senses,” and that “all the cast wants to come back” for another season.
He reiterated the sentiment to Entertainment Tonight, telling the outlet that he is “gonna stay optimistic” about prolonging the series.