Mark Harmon Biography

TV star Mark Harmon is known for his leading roles in the series St. Elsewhere, Chicago Hope and, since 2003, NCIS. He grew up in southern California, the son of Hollywood actress Elyse Knox and legendary college football player and sportscaster Tom Harmon. After graduating from UCLA in 1972, Mark — who also played college football — got into acting with a part in 1973’s Ozzie’s Girls, starring Ozzie and Harriet Nelson (Mark’s sister was Ozzie’s daughter-in-law). Since then, he’s found a niche as a benign leading man, better-suited for television than the big screen. His movie roles include Let’s Get Harry (1986), The Presidio (1988, with Sean Connery), Wyatt Earp (1994, starring Kevin Costner) and Freaky Friday (2003, starring Lindsay Lohan). His television roles include St. Elsewhere (1983-86), Moonlighting (1987), Chicago Hope (1996-2000), The West Wing (2002) and JAG (2003), which led to the spin-off show NCIS.