Biography
Who is Mark Harmon?
Early life and family background
Thomas Mark Harmon was born on September 2, 1951, in Burbank, California. His father was Tom Harmon, a well-known broadcaster and Heisman Trophy-winning football player. His mother was Elyse Knox, who worked as an actress, artist, and model. He grew up as the youngest of three children, with two older sisters named Kristin Nelson and Kelly Harmon.
During his high school years, he attended the Harvard-Westlake School. After graduating in 1970, he moved on to Los Angeles Pierce College. There, he completed a two-year associate degree before transitioning to a major university football program.
College football career
Mark chose to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, often referred to as UCLA. He played as the starting quarterback for the Bruins football team during the 1972 and 1973 seasons. His tenure included a well-known upset victory against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who were the two-time defending national champions at the time.
Under the coaching of Pepper Rodgers, the team achieved a 17-5 record while Mark was the quarterback. He earned the National Football Foundation Award for All-Round Excellence during his senior year. Although he was not selected in the 1974 NFL draft, he successfully graduated cum laude from UCLA with a degree in Communications that same year. In 2010, he received recognition for his athletic contributions by being inducted into the inaugural class of the Pierce College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Television and film career
Before fully committing to acting, Mark worked as a merchandising director. His early television roles included guest appearances on shows like Adam-12, Police Woman, and Emergency! In 1975. By the late 1970s, he appeared in the mini-series Centennial and the action series 240-Robert. In 1980, he joined the cast of the soap opera Flamingo Road as Fielding Carlisle.
He gained significant recognition as Dr. Robert Caldwell on the medical drama St. Elsewhere, appearing from 1983 until 1986. That same year, People magazine named him the Sexiest Man Alive. Throughout the 1990s, he continued to work steadily, playing Detective Dicky Cobb on Reasonable Doubts and Dr. Jack McNeil on Chicago Hope.
Work on NCIS and other projects
In 2002, Mark played Secret Service agent Simon Donovan on The West Wing, which resulted in an Emmy Award nomination. This role led to his casting as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the series JAG. He subsequently carried this character over to the spinoff show NCIS starting in 2003.
He starred as the lead on NCIS until his character exited the series in the fourth episode of the nineteenth season. Beyond acting, he served as a producer and executive producer for the show starting in 2008. His work on the series earned him multiple People's Choice Award nominations, including a win for Favorite TV Crime Drama Actor in 2017.
Birthday and age
Mark Harmon was born on September 2, 1951, which makes Mark 75 years old today. That birthday falls under the Virgo sign. Mark shares the date with 28 other famous people.
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