Guide to the Tom Selleck Collection, 1990-2003
3 folders
Location: 0145; 0147
Accession #: RC2008.140; RC2008.136
Introduction
Several publicity photographs of Tom Selleck in his most popular western movies have been given to the Museum by the great actor himself. Movies highlighted include: Crossfire Trail, Last Stand at Saber River, Monte Walsh, and Quigley Down Under.
Biography
A brief biography of Tom Selleck is included below.
Tom Selleck
Born on January 29, 1945, in Detroit, Michigan, Thomas William Selleck moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, when he was a young boy. He attended the University of Southern California where he was on the basketball team, a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, and a member of the Trojan Knights, a service organization dedicated to “Brotherhood, Philanthropy, and Spirit.” Although he was studying business administration at the time, a drama coach suggested Selleck consider acting, for which he took up studying at the Beverly Hills Playhouse soon after. He also served in the 160th Infantry of the California Army National Guard. In 2006, Tom Selleck alongside Richard Rowley started their own charity that promotes reading literature to the deaf children of California.
Selleck first appeared on television as a college senior on The Dating Game in 1965 and 1967. He also appeared in commercials, especially for Pepsi-Cola. His first small movie parts were in films Myra Breckinridge and The Seven Minutes, plus television series, movies, and mini-series. He had a recurring role in The Rockford Files in the 1970s, and eventually was cast as Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I. In 1979, he starred in the TV movie Concrete Cowboyand a number of other film roles during and after Magnum P.I., including the role as an American cowboy in the Australian western Quigley Down Under.
He speaks fondly of his experiences working and acting in western films. Selleck became extremely popular with fans when portraying cowboy roles in Western films, starting with his role as Orrin Sackett in the 1979 film The Sacketts, opposite Sam Elliott, Jeff Osterhage, and Western legends Glenn Ford and Ben Johnson. He was easily accepted playing a cowboy, and the roles seemed to “fit” him. He followed The Sacketts with The Shadow Riders in 1982, then with Lassiter in 1984. Quigley Down Under is probably one of his best known Western films. Selleck has won Western Heritage Awards from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum: In 1998 for his role as Paul cable in Last Stand at Sabre River (1997); again in 2002 for his role as Rafe Covington in the TNT movie Crossfire Trail (2001)(based on a Louis L’Amour novel of the same name); and again in 2004 for his role as Monte Walsh in the motion picture Monte Walsh (2003).
Selleck has appeared in a number of other television series (The Closer, Las Vegas, Boston Legal, and Friends), motion pictures (The Love Letter, 3 Men and a Baby, Mr. Baseball, and Midway), and adaptations of Robert B. Parker novels (No Remorse, Thin Ice, and Sea Change) among others. He has won numerous awards for his acting, including but not limited to: Golden Apple Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Emmy Awards, Western Heritage Awards, and Golden Globe Awards.
For more information:
Tom Selleck at IMDC.com (link)
Tom Selleck at Wikipedia (link)
Scope & Content Note
This collection includes two accessions of publicity photographs. The first, RC2008.136, consists of two publicity photographs featuring Tom Selleck in cowboy attire as characters in two popular western films. The second, RC2008.140, includes four publicity photographs featuring Tom Selleck in cowboy attire as characters in four popular western films. Two of these are duplicates of RC2008.136 and are noted in the container list below.
Subject Terms
Personal Names:
Selleck, Tom
Subject Headings:
Photographs
Processing Information
Items with Accession Number RC2008.136: Two publicity photographs were received from Pua McGinnuess, representing Tom Selleck, on October 23, 2008, and added to the Center’s photograph collections.
Items with Accession Number RC2008.140: The Registrar originally received the photographs in 2008 from Tom Selleck. The photographs were given to the Center by the Registrar on March 30, 2010, and an accession number was assigned to them, RC2008.140.
The current finding aid was updated and posted online by Archivist/Librarian Laura Anne Heller on March 31, 2010, to include both of these accessions and photographic items.
Copyright
The Tom Selleck Collection is the property of the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Literary right, including copyright, belongs to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, with the exception of copyrighted artwork images and published literary works, which are the property of the respective copyright holders. It is the responsibility of the researcher, and his/her publisher, to obtain publishing permission from individuals pictured, relevant copyright holders, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Copyright
The collection is open for research. It is advisable for researchers to discuss their proposed research with staff prior to visiting the Center.
Preferred Citation
Tom Selleck Collection, Box ##, Folder ##, Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Container List
Series 1: Tom Selleck Collection (Location 0145, Box 2, Folder 20)
| Box/Folder # | Accession # | Folder Title/Description |
| 2/20 | RC2008.140.1 | “Tom Selleck as Matthew Quigley in Quigley Down Under.” 1990. Pathe Entertainment. Publicity photograph, col., 10 x 8 in. [Associated with Registrar Collection Accession # 2008.18] |
| 2/20 | RC2008.140.2 | “Tom Selleck as Rafe Covington in Crossfire Trail.” 2001. TWS Productions II, Westlake, CA, Publicity photograph, col., 10 x 8 in. See also RC2008.136.2. [Associated with Registrar Collection Accession # 2008.18] |
| 2/20 | RC2008.140.3 | “Tom Selleck as Paul Cable in Last Stand at Saber River.” 1997. TWS Productions II, Westlake, CA, Publicity photograph, col., 10 x 8 in. See also RC2008.136.1. [Associated with Registrar Collection Accession # 2008.18] |
| 2/20 | RC2008.140.4 | “Tom Selleck as Monte Walsh in Monte Walsh.” 2003. Brandman Productions. Publicity photograph, col., 10 x 8 in. [Associated with Registrar Collection Accession # 2008.18] |
Series 2: Tom Selleck Collection (Location 0147, Box PP9, Folder 48-49)
| Box/Folder # | Accession # | Folder Title/Description |
| PP9/48 | RC2008.136.1 | “Tom Selleck as Paul Cable in Last Stand at Saber River.” 1997. TWS Productions II, Westlake, CA, Publicity photograph, col., 10 x 8 in. |
| PP9/49 | RC2008.136.2 | “Tom Selleck as Rafe Covington in Crossfire Trail.” 2001. TWS Productions II, Westlake, CA, Publicity photograph, col., 10 x 8 in. |
