starts his memoir in the middle of a car crash. He is 17 and in the passenger seat when he and two friends go airborne in his mom91裸聊视频檚 red Chevy Corvair, tumbling off Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. Everyone would be eventually fine, but it91裸聊视频檚 a harrowing moment and a unique way to kick off a look back.

91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 an unusual way to start,91裸聊视频� the 91裸聊视频淢agnum, P.I.91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淏lue Bloods91裸聊视频� star admits in an interview. 91裸聊视频淚t seemed like the perfect way to go back a little bit and talk about my upbringing through the bad accident and the ramifications.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淵ou Never Know91裸聊视频� takes readers through Selleck91裸聊视频檚 years at the University of Southern California, in the Army, being bachelor No. 2 on 91裸聊视频淭he Dating Game91裸聊视频� and small roles and commercials before earning an Emmy and lasting fame as Thomas Magnum.

91裸聊视频淚 didn91裸聊视频檛 have one of those headline-grabbing lives,91裸聊视频� the 79-year-old actor tells The Associated Press. 91裸聊视频淭he only way I could make the book entertaining 91裸聊视频� and I think my primary job and goal in this book is to entertain 91裸聊视频� was to get into these stories in a way that the reader got inside my head.91裸聊视频�

Selleck spent four years writing the book longhand on yellow legal pads, quoting from George Will and Raymond Chandler along the way. He would write in the afternoon and read what he91裸聊视频檇 written to his wife at dinner.

The self-portrait that emerges is of an actor who put his head down and worked at his craft 91裸聊视频� he did six unsold pilots and his first big movie was in the unfortunate 91裸聊视频淒aughters of Satan91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� until hitting the big time in his mid-30s.

91裸聊视频淚f Selleck has one thing to sell its authenticity,91裸聊视频� says 91裸聊视频淗e is a guy who knows who he is. He has managed to make a very successful career in a rough business over many decades by finding a way to be himself.91裸聊视频�

Selleck says he had no intentions of writing a tell-all or sharing salacious details of his life, though he does reveal details about his secret marriage to his second wife, Jillie Mack, who he first spotted onstage in 91裸聊视频淐ats.91裸聊视频� (Yes, he fell in love with Rumpleteazer.)

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 plenty of stuff I have not talked, about and there91裸聊视频檚 plenty of stuff that everybody else has talked about and it isn91裸聊视频檛 really accurate,91裸聊视频� he says.

Readers will learn that Selleck 91裸聊视频� known for his 6-foot-4 matinee-idol looks and build, sense of humor and effortless style 91裸聊视频� was often racked by insecurity and doubts, writing, 91裸聊视频淭hat critic on your shoulder is a formidable opponent.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚 wanted to speak the language of our business to young actors,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not an easy road. The product you91裸聊视频檙e selling 91裸聊视频� when somebody says no, which is 99% of the time 91裸聊视频� is you.91裸聊视频�

Famously, his shooting schedule for 91裸聊视频淢agnum, P.I.91裸聊视频� forced him to decline an offer to play Indiana Jones in 91裸聊视频淩aiders of the Lost Ark,91裸聊视频� a part which went to A Hollywood strike actually made it possible to do both, but Selleck is at peace, writing 91裸聊视频渕y only regret was that the what-if was there from time to time.91裸聊视频�

The role of Magnum 91裸聊视频� a Vietnam war veteran-turned easygoing detective who zipped around Hawaii in a red Ferrari 91裸聊视频� aired from 1980-1988.

Selleck earned an Emmy in 1984 for the episode 91裸聊视频淗ome from the Sea,91裸聊视频� in which Magnum treads water alone in the Pacific Ocean until he is rescued, talking to figures in his past. 91裸聊视频淚 made it, Dad. Why didn91裸聊视频檛 you?,91裸聊视频� the character deliriously asks his father, who was shot down over Korea in 1951. He was thrust into hosting the Emmys on the year he won one.

91裸聊视频淎 part of me was still in host mode. I grabbed my Emmy and ran across the stage to my host podium. I put down my Emmy and looked out at the applauding audience for the first time. When I did, I gotta say, the applause grew louder and stayed that way for quite a bit longer than I expected,91裸聊视频� he writes.

Selleck bet on himself throughout his career, turning down a steady gig on 91裸聊视频淵oung and the Restless91裸聊视频� and showing up for work on the 1979 TV miniseries 91裸聊视频淭he Sacketts91裸聊视频� even though the director made a point of saying he didn91裸聊视频檛 want him.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 most proud that I, as a person, was willing to take risks. They didn91裸聊视频檛 always pay off, but many times they did,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淩isk is the price you pay for opportunity itself.91裸聊视频�

Portraits of other stars also make appearances, like Carol Burnett, Princess Diana and Frank Sinatra, whose last acting job was on 91裸聊视频淢agnum, P.I.91裸聊视频� and who showed off his temper as well as his acting chops while navigating a colostomy bag.

Fans of 91裸聊视频淏lue Bloods91裸聊视频� have to wait for the last few pages to discover that Selleck initially fought for it to be a character-driven show and not a procedural, as the pilot had been. He won and the show is in its 14th season. He writes 91裸聊视频淚 can91裸聊视频檛 be that lucky twice.91裸聊视频�

Selleck writes that he approached his career as a bricklayer, making sure each role was done with the highest quality and then moving on to the next. If that meant pushing back on scripts or budgets, so be it.

91裸聊视频淛ust showing up and getting a paycheck wasn91裸聊视频檛 my idea of the work,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淚 tried to always do it in a businesslike way. You know, not throw tantrums and throw scripts against the wall.91裸聊视频�

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Mark Kennedy is at

Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press