Tom Selleck’s Red Jungle Bird Aloha Shirt » BAMF Style

Vitals

Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, private investigator and former Navy SEAL

Hawaii, 1980s

Series: Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988)
Creator: Donald P. Bellisario & Glen Larson
Costume Designer: Charles Waldo (credited with first season only)
Costume Supervisor: James Gilmore

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy 80th birthday, Tom Selleck! Born January 29, 1945 in Detroit, the actor rose to stardom as the Hawaii-dwelling private investigator Thomas Magnum across all eight seasons of Magnum, P.I. 

In addition to highlighting Magnum’s aspirational life on a lush Oahu estate with a red Ferrari at his disposal, the series further humanized Vietnam veterans and addressed their post-war struggles and successes.

Frequently nominated by both groups, Selleck was awarded an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Magnum. His familiar appearance of ubiquitous mustache and the usual aloha shirt and Detroit Tigers baseball cap has kept Magnum a recognizable character even among folks who haven’t seen the series.

Among Magnum’s dozens of aloha shirts, the red “jungle bird” print that appeared in more than two dozen episodes remains the most iconic—to the extent that Selleck donated his screen-worn shirt to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History after the series ended in 1988.

What’d He Wear?

The Aloha Shirt

The aloha shirt most frequently associated with Thomas Magnum featured a red “jungle bird” tropical print, one of several screen-worn shirts made by the appropriately named Hawaiian brand Paradise Found, a label of the Pacific Clothing Company. Stories range about how the shirts were chosen for the show; some say a member of the production team bought some in batch from Honolulu department store Liberty House, while others have claimed it was Tom Selleck himself who bought them.

Regardless of how they were selected behind the scenes, Magnum started the series with a closet full of brightly patterned aloha shirts, including this iconic red jungle bird-printed shirt which debuted at the end of the third episode “China Doll”. This has become immortalized as the quintessential Magnum shirt, due to its frequency on promotional photos as well as it being his most-worn Hawaiian shirt on screen—the only one to appear across all eight seasons.

“Missing in Action” (Episode 1.09)

Made from 100% rayon with five real wooden two-hole buttons up the plain front, the shirt’s all-over pattern consists of purple parrots perched on green and yellow tropical leaves against a bright red ground. The shirt follows the traditional aloha shirt design with a notched camp collar and a relaxed fit, eased by two pleats under the straight back yoke.

“I’ll give that funny shirt you’re wearing a few more colors… like two shades of red,” Luther Gillis (Eugene Roche) threatens Magnum in the fourth season episode “Luther Gillis: File 521” as he holds our favorite P.I. at gunpoint. Note that Magnum is also interestingly still wearing the Chronosport Sea Quartz 30 dive watch that had been replaced by his “Pepsi bezel” Rolex at the beginning of the season.

In addition to this vibrant red colorway, Magnum also twice wore a shirt in an identical print but a more “tropical electric” black-and-purple colorway. The shirts were originally 100% rayon until 1983, when Paradise Found added a 100% cotton option. A decade later, they transitioned to cotton-only shirts until 2007, when they reverted to exclusively producing these shirts in 100% rayon. You can read more about the shirt’s history at Aloha FunWear.

Given its appearance in at least 27 episodes, the production likely sourced several nearly identical shirts over the series’ run, as the shirt he wears by the seventh and eighth seasons features a slightly differently positioned variation of the print, a slightly narrower collar, and a breast pocket. (This was likely the shirt ultimately given to the Smithsonian, as the donated shirt has a breast pocket.)

By the last two seasons, Magnum had a new—but nearly identical—red jungle bird shirt, most clearly evident by the addition of a non-matching breast pocket as seen here in “The Love That Lies” (Episode 8.06).

Appeared in: “China Doll” (Episode 1.03), “Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too” (Episode 1.04), “Missing in Action” (Episode 1.09), “Adelaide” (Episode 1.14), “The Black Orchid” (Episode 1.16), “Dead Man’s Channel” (Episode 2.02), “From Moscow to Maui” (Episode 2.04), “The Sixth Position” (Episode 2.11), “The Eighth Part of the Village” (Episode 3.04),”Past Tense” (Episode 3.05), “Mixed Doubles” (Episode 3.10), “Forty Years from Sand Island” (Episode 3.18), “Luther Gillis: File #521” (Episode 4.02), “Squeeze Play” (Episode 4.07), “No More Mr. Nice Guy” (Episode 4.13), “Dream a Little Dream” (Episode 4.20), “Mac’s Back” (Episode 5.03), “Tran Quoc Jones” (Episode 5.09), “Ms. Jones” (Episode 5.19), “The Treasure of Kalaniopu” (Episode 6.09), “Who Is Don Luis Higgins…and Why Is He Doing These Terrible Things to Me?” (Episode 6.19), “Paper War” (Episode 7.08), “Autumn Warrior” (Episode 7.13), “Murder by Night” (Episode 7.14), “Pleasure Principle” (Episode 8.02), “The Love That Lies” (Episode 8.06), “Legend of the Lost Art” (Episode 8.10)

Following the renewed popularity of the original Magnum, P.I. and the CBS reboot series starring Jay Hernandez (who shares the ’80s Magnum’s fashion sense), Paradise Found remade many of its original designs as worn by Selleck, including both the red and black jungle bird prints… both of which have been purchased by yours truly.

Paradise Found Red Jungle Bird Shirt (Aloha FunWear, $74)

Price and availability current as of Jan. 27, 2025.

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Note: These are somewhat oversized (and rayon doesn’t typically shrink like cotton), so I—and Aloha FunWear—recommend choosing one size smaller than you typically wear. While I (5’9″, 190 lb.) often wear size large shirts, my Paradise Found shirts all fit better when I purchase size medium.

Shorts

When Magnum debuts this shirt at the end of “China Doll”, he wears it tucked into tan needlecord cotton shorts that have his usual short inseam. These simple flat-front shorts are elasticized on the sides, with a hidden closure on the squared extended front waistband tab. They also have side pockets but no back pockets.

Appeared in: “China Doll” (Episode 1.03), “The Eighth Part of the Village” (Episode 3.04)

“China Doll” ends with a low-key debut for an iconic costume as a recovering Magnum and Mai Ling (Susie Elene) check on Higgins’ process as he repairs the Ming reproduction of a Soong Dynasty vase.

For the next two seasons, Magnum exclusively wears this shirt with jeans until the third-season episode “Mixed Doubles” when he tucks it into a dramatic pair of khaki cotton double forward-pleated shorts. (Photos of the screen-worn shorts can be found at this post on the Magnum Mania! forum.)

These are like a Magnum-ized version of Higgins’ British Army-inspired Bermuda shorts, retaining the long rise with its structured waistband but with a considerably shorter inseam. The high-rise waistband is rigged with unique belt loops that button closed at the top of each loop, and it closes through two stacked buttons on the front. These also have side pockets but no back pockets.

Appeared in: “Mixed Doubles” (Episode 3.10)

Though these shorts are frequently seen throughout Magnum, P.I., this scene with Magnum and Ronald Mills (Henry Gibson) in “Mixed Doubles” is the only time TM sports them with his iconic red jungle bird shirt.

Later in “Mixed Doubles”, Magnum tucks his red jungle bird shirt into a simpler pair of khaki shorts that would be his “canonical” shorts with this shirt—worn together at least eleven times across the show’s run. Made from a lighter shade of khaki, these cotton shorts have a lower standard rise to Selleck’s waist, where he holds them up with his usual khaki web belt pulled through the loops.

The shallow single reverse pleats align with the foremost belt loop on each side of the fly. These shorts also have slanted side pockets and patch-style back pockets, with the manufacturer’s logo ostensibly embroidered in the small black patch sewn along the top of the back-right pocket.

Appeared in: “Mixed Doubles” (Episode 3.10), “Forty Years from Sand Island” (Episode 3.18), “Luther Gillis: File #521” (Episode 4.02), “No More Mr. Nice Guy” (Episode 4.13), “Mac’s Back” (Episode 5.03), “Tran Quoc Jones” (Episode 5.09), “Ms. Jones” (Episode 5.19), “The Treasure of Kalaniopu” (Episode 6.09), “Paper War” (Episode 7.08), “Autumn Warrior” (Episode 7.13), “Murder by Night” (Episode 7.14)

“No More Mr. Nice Guy” (Episode 4.13)

A brief vignette at the end of the fourth season’s penultimate “Dream a Little Dream” features the shirt tucked into a pair of pale-gray cotton shorts that Magnum often wears with other shirts. These short-inseam shorts have belt loops (here unused) with jeans-style curved front pockets and a back-right patch pocket.

Appeared in: “Dream a Little Dream” (Episode 4.20)

Magnum holds his first-ever client’s daughter while watching her in the 1984 Surf-Out during the end of “Dream a Little Dream” (Episode 4.20).

Magnum wears this shirt three times across the eighth and final season, though each time with a new pair of shorts. When his therapist (Dennis Robertson) challenges him in the season’s second episode “Pleasure Principle” with “don’t you think it’s about time you began to dress like a grown man?”, Magnum considers his outfit: the Detroit baseball cap, aloha shirt, and pale-blue double reverse-pleated shorts. These shorts have the usual short inseam with side pockets, no back pockets, and an all-white waistband.

Appeared in: “Pleasure Principle” (Episode 8.02)

“Pleasure Principle” (Episode 8.02)

In “The Love That Lies”, Magnum wears stone-colored cotton shorts, styled with double forward-facing pleats, gently slanted side pockets, and inverted box-pleated back pockets that each close with a single-button flap. The short-inseam bottoms are cuffed in place.

Appeared in: “The Love That Lies” (Episode 8.06)

Usually men wearing shorts like this aren’t allowed anywhere near children of this age, but we can make an exception for Thomas Magnum.

The epilogue of “Legend of the Lost Art” would be the last we canonically see of Magnum’s red jungle bird shirt, here tucked into a pair of plain white cotton shorts that are otherwise identical to the light-blue shorts in “Pleasure Principle” with their double reverse-facing pleats, all-white waistband, and side pockets—though these do also have a back-right pocket that was missing on the blue shorts.

When Higgins tries to get him to re-don the brown leather jacket and fedora to continue their episode-long adventure (a not-so-subtle reference to the Indiana Jones role that Selleck lost to Harrison Ford a decade earlier), Magnum locks him out of the house and indignantly puts his Detroit cap back on in protest.

Appeared in: “Legend of the Lost Art” (Episode 8.10)

“Legend of the Lost Art” (Episode 8.10)

Jeans

From the first season through the beginning of the second, Magnum’s light-to-mid blue jeans were typically Levi’s with the “orange tab” (rather than the familiar “red tab”), denoting more fashionable or experimental denim like the boot-cut bottoms on Magnum’s jeans. Otherwise, these jeans were structured similarly to classic Levi’s with belt loops and the five-pocket layout of two patch-style back pockets and two curved front pockets with a coin/watch pocket inset on the right-hand side.

Appeared in: “Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too” (Episode 1.04), “Missing in Action” (Episode 1.09), “Adelaide” (Episode 1.14), “The Black Orchid” (Episode 1.16), “Dead Man’s Channel” (Episode 2.02), “Mac’s Back” (Episode 5.03) flashback, “Who Is Don Luis Higgins…and Why Is He Doing These Terrible Things to Me?” (Episode 6.19)

Through the second and third seasons, Magnum transitioned to preferring jeans more informed by naval dungarees, like the bell-bottoms authorized by the U.S. Navy for its working uniform early in the 20th century. These jeans also have belt loops, though the pocket configuration consists of two straight-top patch pockets over the front and two over the seat.

Appeared in: “The Sixth Position” (Episode 2.11), “Past Tense” (Episode 3.05)

“The Sixth Position” (Episode 2.11)

The fourth-season episode “Squeeze Play” marks the last time Magnum wears jeans with this shirt. They’re not any jeans we’ve seen with the shirt before; though styled like his five-pocket Levi’s, they have an upward-looped “bug” stitch pattern over each back pocket, similar to contemporary jeans from Polo Ralph Lauren that featured this stitch in both upward- and downward-looped variations. This aligns with Magnum clearly being a fan of the brand, wearing Polo-branded polo shirts throughout the series.

Appeared in: “Squeeze Play” (Episode 4.07)

“Squeeze Play” (Episode 4.07)

Though Magnum occasionally—but sparingly—wore other belts, his preferred belts for most of the series (and always with this shirt) were khaki cotton web belts as were issued to servicemen across all branches of the military. In the first season, these belts had simple gold-finished box-frame buckles. From the second season onward, he wore a wider silver-toned buckle, personalized with a gilt U.S. Navy Surface Warfare badge and “MAGNUM” below it.

Shoes

Especially in early seasons, Magnum’s favorite sneakers were the PUMA Easy Rider model in a white-and-blue colorway, always with low white ankle socks. The white nylon uppers have ivory suede overlays around the laces, toes, and heels (to reinforce the “stretch points”, according to a 1977 ad), contrasting with the blue leather formstrip along each side. The outsoles are blue rubber with six round indentations along each side, attached to shock-absorbant gum rubber soles with conical lugs. Still produced today, these running shoes have changed little since they were launched in 1977.

Appeared in: “Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too” (Episode 1.04), “Missing in Action” (Episode 1.09), “Luther Gillis: File #521” (Episode 4.02)

“Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too” (Episode 1.04)

More often than not, Magnum wears boat shoes with his red jungle bird shirt—regardless of if he’s wearing jeans or shorts. Typically, these have beige nubuck uppers (prone to collecting dirt), though he also occasionally wears stark white boat shoes—as seen in “Past Tense” (Episode 3.05)—and dark-brown ones, particularly for the shirt’s introduction in “China Doll” (Episode 1.03).

Also known as deck shoes for their intent to be worn aboard wet decks at sea, boat shoes originated in the 1930s when outdoorsman Paul Sperry was inspired by the grooves in his dog’s paws to craft siped soles that would provide better traction. For decades, the Sperry Top-Sider was the prevailing boat shoe until it was embraced by imitators—especially during the ’80s, when it was celebrated (and mocked) as a “crucial element” in yuppie style, as heralded from the cover of Lisa Birnbach’s satirical The Official Preppy Handbook.

Likely also made by Sperry, Magnum’s beige boat shoes have the usual moc-toe construction and 360-degree lacing system, with the matching rawhide laces pulled derby-style through two sets of white-finished eyelets. He never wears socks with his boat shoes.

Appeared in: “Missing in Action” (Episode 1.09), “The Black Orchid” (Episode 1.16), “The Sixth Position” (Episode 2.11), “Forty Years from Sand Island” (Episode 3.18), “Squeeze Play” (Episode 4.07), “No More Mr. Nice Guy” (Episode 4.13), “Dream a Little Dream” (Episode 4.20), “Mac’s Back” (Episode 5.03), “Tran Quoc Jones” (Episode 5.09), “The Treasure of Kalaniopu” (Episode 6.09), “Paper War” (Episode 7.08), “Autumn Warrior” (Episode 7.13), “The Love That Lies” (Episode 8.06)

“The Sixth Position” (Episode 2.11)

Jewelry and Watches

Through the first three seasons of Magnum, P.I. (and briefly in the second episode of the fourth season), Magnum’s everyday wristwatch is a stainless steel Chronosport Sea Quartz 30 dive watch on a black tropic rubber strap. Flashbacks also establish that Magnum wore this watch while serving in Vietnam, though—while Navy SEAL teams purportedly wore some Chronosport watches during the early ’70s—the Sea Quartz 30 wasn’t introduced until 1977, two years after the U.S. was officially withdrawn from Vietnam.

Magnum’s Chronosport has a slim black tick-marked rotating bezel, a black dial with luminescent markers and numerals for 12, 6, and 9 o’clock with a black day-date window at 3:00. Close-ups of the watch reveal it to be a pre-1982 model that just says “Quartz” on the dial before Chronosport added the full “Sea Quartz 30” designation on the dial.

“The Sixth Position” (Episode 2.11)

The Momentum brand revived the Sea Quartz 30 in mid-2023, paying tribute to the original Magnum, P.I. dive watch. Available from Huckberry, I can personally attest to the fine quality of the Momentum Sea Quartz 30!

In 2023, Momentum Watch Company launched their perfect recreation of the iconic Chronosport Sea Quartz 30 famously worn by Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I., fitted to both a steel bracelet and a screen-accurate black tropic rubber strap.

Momentum Sea Quartz 30 on black tropic rubber strap (Huckberry, $330)

Price and availability current as of Nov. 22, 2024.

Beginning with the excellent fourth season premiere episode “Home from the Sea”, Magnum’s watch is retconned to be a Rolex GMT Master that is established as having belonged to his aviator father, bequeathed to young Thomas following his father’s death during the Korean War. Thus, the watch’s origins are somewhat anachronistic as the GMT Master wasn’t launched until 1954, one year after the Korean Armistice Agreement ended the war.

Magnum, P.I. featured a GMT Master with the blue-and-red “Pepsi” bidirectional bezel, a black matte dial with painted non-numeric hour markers and a 3:00 date window, and a steel Oyster-style three-piece link bracelet. Some debate has endured as to whether or not the screen-worn watch was a ref. 1675 or the ref. 16750, with Danny Milton providing evidence for the latter in the March 2021 Hodinkee article, “Why The Rolex GMT-Master Pepsi Is The Perfect Watch For Magnum P.I.“ Milton points out that the ref. 16750’s production timeline of 1980 to 1988 neatly aligns with the series run and would have been readily available to be sourced for the production. In tribute to Selleck’s famous timepiece, Jay Hernandez wore a newer Rolex GMT Master II in the recent reboot of Magnum, P.I.

Selleck himself was a fan of the GMT Master, keeping the screen-worn watch after the series ended and explaining that:

I’ve always loved that watch. It was the perfect match for Magnum. It’s a watch that likes action, and believe me I know what I’m talking about. I’ve had my fair share of “sport” watches but never one as tough as the Rolex. It’s been underwater, buried in sand, taken I don’t know how many knocks, and never a problem. It’s called the Pepsi because the bezel colors are the same as the Pepsi logo. Personally, I thought the red went well with the Ferrari and the blue matched Hawaii’s lagoons and sky.

Magnum’s Rolex GMT Master gets solid screen-time as he hot-wires Robin’s Ferrari after handing over his keys to Higgins in “Paper War” (Episode 7.08).

Toward the end of the third season, Magnum began wearing a silver POW/MIA bracelet that would be on his right wrist through the end of the series. The POW/MIA bracelet program was launched on Veterans Day 1970, beginning a nationwide practice of wearing bracelets to increase awareness of and remember service members who were prisoners of war or missing in action. These simple silver bracelets are engraved with the service member’s name, rank, and the date they were taken prisoner or listed as missing. Magnum’s bracelet honors Kenneth Ray Lancaster, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant from Maryland who was listed as missing on January 3, 1968.

Magnum debuts his POW/MIA bracelet in “Forty Years from Sand Island” (Episode 3.18).

Magnum and his former VMO-2 teammates Rick (Larry Manetti) and T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) all wear matching smooth gold-plated signet rings that flare out to a black enamel-filled surface with the gold Croix de Lorraine in relief. This patriarchal cross had emerged as a symbol of resistance during World War II-era France. Magnum Mania! experts have proposed a plausible connection between this symbol and Magnum’s team, suggesting it served as a meaningful memento for them. Aside from the first season when he wore it on his left hand, Magnum typically wears this on his right ring finger.

Numerous replicas of this ring are available, including a relatively well-reviewed piece offered on Amazon. It’s worth noting that while this symbol has no direct association with the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps—the branches Magnum, Rick, and T.C. served in—it has been the insignia of the U.S. Army Reserve 79th Infantry Division since the division’s involvement in the defense of France during World War I.

Sunglasses

Sunglasses are essential for a private eye dwelling in Hawaii’s sunny climate, and Magnum cycles between a few stylish pairs that were fashionable through the ’80s.

With this shirt, his most frequent pair are the tortoise nylon-framed Vuarnet Skilynx Acier, which present a sportier take on the iconic aviator-style design. The Vuarnet brand debuted in 1961, seizing the opportunity to promote the Skilynx lens developed by Roger Pouilloux and Joseph Hatchiguian four years earlier. This lens innovation coincided with French alpine ski racer Jean Vuarnet’s gold medal win at the previous year’s Winter Olympics, which provided an ideal platform for their product. Magnum keeps his connected to thin nylon cords around the back of his head, alternating between cords in black, blue, and red.

Appeared in: “The Eighth Part of the Village” (Episode 3.04), “Mixed Doubles” (Episode 3.10), “Luther Gillis: File #521” (Episode 4.02), “No More Mr. Nice Guy” (Episode 4.13), “Dream a Little Dream” (Episode 4.20), “Mac’s Back” (Episode 5.03), “Tran Quoc Jones” (Episode 5.09), “Ms. Jones” (Episode 5.19), “The Treasure of Kalaniopu” (Episode 6.09), “Pleasure Principle” (Episode 8.02)

“No More Mr. Nice Guy” (Episode 4.13)

Less frequent with this shirt (and in general), Magnum also wears gold-framed Ray-Ban Shooter sunglasses. This variation of the iconic aviator-style frame was reportedly named for the vanity “bullet hole” positioned between the lenses, supposedly for wearers to place a cigarette to free their hands for shooting… which seems insane, until considering that one of the most famous Shooter wearers was Hunter S. Thompson.

The Shooter frame is also characterized by a reinforced brow bar—typically beige, as seen on the sunglasses that Magnum wears in “Missing in Action” and “Past Tense”.

Appeared in: “Missing in Action” (Episode 1.09), “Past Tense” (Episode 3.05), “The Love That Lies” (Episode 8.06)

“Missing in Action” (Episode 1.09)

Hats

Magnum initially went bareheaded with his red jungle bird shirt, until he first paired it with his iconic navy Detroit Tigers cap in the second episode of the fourth season, “Luther Gillis: File #521”; by the latter seasons, he almost always wore this hat and shirt together, even while napping in the guest house during the epilogue of “Murder by Night”. Magnum was established as a Tigers fan in tribute to Selleck’s actual birthplace, so he frequently wore this fitted cotton twill cap with a white-embroidered “D” in the Tigers’ Middle English blackletter typeface across the front of the crown.

Appeared in: “Luther Gillis: File #521” (Episode 4.02), “No More Mr. Nice Guy” (Episode 4.13), “Ms. Jones” (Episode 5.19), “The Treasure of Kalaniopu” (Episode 6.09), “Murder by Night” (Episode 7.14), “Pleasure Principle” (Episode 8.02), “The Love That Lies” (Episode 8.06), “Legend of the Lost Art” (Episode 8.10)

In “The Love That Lies” (Episode 8.06), note that Magnum has returned to wearing “shooter”-style aviators, but with a darker tortoiseshell frame and brow bar.

Magnum wears his VMO2 cap less frequently with this shirt, but it appropriately makes its debut with it in the fifth-season episode “Mac’s Back” that focuses around Magnum’s military service. He wears it again six episodes later in “Tran Quoc Jones”. Also made from a navy twill, this fitted cap features a navy patch with “VMO2” and “DA NANG” embroidered above and below a yellow-embroidered eagle, representing Marine Observation Squadron 2 (VMO-2) in which Magnum, Rick, and T.C. all served.

Appeared in: “Mac’s Back” (Episode 5.03), “Tran Quoc Jones” (Episode 5.09)

“Mac’s Back” (Episode 5.03)

A Blazer?

Toward the end of the sixth season, Higgins invites the president of Costa Del Rosa to a cocktail reception at Robin’s Nest, so Magnum dresses up his aloha shirt and jeans by pulling on a dark-navy linen blazer. This single-breasted jacket has the characteristic crested gilt shank buttons of a blazer, with two on the front and four smaller ones decorating each cuff.

Appeared in: “Who Is Don Luis Higgins…and Why Is He Doing These Terrible Things to Me?” (Episode 6.19)

As Magnum tries to trick Higgins’ suspiciously identical half-brother Don Luis Mongueo, note that both he and Rick (whose face is concealed by the tan blonde in the salmon-colored gown) sport navy blazers—though Rick sports a double-breasted jacket as opposed to Magnum’s more conventional single-breasted blazer.

This wasn’t the first time that Magnum had dressed up an aloha shirt with a blazer, as he had previously done with his purple calla lily-printed shirt in “The Kona Winds” (Episode 6.04).

Of Note…

In the second season premiere “Billy Joe Bob” (Episode 2.01), the titular Texan (James Whitmore Jr.) is dressed in a red jungle bird-printed shirt meant to be Magnum’s, though eagle-eyed fans will notice slight variations in the pattern that suggest an entirely different shirt than the one Selleck wears on screen.

Billy Joe Bob doesn’t quite have what it takes to pull off an aloha shirt like Magnum can. Then again, who am I to talk..?

My own rayon reissue of Paradise Found’s original red jungle bird aloha shirt is also a staple for my beach vacations from coast to coast, whether that’s my family’s annual trip to Rehoboth Beach, a sojourn to Florida, or—of course—for my first trip to Hawaii.

My last travel before COVID-19 lockdowns was to Anna Maria Island, Florida in March 2020. Of course, I took my red jungle bird Paradise Found shirt and a Magnum-style web belt. This was also probably the first and last time I tucked in an aloha shirt.

Yours truly in October 2023, joining the statue of Duke Kahanamoku on Waikiki. You don’t have to tell me—I know I’m not Tom Selleck 🙁

What to Imbibe

Like many television shows of the period (and even today), Magnum, P.I. avoided licensing issues by using fictional labels for products like beer. Thus, Magnum’s preferred beer brand was early established as, uh, “Coops”—a generally nondescript brew branded with black scripted logos against gold labels… perhaps in tribute to the similarly branded real-life Coors Banquet lager.

In his room adjoining the high-strung Amy Griswald (Nancy Stafford), Magnum enjoys a bachelor’s dinner of pizza and beer in “The Treasure of Kalaniopu’u” (Episode 6.09).

As made famous by Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed’s eastbound [and down] journey in Smokey and the Bandit, Coors was only distributed throughout the western United States until the mid-1980s. This distribution didn’t include Hawaii, so Magnum would have had to have relied on Rick’s shady connections if he wanted Coors. Luckily, he seems generally satisfied to drink Coops instead.

The Car

Any discussion of Thomas Magnum’s enviable world would be incomplete without reference to the bright cherry red Ferraris that powered him around O’ahu on his cases. As the Ferrari was always one of three vehicles in the automotive stable of Magnum’s enigmatic host and benefactor, Robin Masters, ROBIN-1 may be the most significant example of a character’s iconic car that wasn’t even owned by its primary driver!

The opening sequence of the first episode, and every set of opening titles to follow, magnify this connection between car and character as we see Magnum smirk, shift into gear, and peel away in a controlled slide behind the wheel of the first ROBIN-1, a 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS.

Magnum arrives at the King Kamehameha Club in ROBIN-1, a 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS, in “Missing in Action” (Episode 1.09).

Had Tom Selleck been a little shorter, the Ferrari may have never been introduced to Magnum’s world as the producers originally had their eyes set on a Porsche. However, Porsche reportedly refused to make the modifications necessary to comfortably fit the 6’4″ actor while Ferrari was all too pleased to chop away at the 308 GTS to make room for Magnum. (Even still, Magnum Mania! points out that you rarely see Magnum driving the Ferrari with the top closed, and Selleck’s head almost always sticks out above the top of the windshield!)

Magnum, P.I. neatly chronicles the evolution of the 308 GTS series, its 1980-1988 production timeline overlapping with much of the Ferrari 308’s own history from its debut at the 1975 Paris Motor Show through the final model year in 1985. In addition to Robin’s ’79 Ferrari 308GTS in the first season, the series would feature a 1981 Ferrari 308GTSi for the second through sixth seasons and a 1984 Ferrari 308GTSi quattrovavole for the final two seasons, all of which would undergo varying abuse from fender benders to car bombs as chronicled by Magnum Mania!

Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina designed the low, sleek 308, introduced by Ferrari to replace the mid-engine Dino series that had been in production since 1967. The first 308 models were strictly close-topped “Berlinetta” GTB models until the targa-topped GTS model was unveiled at the 1977 Frankfurt Motor Show. By that time, Ferrari had already begun phasing out the 308’s ambitious fiberglass bodywork, and less than a thousand “vetroresina” fiberglass-bodied 308s left the Maranello factory before converting to heavier all-steel bodywork in June 1977.

For its first five years of production, the Ferrari 308 was powered by a 3.0-liter Tipo V8 rated at 252 bhp for the European models, though emissions control devices downrated American models to 237 bhp.

ROBIN-1 remained a ’79 308 GTS all through the first season, as seen here in “The Black Orchid” (Episode 1.16).

1979 Ferrari 308GTS

Body Style: 2-door Targa top sports car

Layout: mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive (MR)

Engine: 2927 cc (2.9 L) Ferrari Dino “Tipo F106 AB” V8 with Weber 40DCNF 2-barrel DOHC

Power: 237 bhp (177 kW; 240 PS) @ 6600 RPM

Torque: 181 lb·ft (245 N·m) @ 5000 RPM

Transmission: 5-speed manual

Wheelbase: 92.1 inches (2340 mm)

Length: 172.4 inches (4380 mm)

Width: 67.7 inches (1720 mm)

Height: 44.1 inches (1120 mm)

The development of Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection saw the evolution to the 308 GTBi and 308 GTSi for the 1980 model year, further dropping the power output to 211 bhp in Europe and 202 bhp on American models. Robin Masters adopted a 1981 model for his fleet in the second season, replacing it after it was bombed in “Did You See the Sunrise? Part 1” (Episode 3.01).

It wasn’t until the seventh season—which debuted in the fall of 1986, more than a year after the final Ferrari 308 rolled off the production line—that Masters upgraded ROBIN-1 to the latest and last generation of the Ferrari 308 series. While cosmetically similar and powered by the same 2927 cc Tipo V8, this heavier 308 quattrovavole introduced at the 1982 Paris Motor Show benefitted from four valves per cylinder that boosted power back to 230 bhp on American models, still less powerful but ultimately faster than the first generation of 308s.

As seen in “Paper War” (Episode 7.08) during the seventh season, ROBIN-1 is now a 1984 Ferrari 308GTSi quattrovalvole.

Good news for Magnum, P.I. fans: Andrew Newton wrote for Hagerty last October that these models are “increasingly affordable”, a relative term for sure given the demand for these instantly recognizable cars but pleasantly welcome news for collectors looking for an iconic ride for hitting the open road.

The Ferrari 308’s starring role on Magnum, P.I. arguably led to the car’s greater exposure in other media, including Dean Martin’s own ’79 308 GTS in The Cannonball Run (1981) and Christie Brinkley’s ’81 308 GTSi, from which she distracts a dizzy-eyed Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983). Perhaps worth noting is that Chase’s hapless family man Clark Griswold cycles through a few Lacoste polo shirts of his own in Vacation, illustrating that you don’t have to be a tropical-dwelling private investigator with a Ferrari to dress like one!

The Gun

Given his high-caliber surname, it shouldn’t be surprising that Thomas Magnum is familiar with firearms, regularly packing a blued steel Colt MK IV Series 70 Government Model. Though it was presumably retained from Magnum’s service as a Navy SEAL, the Mk IV Series 70 was Colt’s commercial variant of the venerated single-action M1911 series that served as the U.S. military’s designated service pistol dating back to before World War I.

Magnum checks to make sure his 1911 has a round chambered in “The Sixth Position” (Episode 2.11).

Frequent mention is made of Magnum’s “.45”, which makes sense given the standard .45 ACP chambering of the military M1911 and M1911A1, though this style of pistol had been notorious among Hollywood armorers of the era for its difficulty cycling .45-caliber blanks. In addition, IMFDB cites a former film armorer who worked on Magnum, P.I. that mentioned the hassle of getting .45-caliber blanks on location.

To accommodate this, the screen-used Colt was actually chambered in the smaller 9×19 mm Parabellum ammunition as proven by a June 2007 auction listing from the Stembridge Armory Collection, where it was described in the catalog as: “Colt MK IV Series 70 Gov’t Model semi-auto pistol, 9mm Luger cal., 5” barrel, #70L33101. The barrel is adapted for firing blanks, approx. 95% blue finish remaining with slight holster wear, checkered brown plastic grips, correct Colt 9mm Luger marked magazine.” Interestingly, the auction also included a Walther PPK that was used both on Magnum, P.I. and carried by Timothy Dalton as James Bond in his second and last 007 film, Licence to Kill (1989).

In a practice dating back decades as prominently seen in movies like The Wild Bunch (1969), Dillinger (1973), and Three Days of the Condor (1975), armorers often swapped out genuine .45-caliber 1911 pistols for the 9mm Spanish-made Star Model B, a 1911 clone that was introduced in the late 1920s. The Model B’s smaller 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge allowed for a higher capacity, feeding from nine-round magazines as opposed to the standard .45-caliber 1911’s seven-round mags. The Model B could be visually differentiated by the lack of a grip safety and, most tellingly, a brass-colored external extractor along the right side of the slide’s rear grooves.

When Magnum fires his pistol in “Missing in Action” (Episode 1.09), the barely discernible external extractor along the right side of the slide informs that he’s actually armed with a Star Model B rather than his Colt Government Model 1911, which lacks this part.

A firearms enthusiast with military experience from his six-year service with the California Army National Guard, Tom Selleck has been a longtime proponent of the 1911 design, particularly the Smith & Wesson SW1911SC Gunsite Edition that he carried in all eight of the Jesse Stone film series as well as the NBC TV series Las Vegas. You can read more about Selleck’s extensive history with on-screen (and off-screen) firearms at IMFDB.

How to Get the Look

Tom Selleck on Magnum, P.I.
The only time Thomas Magnum wore the jungle bird shirt with these four-pocket dungarees, beige boat shoes, and Chronosport dive watch was the second-season episode “The Sixth Position”.

Thomas Magnum’s red jungle bird-printed aloha shirt remains famously associated with the iconic character’s appropriately laidback Hawaiian style, whether worn with jeans or shorts, sneakers or boat shoes, and stylish sunglasses or a trusty Tigers cap.

• Red “jungle bird” tropical-patterned rayon aloha shirt by Paradise Found with camp collar, plain front (with 6 wood buttons), and short sleeves
• Blue denim Levi’s “orange tab” five-pocket jeans
• Khaki cotton single reverse-pleated shorts with belt loops, slanted front pockets, and patch back pockets
• Khaki web belt with gold-tone USN “Surface Warfare” belt buckle
• Beige leather two-eyelet moc-toe boat shoes
• Navy cotton twill Detroit Tigers baseball cap
• Vuarnet Skilynx Acier tortoise nylon sport sunglasses, on nylon neck-cord
• Gold team ring with black enamel-filled Croix de Lorraine
• Chronosport Sea Quartz 30 stainless dive watch with black dial and black tropic rubber strap or Rolex GMT Master stainless steel watch with blue-and-red “Pepsi” bezel, black dial (with 3:00 day-date window), and stainless Oyster-style bracelet

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the entire series, and peruse the extensively researched fan site Magnum Mania!

The Quote

What’s wrong with a little justice?