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Aloha, Magnum: Larry Manetti's Magnum, P.I. Memories
Aloha Magnum is a chronicle of Larry Manetti's wild childhood, his crazy days in Hollywood, his moonlighting as a prominent restaurateur, and his escapades with the rich, famous, and equally outrageous.
271 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 27, 2019
Magnum, P.I. is my favorite show and I really looked forward to reading this book, and I am glad I did (sort of). The inside scoop and stories were certainly entertaining and insightful. BUT here is why I gave 2 stars vs probably 4 stars.
1) HOLY EGO! Manetti clearly thinks he is the best thing since sliced bread, and his bravado almost killed the book for me. For what I would consider a C-list actor he certainly has a HIGH opinion of himself. I believe certain people would say he has a Napoleon Complex. He portrayed himself and a wisecracking tough guy with mob ties, and friend to just about every A-list celebrity in Hollywood, a high level chef to the stars. None of which are true.
2) He basically snubbed Mosley and Hillerman and barely mentioned them. All he talked about was John's lover of high-end food, and the fact that Roger loved basketball. Barely another word was spoken. In all fairness, maybe John and Roger did not want to play a more dominant role but he could have said more.
3) Besides Magnum Larry has not been in very many films and/or movies. He has been in some mediocre series that never lasted long and most of the post Magnum work werror short cameos because he was on Magnum.
Finally, it was really great to hear about all the charity work Tom did and how gracious he was. Larry could learn some humility and drop the excessive hubris. I still love Magnum but my opinion of Larry Manetti has fell dramatically.
1) HOLY EGO! Manetti clearly thinks he is the best thing since sliced bread, and his bravado almost killed the book for me. For what I would consider a C-list actor he certainly has a HIGH opinion of himself. I believe certain people would say he has a Napoleon Complex. He portrayed himself and a wisecracking tough guy with mob ties, and friend to just about every A-list celebrity in Hollywood, a high level chef to the stars. None of which are true.
2) He basically snubbed Mosley and Hillerman and barely mentioned them. All he talked about was John's lover of high-end food, and the fact that Roger loved basketball. Barely another word was spoken. In all fairness, maybe John and Roger did not want to play a more dominant role but he could have said more.
3) Besides Magnum Larry has not been in very many films and/or movies. He has been in some mediocre series that never lasted long and most of the post Magnum work werror short cameos because he was on Magnum.
Finally, it was really great to hear about all the charity work Tom did and how gracious he was. Larry could learn some humility and drop the excessive hubris. I still love Magnum but my opinion of Larry Manetti has fell dramatically.
November 30, 2020
I am a huge Magnum fan and wanted to read this for a while. I found it on Amazon and got through it. The information is interesting but none of it is really in depth but a series of short anecdotes you might tell at a dinner party. He definitely has ADHD and it shows as the writing skips over and back and forth. The last 1/4 of the book is recipes and a list of the write ups about the episodes which briefly tells the synopsis of each and adds a tad about the guests. Really not worth putting down. So if you are a big fan read this if you can get it for free but if you are just a passing fan then do not.
July 23, 2017
Happy Birthday to actor Larry Manetti, co-star, "Magnum, P.I."! 2010 PODCAST INTERVIEW
LARRY MANETTI AUDIO EXCERPT: “Tom Selleck was born gorgeous.When you’re born ike that, you kinda know inside of you that you’re special. He does have little idiosyncrasies. He’s a dear friend; he’s there if you need him. He’s a great guy. And I don’t lie. If he were a big jerk, I’d say he was a jerk.”
https://mrmedia.com/2010/06/cue-the-r...
LARRY MANETTI AUDIO EXCERPT: “Tom Selleck was born gorgeous.When you’re born ike that, you kinda know inside of you that you’re special. He does have little idiosyncrasies. He’s a dear friend; he’s there if you need him. He’s a great guy. And I don’t lie. If he were a big jerk, I’d say he was a jerk.”
https://mrmedia.com/2010/06/cue-the-r...
March 30, 2011
A phenomenal insider's view of the best show in televsion history.
April 5, 2020
This is an entertaining and highly readable little book by Larry Manetti, who is best known for playing Orville "Rick" Wright on MAGNUM, P.I. Although Manetti had a fairly busy acting career, and appeared as a regular or recurring character on other Glen Larson/Donald Bellisario shows like BLACK SHEEP SQUADRON and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, he wisely chose to focus most of the book on his time in and around the series that made him, for eight years anyway, a household guest.
Manetti takes the reader on a quick, often very funny trip from Oak Park, Illinois, where he was a delinquent who had to be dissuaded from joining the Chicago Mob by Sam Giancana himself, through a series of failed jobs and brushes with a law, to Los Angeles, where he eventually became a working actor through a combination of luck and sheer brass (even Manetti doesn't credit his success to acting ability). A prankster and a skirt-chaser, he was often in trouble with directors but managed to strike up many celebrity friendships and romances, and much of the book is devoted to antics with a varied cast of famous and infamous people that includes everyone from Jack Lord and Elvis Presley to Robert Wagner, Robert Conrad, Ernset Borgnine, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Dick Butkus and even Michelle Pfeiffer. Eventually he was cast as Rick Wright, MAGNUM became a mega-hit, and he spent the next eight years in Hawaii, enjoying himself and getting into what seems like a lot of trouble. Although Manetti missed the Rat Pack era and was far from a huge star even in his heyday, he clearly belonged in that time period and his friendships with Sinatra, Bobby Darin, the gangster Michael Spilotro and others reflect that. He liked to eat at fine restaurants, chase women, drink like a sponge, hobnob with "bad people," drive flashy cars and spend days in Casinos and get into all sorts of sophomoric mischief right out an "Oceans" movie. However, he is far from an egotist -- most of the anecdotes he relates end in often embarrassing but usually humorous disasters. This a guy who can laugh at himself.
Manetti recounts his time on MAGNUM as arduous but fun, with the cast enjoying great chemistry and, unlike many TV show casts, actually becoming quite close friends. He is particularly worshipful of Tom Selleck, who he describes as not only the nicest but also one of the most generous people he has ever met, showering the cast and crew with expensive gifts and devoting much time and energy to charity. He also reveals Selleck as a merciless prankster himself, fond of pie fights and exploding cigars. He notes that Roger Mosley (T.C.) actually did learn to fly a helicopter like his character, and that John Hillerman (Higgins), despite hailing from Texas, was very much like his dignified character, right down to despising the practical jokes in which Manetti also specialized.
Manetti is pretty honest about his reactions to people he worked with, good and bad (his stories about the craziness of Robert "Baretta" Blake are pretty funny), and by and large he seems like a man with no malice in him, but I was amused by one drop of possible venom he let slip into the drink. In the early part of ALOHA, he is trying for the part of A.J. Simon on SIMON & SIMON but loses it to Jameson Parker. Later, he talks about the MAGNUM - SIMON & SIMON crossover episodes, which were written to boost S & S's low ratings, noting that afterward, "the show began to climb in ratings and went on for another couple of years." The first part of this statement is certainly true, but in actuality, SIMON & SIMON went on another s e v e n years and was still running when MAGNUM went off the air. I can't help but think Manetti knew this, and was kicking a little harmless mud on a show that had snubbed him.
All in all, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It's an easy, not terribly demanding read -- I finished it in a day -- and full of humorous stories and a ton of non-obnoxious name-dropping. Manetti, who includes all of his favorite recipies at the end of the work, is clearly the sort of bon vivant guy who relishes not only the celebrity lifestyle, but plain old life itself. It's hard not to develop affection for a man who could have ended up in jail or a shallow grave like Michael Spilotro, but turned his life in a positive direction and ended up being part of one of the most beloved and influential TV shows of all time.
Manetti takes the reader on a quick, often very funny trip from Oak Park, Illinois, where he was a delinquent who had to be dissuaded from joining the Chicago Mob by Sam Giancana himself, through a series of failed jobs and brushes with a law, to Los Angeles, where he eventually became a working actor through a combination of luck and sheer brass (even Manetti doesn't credit his success to acting ability). A prankster and a skirt-chaser, he was often in trouble with directors but managed to strike up many celebrity friendships and romances, and much of the book is devoted to antics with a varied cast of famous and infamous people that includes everyone from Jack Lord and Elvis Presley to Robert Wagner, Robert Conrad, Ernset Borgnine, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Dick Butkus and even Michelle Pfeiffer. Eventually he was cast as Rick Wright, MAGNUM became a mega-hit, and he spent the next eight years in Hawaii, enjoying himself and getting into what seems like a lot of trouble. Although Manetti missed the Rat Pack era and was far from a huge star even in his heyday, he clearly belonged in that time period and his friendships with Sinatra, Bobby Darin, the gangster Michael Spilotro and others reflect that. He liked to eat at fine restaurants, chase women, drink like a sponge, hobnob with "bad people," drive flashy cars and spend days in Casinos and get into all sorts of sophomoric mischief right out an "Oceans" movie. However, he is far from an egotist -- most of the anecdotes he relates end in often embarrassing but usually humorous disasters. This a guy who can laugh at himself.
Manetti recounts his time on MAGNUM as arduous but fun, with the cast enjoying great chemistry and, unlike many TV show casts, actually becoming quite close friends. He is particularly worshipful of Tom Selleck, who he describes as not only the nicest but also one of the most generous people he has ever met, showering the cast and crew with expensive gifts and devoting much time and energy to charity. He also reveals Selleck as a merciless prankster himself, fond of pie fights and exploding cigars. He notes that Roger Mosley (T.C.) actually did learn to fly a helicopter like his character, and that John Hillerman (Higgins), despite hailing from Texas, was very much like his dignified character, right down to despising the practical jokes in which Manetti also specialized.
Manetti is pretty honest about his reactions to people he worked with, good and bad (his stories about the craziness of Robert "Baretta" Blake are pretty funny), and by and large he seems like a man with no malice in him, but I was amused by one drop of possible venom he let slip into the drink. In the early part of ALOHA, he is trying for the part of A.J. Simon on SIMON & SIMON but loses it to Jameson Parker. Later, he talks about the MAGNUM - SIMON & SIMON crossover episodes, which were written to boost S & S's low ratings, noting that afterward, "the show began to climb in ratings and went on for another couple of years." The first part of this statement is certainly true, but in actuality, SIMON & SIMON went on another s e v e n years and was still running when MAGNUM went off the air. I can't help but think Manetti knew this, and was kicking a little harmless mud on a show that had snubbed him.
All in all, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It's an easy, not terribly demanding read -- I finished it in a day -- and full of humorous stories and a ton of non-obnoxious name-dropping. Manetti, who includes all of his favorite recipies at the end of the work, is clearly the sort of bon vivant guy who relishes not only the celebrity lifestyle, but plain old life itself. It's hard not to develop affection for a man who could have ended up in jail or a shallow grave like Michael Spilotro, but turned his life in a positive direction and ended up being part of one of the most beloved and influential TV shows of all time.
October 9, 2023
3.5 out of 5 stars
This entertaining read provides a brief Hollywood memoir by Larry Manetti, one of the prominent cast members from Magnum P.I.
The book doesn't go into depth and contains many short tales about his delinquent antics as a boy in Oak Park, Illinois, his failed jobs, the people he met along the way, his acting career with Donald Bellisario on Black Sheep Squadron, how he landed his role of Orville "Rick" Wright, the mischief outside the set of Magnum, and his eight years working and living in Hawaii with the cast of great chemistry.
His writing is honest and humorous—a book you can read in a day. I like how the book's last quarter contains recipes and anecdotes and ends with a complete episode guide to the show. The writing skips around slightly, showing his personality and possible ADHD. Overall, Manetti seems like a friendly, fun guy who loves life.
While the actual book may be challenging to find, the e-book is available, and it is worth the read if you are a Larry Manetti or Magnum P.I. fan.
This entertaining read provides a brief Hollywood memoir by Larry Manetti, one of the prominent cast members from Magnum P.I.
The book doesn't go into depth and contains many short tales about his delinquent antics as a boy in Oak Park, Illinois, his failed jobs, the people he met along the way, his acting career with Donald Bellisario on Black Sheep Squadron, how he landed his role of Orville "Rick" Wright, the mischief outside the set of Magnum, and his eight years working and living in Hawaii with the cast of great chemistry.
His writing is honest and humorous—a book you can read in a day. I like how the book's last quarter contains recipes and anecdotes and ends with a complete episode guide to the show. The writing skips around slightly, showing his personality and possible ADHD. Overall, Manetti seems like a friendly, fun guy who loves life.
While the actual book may be challenging to find, the e-book is available, and it is worth the read if you are a Larry Manetti or Magnum P.I. fan.
April 19, 2024
You ever want a book so bad and when you finally get it, you're so damn disappointed you almost don't finish the book? Yeah, that's this one.
Showing my age, but I had a massive crush on Larry Manetti when I was younger. Not Magnum, but Rick. So much that I even wrote to him (that's when you send a letter through snail mail, with a stamp and everything, for all you young'uns) and got an autographed picture. So when I finally decided to splurge on this one when it became available for Kindle, I was so happy.
Until I started reading. Manetti bounced around so much, he would touch on 5 different subjects in a paragraph. He seemed super cocky and all too full of himself. Quite a number of "anecdotes" that I think started in his mind and ended up on the paper. Not a ton of behind the scenes stuff and what there was just talked about how awesome and cool Manetti was. What a letdown. The formatting was pretty shitty, too, but that may have been from a bad transfer to Kindle.
Another part of my childhood gone...
Showing my age, but I had a massive crush on Larry Manetti when I was younger. Not Magnum, but Rick. So much that I even wrote to him (that's when you send a letter through snail mail, with a stamp and everything, for all you young'uns) and got an autographed picture. So when I finally decided to splurge on this one when it became available for Kindle, I was so happy.
Until I started reading. Manetti bounced around so much, he would touch on 5 different subjects in a paragraph. He seemed super cocky and all too full of himself. Quite a number of "anecdotes" that I think started in his mind and ended up on the paper. Not a ton of behind the scenes stuff and what there was just talked about how awesome and cool Manetti was. What a letdown. The formatting was pretty shitty, too, but that may have been from a bad transfer to Kindle.
Another part of my childhood gone...
May 8, 2018
It was a fun read. I was mostly taken by the life Larry has led, some of the people he's come against and become friends with. I enjoyed reading his tales of life on the set, and was pleased to have confirmed that Tom Selleck is truly an old school Hollywood gentlemen. There are so few.
I do wish there were more behind the scenes tales about the episodes, though. For instance, I've always been curious about the oh so random appearance of Carol Channing. There are scenes where I swear things are ad libbed and would love to know about. So many questions still. I wish he'd included more about that. But otherwise a fun read for the fan. Oh, and I really want to try out his recipes!!
I do wish there were more behind the scenes tales about the episodes, though. For instance, I've always been curious about the oh so random appearance of Carol Channing. There are scenes where I swear things are ad libbed and would love to know about. So many questions still. I wish he'd included more about that. But otherwise a fun read for the fan. Oh, and I really want to try out his recipes!!
June 26, 2021
I bought this when it first came out directly from Manetti and he signed my copy of the book as well.
I read it back in 1999 or 2000, and liked it a lot. Since then I've become a much more mature reader and I have to say the second time reading this wasn't as great as the first time I read it.
The first half of the book is great, but like other reviews have said, there isn't much but 4 pages on Roger and John. Like really? He lived with Roger and couldn't say more than 2 pages on the guy?
If you are a huge Magnum P.I. fan, this book is actually a fun read. If you can get a reasonably priced book, go for it.
I read it back in 1999 or 2000, and liked it a lot. Since then I've become a much more mature reader and I have to say the second time reading this wasn't as great as the first time I read it.
The first half of the book is great, but like other reviews have said, there isn't much but 4 pages on Roger and John. Like really? He lived with Roger and couldn't say more than 2 pages on the guy?
If you are a huge Magnum P.I. fan, this book is actually a fun read. If you can get a reasonably priced book, go for it.
March 28, 2020
Enjoyed reading about one of my all time favorite tv shows. Good to hear about the crew and cast and that they all got along well and produced a great tv series. I knew that Selleck was a nice guy through stories my volleyball playing cousin told me. He coached Tom's son in volleyball at USC back in the day. He played some beach vollyball with Selleck when their team would travel to Hawaii. I found the book to be funny and Larry Manetti seemed to be quite a handful. Really enjoyed the episode synopsis at the end of the book.
August 24, 2025
This book provides a decent insight into what filming “Magnum PI” was like from the lens of Larry. It’s also a helpful biography to a degree of Tom Selleck from one of his closest co-stars. Overall, I would recommend this book to a fan of the series or Selleck or both. It doesn’t provide a step-by-step episode guide but it does touch on a lot of the trivia and more key moments from the show. Larry also includes a cooking recipe at the end which ties in with part of his own biography which is a random but quirky touch.
December 2, 2018
A great, if brief, Hollywood memoir by one of the main cast members from Magnum P.I.
Fun anecdotes abound, mostly about the show, and Larry getting into trouble off set. The main part is only 182 pages, as there's a recipe section and a complete episode guide included. Recommend for any Magnum fan.
Fun anecdotes abound, mostly about the show, and Larry getting into trouble off set. The main part is only 182 pages, as there's a recipe section and a complete episode guide included. Recommend for any Magnum fan.
August 3, 2021
Magnum pi fan must read
I loved this book. If your a magnum pi fan, you will love to read the crazy stories of Larry’s upbringing and stories from the show. I love hearing the perspective from one of the actors in the show, the guest appearances, photos, and the season and series breakdown alone is worth it..
I loved this book. If your a magnum pi fan, you will love to read the crazy stories of Larry’s upbringing and stories from the show. I love hearing the perspective from one of the actors in the show, the guest appearances, photos, and the season and series breakdown alone is worth it..
could-not-finish
February 4, 2022The hubby and I have been making our way through every episode of the original Magnum, PI. The hubby read this book and encouraged me to read it. Almost 50% through and I can’t take it anymore. The flow is awful, the story bounces all over the place and a more appropriate title of the book might have been “How many celebrities can I name drop?”
December 14, 2024
My husband is a huge Magnum PI fan and I’ve probably seen every episode twice (some more than others). This was such a fun, quick read illustrating the behind the scenes fun of the show. Larry’s voice is like listening to Rick. He really is the same person as his character!
February 18, 2023
It is a must-buy and a solid five stars for fans of the show who want to know more about how it was made. It is maybe a two or a three for most other people.
November 22, 2013
Part memoirs and history, part back story from Magnum, PI, Larry Manetti's Hollywood insider book took me into the working and private lives of the characters that I enjoy watching. I learned lots of interesting things about many actors and situations, and enjoyed getting to be "behind the scenes" of the iconic show. Getting to experience some of it through his eyes gave me more appreciation for the people involved, and who they are as people and human beings, not just as actors and their characters. I got some laughs out of it, too, finding out about some of the gags they played on each other, as friends trying to have fun and get each other's goat. He demonstrated some of the culture and why they had the chemistry and success that brought enjoyment to their audience for such a long run.
August 29, 2013
My friend Hinkie told me that Tom Selleck was thee nicest guy when he was shooting Magnum P.I. in Hawaii, so i had to read this book.
I found out that everyone who worked with Tom said the same thing, and also that Larry Manetti starred in Baa Baa Black Sheep before landing the role of Orville 'Rick' Wright on Magnum.
Larry dished great behind the scenes Magnum stories, as well as various other tv shows & films.
The best one was how he discovered, dated, then introduced Michelle Pfeiffer to a Hollywood studio VP......thereby launching her career. Now every time i watch Michelle Pfeiffer, i think of Larry Manetti. Thank you for sharing your adventures Mr. Manetti!!
I found out that everyone who worked with Tom said the same thing, and also that Larry Manetti starred in Baa Baa Black Sheep before landing the role of Orville 'Rick' Wright on Magnum.
Larry dished great behind the scenes Magnum stories, as well as various other tv shows & films.
The best one was how he discovered, dated, then introduced Michelle Pfeiffer to a Hollywood studio VP......thereby launching her career. Now every time i watch Michelle Pfeiffer, i think of Larry Manetti. Thank you for sharing your adventures Mr. Manetti!!
December 19, 2008
so far so good- hee hee I got this as a gift and wow- what a story! Larry Maneti played the bartender on magnum PI and mre than that is a real character in the real world. Prt 2- okay so now I kinda slowed don on reading it because once you get the pace and all the hijinks, These perhaps told at the bar a few times stories are something you don't really need to read all the way through. I'm going to pick up on it later, for bits of inspirational hollywood 'wisdom'.
July 1, 2014
Hundreds of funny anecdotes about one of my favorite shows. If you're looking for dirty laundry or controversy, it's not here. Larry is very respectful and positive about the show and his co stars. He doesn't pull any punches about himself and admits he wasn't exactly a choir boy, and I'm impressed how active the group was in raising money and making appearances for charity. Recommended!
May 7, 2012
Nothing amazing here, but this was a fun read for me bec of my summers spent at the colony surf in Oahu where my grandparents lived. A few of his stories took place there and some of these incidents (Tom sellecks son rolling jeep out of elevated garage) I witnessed and remember
April 30, 2013
This is a fun book. A must read for any Magnum fan. Not great literature but fun nonetheless. Larry's personality comes through this book with all his stories. If you are/were a fan of the show this is a quick easy read with neat stories and a few good chuckles.
June 22, 2007
This is an excellent stocking stuffer -- an insider's account of the best show ever aired on television.
September 22, 2010
Interesting read for fans of Magnum, P.I. If you aren't a fan of the show, don't bother.
February 2, 2011
easy read for fans of the show.
September 9, 2013
I enjoy the show (still watching re-runs) and thought that the back stories were great.
March 31, 2017
Ich habe viele der Folgen gesehen. Warum weiß ich bis heute nicht ganz:). Es wirkt entspannend, obwohl es manchmal wirklich sinnfrei ist. Aber eines werde ich mir merken. Diese Serie hatte auch Esprit.
Thomas Magnum:
'Sport ist was für den Sommer von dem man nie genau weiß wie lange er dauert.'
Thomas Magnum:
'Sport ist was für den Sommer von dem man nie genau weiß wie lange er dauert.'
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews