Larry Manetti Talks About Reuniting With ‘Magnum P.I.’ Co-Star Tom Selleck On ‘Blue Bloods’

The TV series Blue Bloods is having a special guest star this week. Larry Manetti, who starred alongside Tom Selleck, the lead star in the show Magnum P.I., will be making a cameo appearance alongside other characters like Eddie and Jamie.

Manetti revealed to Pop Culture that he had an exciting time on the set and anticipates returning for another appearance in which his character could get to interact with Tom Selleck’s character, Commissioner Frank Reagan. “I didn’t do any scenes with Tom because it was felt that I might confuse the audience because of Magnum being such a fantastic famous show, but it worked out really, really well,” he told the outlet. “And if they’re kind enough to bring me back, maybe I’ll work with him then.”

Larry Manetti says he is grateful for the role he was offered in ‘Blue Bloods’

The 75-year-old revealed that he had the opportunity to reunite with his old colleague Tom Selleck while enjoying his time in New York City. “I was so excited to do this show. It was such a thrill,” he gushed. “My wife and I had gone to Hawaii, and I did a Magnum P.I., and then we flew to New York, and we did Blue Bloods, and it was heaven. From the moment I stepped on the New York earth, it was just wonderful. Selleck and I had dinner every night with my wife, Nancy, at his favorite restaurant for, I think, six or seven nights. So it was a truly surreal event.”

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Manetti further expressed his deep gratitude towards showrunner Kevin Wade for offering him a role that goes beyond a mere one-time appearance. “An actor dreams to get a role like this, and as actors, you take whatever you get to pay the bill. But this was a doubleheader,” Maneitti explained. “And I can’t thank Kevin Wade, who was the executive producer of the show, enough for having the guts and balls for bringing me on. I can’t bow over backward [enough] for him.”

Larry Manetti speaks about meeting Tom Selleck for the first time

Manetti and Selleck’s friendship dates back to even before their time on Magnum P.I. In fact, both of them had earlier made a guest appearance in 1978 on the “Dead Guys Finish Dead” episode of The Rockford Files.

“[On] the first day of shooting, I hadn’t met Tom yet, and I was lying on a stage in a big auditorium, and next to me was Simon Oakland, the actor,” Manetti recalled. “And I had a duffle bag under my head and there were like a hundred extras. You could barely hear anybody next to you talk to you. All of a sudden it was dead silent. I jerked up, looked up, and I saw this creature walking in, [all] 6-foot-4 of him in a white suit. I looked and I turned and said to Simon Oakland, ‘Who is that?’ And he said, ‘That’s Tom Selleck, he’s the star of the show.’ And I said, ‘He’s prettier than Elizabeth Taylor.’”