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Thomas Magnum drove into the world when
Magnum, P.I. debuted Dec. 11, 1980 on CBS. And he did it behind the wheel of a cherry-red Ferrari 308 GTS wearing a Hawaiian shirt, wry grin and mustache that would make Ron Swanson deeply proud.
Back in 1979, CBS executives wanted to find a way to keep their Hawaiian studios open after the epic 12-season run of
Hawaii 5-0 came to an end. They hit on the idea about an ne er′-do-well-with-a-heart-of-gold private eye living the high life after a decade in the service as a Naval Intelligence Officer. But they couldn’t have imagined they were on the brink of creating an iconic eight-season series that defined ’80s cool, dove into the epidemic of post-traumatic stress disorder hurting Vietnam veterans, and made a million teens want cars, houses and helicopters they could never afford.