How Tom Selleck Once Helped Princess Diana Dodge Romance Rumors With John Travolta
From her infamous interview with Martin Bashir to her risk-taking walk months before her death, Princess Diana's life in the spotlight was filled with some iconic moments. A moment that ranks as one of her most swoon worthy is her 1985 dance with John Travolta, during which she wore a beautiful midnight blue gown from Victor Edelstein. The memorable encounter took place on the first night of Diana and Prince Charles' (now King Charles III) royal U.S. tour, with the couple attending a celebrity-filled dinner at the White House.
John Travolta has opened up about his "fairytale" moment with the princess in the past, but some don't realize that Tom Selleck shared a lesser known dance with Diana that very same night. In fact, the "Magnum, P.I." actor admitted in "You Never Know: A Memoir" that he was prompted to dance with the late royal to curb any rumors of romance between her and Travolta.
According to USA Today, a woman approached Selleck and Clint Eastwood during Princess Diana's second dance Travolta, implying one of the gentlemen should cut in to curb potential gossip. "Mr. Selleck, you must step in and replace him," Selleck remembered her finally saying. As he recounts in his book: "'I'm not cutting in on John Travolta!' was my reply, probably in too loud a voice. She was not pleased." Selleck eventually agreed, taking Princess Diana's hand in time for a slow song.
Tom Selleck revealed what it was like to dance with Princess Diana
The stunningly transformed Tom Selleck was initially hesitant to dance with Princess Diana, but he had nothing but positive things to say about the British royal. "I do remember dancing with her," he told Town & Country, explaining that the princess appeared to be having a great time. "She was very gracious and obviously had learned the skill of dealing with people and relaxing. It was certainly memorable."
Though he had no complaints about his dancing partner, Selleck was completely aware of his own lack of dancing skills, especially compared to "Grease" star John Travolta. "I just remember apologizing that I never [learned] to dance," the "Three Men and a Baby" actor said, explaining to the magazine that he'd never gone to cotillion like his older brother. "I managed to skip it, but then all I could do dancing was box step like we did in high school dances, a box step and a dip. And I wasn't about to dip with Princess Di!"
In a 1985 David Letterman interview, Selleck revealed that, despite his inexperience, Princess Diana only had kind things to say in return during their spin around the dance floor. "She said it was nice because I was so tall, because she's about five ten," he said. "She said that I was a big item in England, still."
The actor almost declined the White House invitation
While Tom Selleck's attendance at the 1985 White House dinner saw a memorable dance with Princess Diana, the Detroit native nearly passed up the invitation. As he explained to Town & Country, Selleck was working in Hawaii as the star of "Magnum P.I." at the time of the event, remarking to his publicist that Washington D.C. was a long ways away "I said, 'Gee, that's very flattering. I don't know how I could get there though,'" he recalled. "And she said, 'Look, this is Princess Diana's personal guest list and there's only three actors on it: you, Clint Eastwood, and John Travolta.' That was very flattering."
In his David Letterman interview, Selleck remarked on the quick turnaround time of his trip. "All I had to do was fly for 22 hours on a weekend," he said. "I was in Washington for nine hours [then] back on the plane and back to work." While we're sure this tight schedule was tiring, we hope that Selleck's unforgettable dance with the late Princess Diana made it well worth the trip.