1981 was one hell of a yr for Ted Danson. Not solely did he draw Hollywood consideration for his supporting position within the steamy thriller Physique Warmth, he additionally acquired his ass kicked on Magnum P.I. Discuss hitting the day by day double.
Danson’s Magnum P.I. episode was monumental for 2 causes, Tom Selleck instructed Danson this week on the The place All people Is aware of Your Title podcast. First, the day Danson confirmed as much as movie was the day that Selleck discovered his present had been picked up for a second season. “We have been doing fairly good,” Selleck stated, “however you by no means know.”
The second purpose the episode was an enormous deal? It was the one by which Selleck went rogue. Danson was the villain of the week, taking part in “a murderous, wimpy husband.”
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“Right here was the monumental factor for this present,” Selleck stated. The 2 males, together with Danson’s fictional spouse, have been on a ship. “You needed to get silly, which you probably did. You had a gun, so in fact, you bought silly sufficient to let me kick it out of your hand. After which we struggle.”
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At this level, wimpy husband Danson is getting his ass handed to him by the hirsute Magnum. Danson’s character didn’t stand an opportunity on this bodily struggle — or did he? “You go over (to the facet of the boat) and pull out an enormous grappling hook,” Selleck remembered. “Andrea Marcovicci, taking part in your spouse, was behind me. And also you’re performing up a storm, performing your little brains out with this grappling hook.”
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A grappling hook? In opposition to an unarmed non-public investigator? Selleck held up his arms. “I am going, Wait a minute. Cease taking pictures. I can’t do that.” Rejecting detective-show cliches about taking down opponents irrespective of their benefit, Selleck insisted on bringing somewhat logic to the scenario. “I stated, ‘He’s acquired a grappling hook. And she or he’s again right here. I acquired the keys to the boat. Why don’t I simply seize her, dive within the water and run away?’”
“And that’s what you probably did,” laughed Danson.
“They actually freaked out,” Selleck stated, “as a result of we weren’t allowed to vary something. The writers have been again in L.A.” Hawaii, the place Magnum P.I. was shot, was three hours behind California in order that they dared to vary the plot on the fly with out permission.
“It was a lot a change within the present,” Selleck stated. “Commenting on these sorts of cliches helped us make our mark.”
However the previous ass-kicking might have price Danson early film stardom. “Right here’s my reminiscence of it,” he defined. “Steven Spielberg was casting Poltergeist. We had a gathering, and he was very excited by me — that is what I used to be instructed. Then he noticed the episode that you simply and I shot, and he noticed this weak, kinda namby-pamby husband getting the shit kicked out of him by tall, good-looking Tom Selleck.”
Which may not have been the worst half, although. “There was an overhead shot,” stated Danson. “This was once I found, Oh, I’m balding. I’ve an precise full-on bald spot.”
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“You, with no bald spot, have been kicking the shit out of me,” Danson remembered. “And I believe Mr. Spielberg went, ‘Ah, no.’”
