Mark Harmon is an NCIS icon so with season 22 ready to premiere and NCIS Origins’ debut nearly here, fans are keen to know more about the actor’s life
Mark Harmon, best known for his role as Agent Leroy Gibbs in NCIS, is a figure of intrigue for fans as the drama makes its return.
NCIS season 22 is set to kick off on Monday, October 14, and will be followed by the premiere of the prequel, NCIS Origins. This new series will explore Gibbs’ early career as an agent back in 1991.
Before these CBS dramas hit our screens, let’s delve into the personal life of Mark Harmon.
Famous Family
Mark Harmon was born to actress, model, and fashion designer Elyse Knox, and American football player, pilot, actor, and sports broadcaster Tom Harmon.
He has two siblings, including his sister Kelly, an actress known for her roles in Battlestar Galactica, CHIPS, and Bay City Blues.
His late sister Kristi, who tragically died of a heart attack, was an actress and painter married to actor and musician Ricky Nelson.
Happy Marriage
Mark is happily married to Mork And Mindy actress Pam Dawber. The couple met in the mid-1980s through a mutual friend who arranged a group date for them.
They tied the knot in 1987 and are now proud parents to two sons, Sean and Ty. Sean has followed in his father’s footsteps and is currently working as a producer on NCIS Origins.
Mark and Pam even shared screen time together in season 19, with Pam playing investigative journalist Marcie Warren.
NCIS Clashes
According to Tony DiNozzo actor Michael Weatherly, he and Mark initially had some disagreements when they first started working together on NCIS.
Speaking to The Futon Critic back in 2020, he detailed the chilly beginnings with co-star Mark Harmon saying: “Mark Harmon and I were on different poles.
“I was Antarctica, he was the North Pole and we were just looking down there going, ‘What is up with your polarity? What’s going on? The water goes down the drain the other way for me.’
“He was confused by my presence right from the get-go.”
Recounting an amusing interaction during an interview, he revealed, “When CNN Showbiz Today or one of those things asked what was the best part about doing the pilot when we were doing the upfronts, I said, ‘I got a rubber gun and I got a fake badge.'”.
“Harmon looked at me like, ‘That is your CNN answer? ‘ [Laughs.] And I was like a little kid who had one too many bowls of Count Chocula.”
Despite their rocky start, Michael Weatherly and Mark Harmon eventually got on the same wavelength. However, his rapport with Abby Sciuto actress Pauley Perrette did not fare as well.
In 2016, an off-screen conflict ignited when Harmon brought his dog on set, which resulted in a crew member needing 15 stitches after being bitten.
Executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson offered some insight: “Pauley was a huge, huge SPCA [Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] animal person.
“And then the dog kept coming with Harmon, and she felt it wasn’t safe for the show.”
Reflecting on Perrette’s departure, he noted, “By the end of that year, she just felt like it wasn’t working for her anymore, and it was time to move on.”
After leaving the series, Pauley Perrette appeared in the CBS show Broke. Following its cancellation, she announced she was hanging up her acting boots.
Harmon’s Heroic Act
Many NCIS enthusiasts might be surprised to learn that back in 1996, Mark Harmon performed a real-life heroic act by rescuing a 16 year old from a flaming vehicle.
The teenager behind the wheel managed to get out, but his buddy and passenger, Colin Specht, also 16, was trapped inside.
Near his Brentwood residence, Mark witnessed the emergency and didn’t hesitate to break the car’s windows with a sledgehammer, dragging Colin to safety.
Brian Humphrey, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department at the time, praised Harmon: “The youths owe their lives to the action of Mr. Harmon.”
It wasn’t until years later that Colin recounted the harrowing experience during an interview with CBS, stating he “would not be alive” if not for the quick-thinking actor.
NCIS season 22 and NCIS Origins premieres on Monday, October 14, on CBS.