Me and My Emmy: Tom Selleck

He missed the winner's walk, but he got his Emmy.

Primetime Emmy Tally: One

How He Got the Gold: As lead actor in a drama series, for CBS's Magnum P.I., in 1984.

Now for the Noms: Four additional lead-actor noms for Magnum P.I., plus noms as lead actor in CBS's telefilm Jesse Stone: Sea Change and as guest actor, for his role as Monica's ophthalmologist boyfriend on NBC's Friends.

True Blue: "I took the role of Frank Reagan [on CBS's Blue Bloods] because, as far as I can tell, patriarchs aren't treated well on TV these days. Often they're portrayed as idiots, like [The Simpsons'] Homer Simpson. In this show you have a patriarch who is a positive influence. I'm a spokesman for the National Fatherhood Initiative, and I think it's important to discuss the role of fathers."

Role Round-Up: "I grew up watching Westerns, so doing the film Quigley Down Under and the TV movie Monte Walsh were favorites. I was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, along with people like John Wayne. For a kid who grew up in a housing tract in the San Fernando Valley, that was a very big deal."

Emmy Memory: "I've never gotten to make that winner's walk. I won a Golden Globe the same year I won the Emmy. I was flying to Los Angeles from Hawaii for the Globes, and the plane lost an engine and had to turn back.

Then, Carol Burnett was to host the Emmys, but she got sick. She's a pal, so when she asked if I'd step in as host, I said yes. I was backstage when my category was called. I'd already been nominated several times and hadn't won. I think the audience could tell how shocked I was."


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This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, Issue No. 5, 2013