‘Magnum, P.I.’ star was ‘a man of the community’

Around the world, Roger E. Mosley was known as helicopter pilot Theodore “T.C.” Calvin from the 1980s TV series “Magnum, P.I.” But in the Los Angeles area, he also was known as something else: a high school track and field coach who cultivated the talent and changed the lives of student athletes over three decades.

Mosley died Sunday at CedarsSinai Medical Center in L.A. from injuries he sustained in a car crash Thursday in Lynwood, his daughter, Ch-a Mosley, told the Los Angeles Times. He was 83.

After the crash, which left him paralyzed from the shoulders down, Mosley was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood

and then transferred to Cedars-Sinai. His death was first reported by Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack, which covers high school track and field in California.

“My dad was always a man of the community,” Ch-a Mosley said Sunday. “Even while famous and having this successful career in Hollywood, he continued to work with youth — most recently working as a track coach in the Monrovia (Unified School District).”

“He personally coached me. I was his first hurdler that he trained to run the 400-meter hurdles, and he made me into a champion. I learned what it meant to win. … He made sure that I had a work ethic, and he instilled in me a strong moral compass to stand on my own two feet and to get a good education and have all the tools I needed to be successful in life.”

Mosley appeared as ex-marine T.C. in more than 150 episodes of the popular crime drama “Magnum, P.I.,” which aired for eight seasons on CBS, ending in1988. He also guest-starred on a couple of episodes of the recent “Magnum P.I.” reboot as John Booky, a wise barber and Vietnam War veteran.

Before his “Magnum, P.I.” fame, Mosley acted in dozens of movies and TV series, including “Sanford and Son,” “The Love Boat” and “Roots: The Next Generations.” In 1973, he starred opposite his future “Magnum, P.I.” castmate Tom Selleck in the prison thriller “Terminal Island.” The next year, he shared the screen with John Wayne in the police drama “McQ.”

Mosley grew up in the Imperial Courts housing project in the Watts neighbourhood of Los Angeles. Beyond his career onscreen, Mosley became a prominent and influential figure on the high school track and field scene in L.A. and coached a variety of other sports, including swimming and basketball.

“He was always giving knowledge,” said Mike Knowles, who met Mosley while training Ch-a Mosley at John Muir High School in Pasadena before he and Mosley became longtime friends and coaching partners. “If you asked him something, you would get the complete answer, not just a part-answer.”

Mosley is survived by his daughter and his wife, Antoinette “Toni” Mosley.