Roger E. Mosley: Remembering T.C. from “Magnum P.I.”

Roger E. Mosley played Theodore "T.C." Calvin on "Magnum P.I." from 1980 to 1988. Here he is at left with Tom Selleck, who played the title character Thomas Sullivan Magnum III.
Source: https://popculture.com/tv-shows/news/roger-earl-mosley-original-magnum-pi-star-tc-dead-83/
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He will forever be remembered for a role that started as a wing man for a maverick private investigator. Yet, he grew into a multi-layered character with much more depth than just being a war buddy an friend takes advantage of.

For eight years, Roger E. Mosly played Theodore “T.C.” Calvin on “Magnum P.I.”, a role that defined his career.

He would even make an appearance on the re-boot of “Magnum P.I.”.

Roger E. Mosley was top of mind last month when I heard he died as a result of complications from a car accident. He was 83.

Wing man
When “Magnum P.I.” debuted in 1980, the title character, Thomas Sullivan Magnum III, was a private investigator living on the estate of enigmatic millionaire author Robin Masters, where he was the head of security. He was aided by two war buddies – Orville “Rick” Wright and Theodore “T.C.” Calvin, AKA Rick and T.C.. They always seemed to appear together as a duo of wingmen.

Rick owned a bar and, with some mysterious and shady connections, always seemed to know someone who could help Magnum on a case. At the same time, T.C. was a helicopter pilot, trained in the navy and serving in Vietnam. He owned his own company, “Island Hoppers”, which included a helicopter and van. Magnum was forever calling on T.C. to fly him somewhere, do aerial surveillance, or help in some other way. Part of the regular schtick was how he was always hounding Magnum to pay him for gas or repairs – usually from bullet holes – to his chopper.

However, that soon changed.

War stories
Soon after its debut, the characters of Rick and T.C. began to develop. In one episode, Magnum thinks he has seen his wife alive and well, although he thought she died in Vietnam. As he goes through that whole range of emotions, there is a moment where T.C. takes Magnum aside to go for a talk.

It was a powerful moment for me, with much more to come.

One of the signature episodes of “Magnum P.I.” was the third season opener “Did You See the Sun Rise?”. It showed a lot more about Magnum, Rick, and T.C.’s service in Vietnam, including the time they spent as prisoners of war.

That episode revealed a much deeper part of their characters, shaped by their time in Vietnam.

It opens with Nuzo coming to a Hawaii, another veteran that Magnum, Rick and T.C. served with in Vietnam. Things seem all right, as he shares some war stories and keeps offering T.C. gum. He spends more time with T.C., isolating him more and more, telling more vivid stories.

We soon learn why.

T.C. had been brainwashed while they were prisoners of war. The gum contained a psychotropic drug that, with Nuzo’s constant conditioning, was hypnotizing T.C. to think he is back in Vietnam preparing for a mission. In reality, the real Nuzo is dead, and this Nuzo is a Russian spy. His mission is to assassinate a foreign dignitary, seeking closer ties with the United States. The Nuzo impostor plans to use an altered T.C., and his chopper experience, to kill that dignitary, cause an international incident, and have T.C. die in the aftermath.

Of course, Magnum, Rick, Higgins, and the U.S. government figure this all out and arrive just in time to thwart the assassination attempt.

“Did You See the Sun Rise?” just highlights the depth of T.C.’s character and the masterful way Roger E. Mosley played him.

Parting thoughts
“Magnum P.I.” was one of the first shows I saw where the writers fleshed out the supporting characters. They went well beyond just focusing on the title character and his exploits every week.

Instead, we got to know the other characters, saw what made them tick, and what they were all about.

But, it was Roger E. Mosley’s acting that made Theodore Calvin come alive.

And for that, I am eternally grateful.