‘Las Vegas’ will seem like a ‘Magnum, P.I.’ reunion

Friday, Aug. 10, 2007 | 7:20 a.m.

Three central performers in one of the most popular television series of the 1980s will be reunited during the upcoming season of "Las Vegas."

"Magnum, P.I." star Tom Selleck is taking over the lead in the series, replacing James Caan.

His "Magnum" co-stars, Larry Manetti and Roger Mosley, recently finished taping an episode of "Las Vegas," the first time the three actors have performed together since Selleck's show ended its eight-year run in 1988.

"Selleck calls it: The 'Magnum' guys are taking over," said Manetti, who spent a lot of time in Las Vegas from 2002 to 2005 when he was an executive at the Plaza. "It works. It fits like a glove."

Although the three actors will be playing different characters, the chemistry is the same.

Manetti said Selleck came up with the idea for the reunion.

"Tom plays this ranch guy in Nevada," he said. "The script first called for his two cowboy buddies to come in, but he changed it to where Roger and I replaced the cowboys.

"We were all in the Marines together. I play a multimillionaire who wears tailor-made suits and owns 250 nightclubs and restaurants around the country, and Roger owns this mega-aviation company, helicopters."

In the 'Magnum' series Manetti played a nightclub owner and Mosley played a helicopter pilot.

There's no word about John Hillerman, the fourth star of the series that was set in Hawaii.

"I think he's retired," Manetti said.

Although the series is based in Las Vegas, it's actually filmed in Los Angeles.

According to Manetti, he and Mosley will have recurring roles during the upcoming season. He said the first show is scheduled to air Oct. 26 on NBC.

That episode, "When Life Gives You Lemon Bars," by Niki Toscano, was taped this week.

"It's great," Manetti said. "The dialogue is the same as it was on 'Magnum,' the same kind of banter. It was just like old times, except when we were taping I turned around and instead of seeing palm trees, I saw slot machines."