The Wildest Guest Stars ‘Magnum, P.I.’ Ever Threw at Tom Selleck—Sharon Stone to Ted Danson as a Villain!
From Frank Sinatra's final role to a crossover with Angela Lansbury, these stars shined
Key Takeaways
- 'Magnum, P.I.' aired from 1980 to 1988 and featured a handful of surprising guest stars.
- From Frank Sinatra to Sharon Stone, Tom Selleck shined alongside some major stars.
- Here, read about some of our favorite guest appearances on the series.
Magnum, P.I., starring Tom Selleck, aired for eight seasons over the course of eight years, which meant that the show relied on a variety of guest stars to bring each unique story to life episode after episode. Though the show’s leads did a stellar job of pulling us in for all those years, you may have caught a few familiar faces who left their mark on the series during its run. Here, a look at the most iconic guest stars on Magnum, P.I.
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra’s appearance on Magnum, P.I. remains a fan favorite, and in his last acting role before his passing, the singer brought to life Sergeant Michael Doheny, a man in search of the people who killed his granddaughter. When looking back on Sinatra’s appearance on the show, Tom Selleck recalled to CBS Sunday Morning, “I said [to Sinatra], ‘Well, we’re gonna have to write it for you. What do you wanna do?’ He said, ‘Oh, I don’t care. Just make sure I get to beat somebody up.’”
Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett also left her mark on Magnum when she appeared twice as Susan Johnson, a bank teller-turned private investigator who spent two episodes giving Thomas Magnum a run for his money.
Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury starred as Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote, and in 1986, both she and Selleck gave viewers the treat of a lifetime with an exciting crossover event. The two-part collaboration played out over one episode of Magnum, P.I. and one episode of Murder, She Wrote and unraveled a case in which Magnum gets framed and put behind bars—leaving Jessica and Higgins to clear his name.
Sharon Stone
Did you know that Sharon Stone appeared in Magnum, P.I.? The Casino (1995) and Basic Instinct (1992) actress showed her skills in two episodes of the show’s fifth season, playing the part of twins—one evil and one good.
Ted Danson
Ted Danson played a villainous role in the debut season of Magnum, P.I.—just a few years before he and Selleck starred alongside each other once again in Three Men and a Baby (1987). The duo reflected back on their time on Magnum, P.I. together during an episode of Danson’s podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name. “I ended up diving in the water…I think you dove in the water another way and you’re run over by a boat,” Selleck remembered, with Danson agreeing, “I get mine.”
Alan Hale, Jr.
If you grew up watching Gilligan’s Island, you probably got a kick out of seeing Alan Hale, Jr.—the beloved Skipper himself—pop up on Magnum, P.I. The actor appeared in an episode that, fittingly, took him right back out to sea. This time, though, he played a suspect in a case involving a stolen artifact aboard a cruise ship.
These guest appearances remind us why Magnum, P.I. remains such a beloved classic—it brought together the best talent of its era and created television magic that still holds up today.
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