General enthusiasm

Tom SELLECK possesses the most famous mustache since Clark Gable’s. But unlike Gable, Selleck sheds his facial hair for the benefit of a role. The former “Magnum, P.I.” star wore the mustache as a rough-around-the-edges detective in the miniseries “Reversible Errors,” which aired last Sunday and Tuesday on CBS. But he shaved it off to play Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in the new A&E; movie, “Ike: Countdown to D-Day,” airing Monday at 8 p.m.

This fact didn’t go unnoticed in a recent episode of “Late Night With Conan O’Brien.” The tall, strapping 59-year-old Selleck shaved off half his mustache during a visit to the NBC series so he could talk about “Reversible Errors” with one side of his face and “Ike” with the hairless side.

Was it your idea to shave off half your mustache on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien”?

I suggested it, like an idiot! We have done a lot of mustache gags on the show. One time I didn’t have a mustache, so Conan said, “We found your mustache and it’s on a different guy now. Would you like to talk to it?” Then another time he said, “We have got bad news for you, your old mustache was in an accident. The owner is going to be OK, but your mustache is in intensive care.” What happened was they had a tiny, miniature set with my mustache in the bed with IVs and I tried to cheer up my mustache.

For “Ike,” you also had to shave off a lot of your hair.

I always had a theory that impersonation is a big trap for an actor in a part like this. I was kind of dedicated to the idea of not wearing appliances but still try to capture the guy’s spirit. But that being said, you got to get in the ballpark. I had to shave my head [where Eisenhower was bald]. Then they made the temples gray and the rest light brown.

What are your memories of Eisenhower?

I kind of remember as a kid this kindly grandfather with a great grin who was president. John Eisenhower said in his book [“General Ike,” the author’s father], and to me personally, “There were really two [Eisenhowers]: The commander in chief and the supreme commander.” That was a big key for me. Ike in those days, he may have had a charming grin and could handle a lot of egos, but he was stubborn and bullheaded and energetic and a leader. That made me realize I could bring someone to the screen truthfully, but it is probably a side no one remembers.

Though “Ike” was made to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day, one can’t help thinking of the troops in Iraq.

I think there is an emotional spillover. The agenda on this movie was to pay homage to that generation and get it on in time for the 60th anniversary. But if you make a movie that is correct for the time, I think it’s bound to say something about the present. For me personally, only the last time I saw “Ike” did I think about the present. My dad didn’t see me until I was almost 2. He was a B-29 mechanic in Montgomery, Ala. [during the war]. I had to watch not to let too much emotion out [in my performance] because generals don’t do that in public. It really affected me emotionally. I think Tom Brokaw is right, it is the greatest generation -- those Depression kids who went to war, came back and didn’t want to talk about it and wanted to get on with their lives.

The 1970 camp classic “Myra Breckinridge,” in which you have a small part opposite Mae West, just was released on DVD. What are your memories of working with her?

That was a thrill. I can’t remember which “Young Stud” I was, maybe No. 6 or 7. It was neat for a whole bunch of reasons. I was mostly unemployed in those days. They hired me on a daily rate, and there was so much indecision on that movie, I think I got carried on it for about a month before I worked. What was really neat was she took a liking to me and mentioned me in interviews, which was great in the period between when the movie was made and when it came out. I also got to escort her to a few functions. She always liked a young guy around so people would gossip!