Early life

Harmon was born in Burbank, California, the youngest of three children. His parents were Heisman Trophy winning-football player and broadcaster Tom Harmon and actress and artist Elyse Knox (née Elsie Lillian Kornbrath). Harmon has two older sisters, actress and painter Kristin Nelson, the former wife of singer Ricky Nelson, and actress-model Kelly Harmon, who was once married to car magnate John DeLorean. His maternal grandparents were Austrian immigrants.

College football

After graduating from high school in 1970, Harmon completed a two-year associate degree at Pierce College in Los Angeles, then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was the starting quarterback for the UCLA Bruins football team in 1972 and 1973.

After his sophomore season at Pierce, Harmon had a number of offers from major college football programs, and he ultimately chose UCLA over Oklahoma. The Sooners finished second in the nation in 1971, while the Bruins were a pre-season top-20 selection and stumbled to a 2-7-1 record and were last in the Pac-8.

During his very first game for UCLA, he engineered a stunning upset of the two-time defending national champion, Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Bruins were an 18-point home underdog to the top-ranked Huskers, but won 20-17 with a late field goal by Efren Herrera under the lights in the L.A. Coliseum. In his senior year in 1973, Harmon received the National Football Foundation Award for All-Round Excellence. During his two years as quarterback in coach Pepper Rodgers's wishbone offense, UCLA compiled a 17-5 record (.773). Harmon graduated cum laude from UCLA in 1974 with a B.A. in Communication.

He was inducted into the Pierce College Athletic Hall of Fame among its first class of members in 2010.

Career

Early career

After college, Harmon considered pursuing a career in advertising or law, but started his career in business as a merchandising director, but soon decided to switch to acting. He spent much of his career portraying law enforcement and medical personnel. One of his first national TV appearances (other than as an athlete) was in a commercial for Kellogg's Product 19 cereal with his father Tom Harmon, its longstanding TV spokesman. Thanks to his sister Kristen's in-laws, Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Nelson, he landed his first job as an actor in an episode of Ozzie's Girls. This was followed by guest roles in episodes of Adam-12, Police Woman, and Emergency! in mid-1975. He also performed in "905-Wild", a backdoor pilot episode for a series about two L.A. County Animal Control Officers which did not sell. Producer/creator Jack Webb, who was the packager of both series, later cast Harmon in Sam, a short-lived 1978 series about an LAPD officer and his K-9 partner. Before this, Harmon received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance as Robert Dunlap in the TV movie Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years. In 1978, he appeared in three episodes of the acclaimed mini-series, Centennial, as Captain John MacIntosh, an honorable Union cavalry officer.

During the mid-1970s, Harmon made guest appearances on shows such as Laverne & Shirley and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and had supporting roles in the feature films Comes a Horseman (1978) and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979). He then landed a co-starring role on the 1979 action series 240-Robert as Deputy Dwayne Thibideaux. The series centered around the missions of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Emergency Services Detail, but was also short-lived.

In 1980, Harmon gained a regular role in the prime time soap opera Flamingo Road, in which he played Fielding Carlisle, the husband of Morgan Fairchild's character. Despite initially good ratings, the series was canceled after two seasons. Following its cancellation, he landed the role of Dr. Robert Caldwell on the prestigious NBC Emmy-winning series St. Elsewhere in 1983. Harmon appeared in the show for almost three seasons before leaving in early 1986 when his character contracted HIV through unprotected intercourse, one of the first instances where a major recurring television character contracted the virus (the character's subsequent off-screen death from AIDS would be mentioned two years later). In the mid-1980s, Harmon also became the spokesperson for Coors Regular beer, appearing in television commercials for them.

Harmon's career reached several other high points in 1986. In January, he was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. Following his departure from St. Elsewhere in February, he played the lead in the TV movies Prince of Bel Air, co-starring with Kirstie Alley, and The Deliberate Stranger, in which he portrayed the real-life law student turned cross-country serial killer Ted Bundy. With his career blossoming, he played a role in the 1986 theatrical film Let's Get Harry and the lead role in the 1987 comedy Summer School, again co-starring with Kirstie Alley. Returning briefly to episodic television in 1987, Harmon had a limited engagement on the series Moonlighting, playing Cybill Shepherd's love interest Sam Crawford for four episodes. He then starred in the 1987 TV movie After The Promise. In 1988, he co-starred with Sean Connery and Meg Ryan in the 1988 feature film The Presidio, and also opposite Jodie Foster in the film Stealing Home. Despite several high-profile roles, Harmon's film career never gathered momentum and, after a muted reception to his 1989 comedy Worth Winning, he returned to television, appearing in various television movies.

Harmon's next regular television role would be as Chicago police detective Dickie Cobb for two seasons (1991-1993) on the NBC series Reasonable Doubts. In 1993, he appeared in one episode in the role of a rodeo clown on the CBS comedy/western series Harts of the West with future cast mate Sean Murray, who plays McGee on NCIS.

In 1995, Harmon starred in the ABC series Charlie Grace, in which he portrayed a private investigator. The series lasted only one season, after which he returned to ensemble medical shows on the series Chicago Hope, in which he played Dr. Jack McNeil from 1996-2000. He also portrayed astronaut Wally Schirra in one episode of the 1998 mini-series From the Earth to the Moon.

NCIS

In May 2002, he portrayed Secret Service Special Agent Simon Donovan on The West Wing in a four-episode story arc. The role gained him his second Emmy Award nomination, exactly 25 years after his first nomination. Harmon appeared in a guest starring role in two episodes of JAG in April 2003, which introduced the character of NCIS agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs; since 2003, Harmon has starred as Gibbs in the CBS drama NCIS, a role which earned him three nominations at the People's Choice Awards. During his time on the show, he was reunited with three of his former Chicago Hope co-stars, Rocky Carroll, Lauren Holly, and Jayne Brook. Since 2008, he has also been a producer/executive producer. Also in 2003, Harmon had a supporting role in the remake of the comedy film Freaky Friday.

Harmon has also starred in several stage productions in Los Angeles and Toronto. At the Cast Theatre in Los Angeles he performed in Wrestlers and The Wager. In the late eighties he was part of the cast of the Canadian premier of Key Exchange. Several productions of Love Letters provided him the opportunity to play alongside his wife Pam Dawber.

Harmon received the 2,482nd star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 1, 2012.

In 1995, Harmon started a production company called Wings Productions to produce NCIS: New Orleans.

Television director

Harmon directed two episodes of Chicago Hope in 1999 and 2000. He also directed two episodes of Boston Public in 2002.

Personal life

Harmon has claimed that he never dated in college because, when not studying or playing varsity football, he was working almost full-time. He worked as a carpenter before making a success of his acting career. On NCIS, his carpentry skills are alluded to through his character's hobby of building boats in his basement.

Harmon has been married to actress Pam Dawber since March 21, 1987. The couple have two sons; Sean Thomas Harmon (born April 25, 1988, who played a young Gibbs in NCIS Season 6 Episode 4 and Episode 15, Season 7 Episode 16, Season 9 Episode 8 and 15), and Ty Christian Harmon (born June 25, 1992). They maintain a low profile and the couple rarely appears in public with their children. Harmon was the brother-in-law of Ricky Nelson and John DeLorean and is the uncle of actress Tracy Nelson and singers Matthew and Gunnar Nelson of the pop duo Nelson.

In 1987, Harmon filed for custody of his nephew Sam on the grounds that his sister, Kristin Nelson, was incapable of good parenting. Sam's psychiatrist testified that the thirteen-year-old boy depicted his mother as a dragon, complained about her mood swings and how she prevented him from being with his siblings. Harmon later dropped the custody bid.

In 1988, Harmon was part owner of a minor league baseball team in San Bernardino, California, The San Bernardino Spirit, which spawned Ken Griffey, Jr.. Harmon used the team and their home field, Fiscalini Field, for the opening and closing scenes of a baseball movie he was starring in, Stealing Home.

In 1996, Harmon saved a teenage boy involved in a car accident outside his Brentwood home. Harmon used a sledgehammer from his garage to break the window of their burning car, then pulled one boy from the flames.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Comes a Horseman	Billy Joe Meynert
1979	Beyond the Poseidon Adventure	Larry Simpson
1980	The Dream Merchants	Johnny Edge	Miniseries
1984	Tuareg - The Desert Warrior	Gacel Sayah
1986	Let's Get Harry	Harry Burck, Jr.
	The Deliberate Stranger	Ted Bundy	TV movie
1987	Summer School	Freddy Shoop
1988	The Presidio	Jay Austin
	Stealing Home	Billy Wyatt
1989	Worth Winning	Taylor Worth
1990	Till There Was You	Frank Flynn
	Kenny Rogers Classic Weekend	Himself
1991	Shadow of a Doubt	Uncle Charlie Oakley
	Cold Heaven	Alex Davenport
1994	Wyatt Earp	Sheriff John Behan
1995	Magic in the Water	Jack Black
	The Last Supper	Dominant Male
1997	Casualties	Tommy Nance
	The First to Go	Jeremy Hampton
1998	Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas	Magazine Reporter
1999	I'll Remember April	John Cooper
2000	For All Time	Charles Lattimer	TV movie
2001	Crossfire Trail	Bruce Barkow
	The Amati Girls	Lawrence
2002	Local Boys	Jim Wesley
2003	Freaky Friday	Ryan
2004	Chasing Liberty	President James Foster
2009	Weather Girl	Dale
2010	Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths	Clark Kent/Superman	Voice role
2011	Certain Prey	Lucas Davenport	TV movie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Ozzie's Girls	The Candidate	Unknown episodes
1975	Emergency!	Officer Dave Gordon	Episode: "905-Wild"
	Adam-12	Officer Gus Corbin	Episode: "Gus Corbin"
	Police Woman	Paul Donin	Episode: "No Place to Hide"
1976	Laverne & Shirley	Victor	Episode: "Dating Slump"
	All's Fair	Unknown	Episode: "Jealousy"
	Police Woman	Stansky	Episode: "Tender Soldier"
	Delvecchio	Ronnie Striker	Episode: "Hot Spell"
1977	Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years	Robert Dunlap	Television film
	The Hardy Boys	Chip Garvey	Episode: "Mystery of the Solid Gold Kicker"
1978	Getting Married	Howie Lesser	Television film
	Police Woman	Paul Donin	Episode: "No Place to Hide"
	Little Mo	Norman Brinker	Television film
	Sam	Officer Mike Breen	7 episodes
1978-79	Centennial	Captain John McIntosh	3 episodes
1979	The Love Boat	Doug Bradbury	2 episodes
1979-80	240-Robert	Dwayne Thibideaux	13 episodes
1980	Flamingo Road	Fielding Carlyle
1981	Goliath Awaits	Peter Cabot	Television film
1981-82	Flamingo Road	Fielding Carlyle	37 episodes
1983	The Love Boat	Guest star	Episode: "Julie and The Bachelor..."
1983-86	St. Elsewhere	Dr. Robert Caldwell	70 episodes
1983	Intimate Agony (aka Doctor in Paradise)	Tommy	Television film
1986	The Deliberate Stranger	Ted Bundy
	Prince of Bel Air	Robin Prince
1987	Moonlighting	Sam Crawford	4 episodes
	After the Promise	Elmer Jackson	Television film
1989	Sweet Bird of Youth	Chance Wayne
1991-93	Reasonable Doubts	Detective Dicky Cobb	45 episodes
1991	Dillinger	John Dillinger	Television film
	Fourth Story	David Shepard
	Long Road Home	Ertie Robertson
1993	Harts of the West	Sam Carver	Episode: "The Right Stuff"
1995	Charlie Grace	Charlie Grace	Main cast
	Original Sins (aka Acts of Contrition)	Johnathan Frayne	Television film
1996	Strangers	Mark	Episode: "Visit"
	E! True Hollywood Story	Himself	Episode: "Dark Obsession"
1996-2000	Chicago Hope	Dr. Jack McNeil	95 episodes
1997	Adventures from the Book of Virtues	Ulysses	Episode: "Perseverance" (S 1:Ep 13)
1998	From the Earth to the Moon	Wally Schirra	Episode: "We Have Cleared the Tower"
2001	The Legend of Tarzan	Bob Markham	Episode: "Tarzan and the Outbreak"
	And Never Let Her Go	Thomas Capano	Television film
2002	The West Wing	Simon Donovan	4 episodes
2003	JAG	SSA Leroy Jethro Gibbs	Episodes: "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown"
2003-present	NCIS		Series regular Executive Producer
2004	Retrosexual: The 80's	Himself	TV miniseries
2011	Certain Prey	Lucas Davenport	Television movie
2012	Family Guy	SSA Leroy Jethro Gibbs	Voice Episode: "Tom Tucker: The Man and His Dream"
2014, 2016	NCIS: New Orleans		Episode: "Breaking Brig", 2-Part Crossover: "Sister City" Executive Producer

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1977	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years	Nominated
1987	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	The Deliberate Stranger	Nominated
1988			After the Promise	Nominated
1992		Best Actor - Television Series Drama	Reasonable Doubts	Nominated
	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series		Nominated
1993	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series		Nominated
1997	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Chicago Hope	Nominated
1998				Nominated
2002	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	The West Wing	Nominated
2011	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Crime Fighter	NCIS	Nominated
2013	Prism Awards	Male Performance in a Drama Series		Won
2014	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Dramatic TV Actor		Nominated

Charities

Mark Harmon supports the following charitable causes: Disabilities, Children, Health Education, Mental Illness.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]