Watching Roger E. Mosley in character as Vietnam veteran helicopter pilot Theodore “T.C.” Calvin on “Magnum P.I.” was an unusual experience for young African Americans in the early 1980s. Mosley was one of the four leads in the CBS crime drama series, and he wasn’t playing a goofy sidekick or a loud stereotypical “inner-city” character. Bill Cosby had pioneered the premise of the cool and competent Black action hero, in NBC’s mid-1960s secret agent drama, “I Spy,” but from then through the end of the 1970s, Black men almost always played comic roles. Mosley was the African American television action hero for a new generation.
Stephen Hill was one of those young viewers, and as much as he enjoyed the show he never imagined himself as “T.C.” in a hit reboot of the show — let alone working with Mosley.
“I remember watching the show as a kid because back then there weren’t many African American actors playing action hero roles. I was really excited about it,” Hill said recently as the two actors relaxed after work in the lobby of the Prince Waikiki hotel.
Mosley was in Honolulu for his second guest appearance on “Magnum” as barbershop owner John Booky. Mosley previously appeared as Booky in the show’s first season in 2018.
Why a barber?
“That was my decision,” Mosley said. “Where would be the best place for two Black men to get together? In a barbershop.”
Fans know that Mosley’s involvement in the show is an example of how things work in the “Lenkov-verse.” Three reboot shows developed by former showrunner Peter Lenkov — “Magnum,” “Hawaii Five-0” and “MacGyver” — sometimes feature cast members who cross over from one show to another, or from the original series to the reboots.
One actor who crossed over from the original “Magnum” to the new “Hawaii Five-0” was Larry Manetti, who originated the character of Vietnam veteran Orville “Rick” Wright in “Magnum.” He played lounge singer Nicky “The Kid” DeMarco on Lenkov’s “Five-0,” a character who has since appeared on the reboot of “Magnum” as well.
Mosley said he didn’t see the need to be a regular in the new “Magnum.” “I wanted them to fly on their own, but by the same token I wanted the public to know that we (the original cast) gave the show our blessing, so I said we’d figure out a way for me to make some kind of cameo appearance.”
At home in Hawaii
Mosley said the original decision to write T.C. as African American was an afterthought.
“They realized they were doing a show in Hawaii and everybody was all white,” he explained. “Hawaii Five-0” had run from 1968 to 1980, two other made-in-Hawaii network shows had also aired by the time “Magnum” went into production, and the producers felt that they had “used up all the local guys,” Mosley said. Tom Selleck, who was about to debut as Thomas Magnum, remembered working with Mosley on a film project several years previously and recommended casting him as T.C.
“Tom Selleck said, ‘If you can talk him into coming over here he’d be good. If he wants to do a series.’ I didn’t,” Mosley said. He was making a good living in films and wasn’t enthusiastic about the demands of a weekly television show. “They called me in, and I told my agent that I didn’t want to go. I went ‘for two weeks’ and the rest is history — 8-1/2 years. I wasn’t particularly interested in doing it, but I’m glad I did it.”
So was Hawaii. Mosley made significant cultural contributions while living here.
It was a open secret in the early 1980s that African American men weren’t welcome in many Waikiki nightclubs and discos. Mosley opened a nightclub — Reni’s, in a warehouse in an industrial area between Aiea and Pearl City — where all races were welcome. Reni’s wasn’t easy to find; you had to drive to the end of a dead-end street, turn into a parking lot, drive to what appeared to be the end of the parking lot and then around the side of a building to find the club.
Mosley’s philosophy at the time: “If people want to come, they’ll find the way.”
He later installed a sign that could be seen from the freeway.
Mosley took the same direct approach when he learned there were no salons on Oahu that specialized in Black hair — he opened one.
“There were two young ladies, these sisters, were doing hair in their homes — it was illegal and they didn’t have the facilities, so I came up with legitimacy,” he said. “I found two other young ladies who knew how to do African American hair.”
When weaves came in, he said these women were the only ones on the island who could do them — and get the hair to make weaves.
“They were looking for legitimacy and I came up with the hair salon. TC’s Hair Salon. They got their licenses and we were off and running.”
A big role
Hill described Mosley as someone who “blazed a trail” for younger African American actors.
“The first time I talked with him (about the character) he said, ‘Higgins is a woman, Magnum is a Mexican, so create the character (of T.C.) as you see it.’
“There are some very, very strong fans of the old show, and they stick to the old show,” Hill continued. “But when people give our show a chance, they actually see how fun it is and enjoy it as well. Now that we got (Mosley and Manetti) giving us their seal of approval, it helps a lot.”
Hill had just been cast on another show when he got a call to audition for “Magnum.”
“Later that night I remember being on the treadmill in a gym and thinking, ‘That’s a big role. Why would they call me in for that?’ and then thinking, ‘Why not me?’
“Fifteen minutes later I got a call. They said they might have good news for me. I thought it was about the other show and it turns out they said, ‘Pack your bags, you’re going to Hawaii.’ I auditioned on Thursday, got the call on Friday, went to the cast dinner (in Hawaii) on Saturday, had Sunday to myself and Monday I was on the set.
“I rewatched some of the old shows just to get a sense of what the tone was. Our tone is slightly different because everything moves so much faster — now we have cellphones, we have computers. Back then (T.C.) had to be in his office to get phone calls.”
Hill is working with the show’s writers to personalize his character’s backstory. In the reboot, T.C. comes from North Carolina, the birthplace of Hill’s mother, and there will be more references to Ernie Barnes, the artist and professional football player, who went to school with her.
Hill’s mother died shortly after he graduated from Hampton University in Virginia, when he was working in New York selling copiers. He channeled his grief by studying acting, found it to be much more fulfilling than selling copiers, and has been an actor ever since.
“I’ve always wished that she was here to see this, and that I’d be able to spoil her,” Hill said. “To be able to give back and honor her in that way, with my character being from North Carolina, is really cool.”
If the writers ever decide that T.C. needs to ride a horse, Hill can personalize that too. He “fell in love” with riding in 2015 when he was cast as the slave York in the HBO miniseries “Lewis and Clark,” and riding had become a form of relaxation for him.
“Being here during COVID times, (riding) was one of the few things that was open and running,” Hill said. He said he also has been studying kobang qigong, which includes swordsmanship. “Maybe one of these days I can get some land and my horse and ride off with my sword and practice by myself.”
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Season 3 is set to premiere Dec. 4 on CBS.
