Mark Harmon is back as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but there’s a catch. He’s not returning to the NCIS flagship series, but he’ll appear as his beloved character in every episode of NCIS: Origins Season 3, the franchise’s prequel series.
While Gibbs has a famously complicated love life, Harmon has been married to Pam Dawber for nearly 40 years. With Harmon back in the NCIS spotlight, get up to speed on Harmon’s marriage to Dawber, their family, and his son’s connection to Gibbs.
Who is Pam Dawber?
Dawber is an actress and is best known for playing Mindy McConnell in the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy from 1978 to 1982. Robin Williams played the energetic, quirky alien Mork. Decades later, she reunited onscreen with Williams in his CBS series The Crazy Ones, playing a love interest for Williams’ character.
She also played the leading role of Samantha Russell in the CBS series My Sister Sam, which ran for two seasons. Dawber has starred in over a dozen TV movies and even appeared as Marcie Warren, an investigative journalist, on NCIS in 2021. Dawber and Harmon even shared scenes!
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How did Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber meet?
A mutual friend set Harmon and Dawber up. While the friend had planned to make this happen through a group date, Harmon opted to just call Dawber himself.
“I said, ‘Can I just call? Can I get a number and just cold call?’ And so I did. I got the number, and I called, and I got an answering machine,” he told People. “And I started to leave a message that said, ‘We don’t have to all go out. We could get a cup of coffee or something.’ And then she was monitoring and she picked up. We went out that night and we’re together ever since.” They met in 1986 and were married exactly one year later.
How long have Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber been married?
The couple said “I do” on March 21, 1987. They’ll be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary next March. Throughout their decades-long marriage, Harmon and Dawber have kept their relationship out of the public eye.
“It’s not even a choice. It’s who we are,” Harmon told TV Insider in 2017. “We stay home. A lot. I’m not a Twitter guy or a Facebook guy. Our sons aren’t into that either. Pam and I have both made a living in this business, and still, there’s a part of that that’s just not natural.”
Do Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber have kids?
Yes, they have two sons: Sean, born in 1988, and Ty, born in 1992. Sean is an executive producer on NCIS: Origins alongside his dad and will guest star as FBI agent Casey Bloom in the October 13 episode of Season 3. Sean notably played young Gibbs in several episodes of NCIS.
In NCIS: Origins, Austin Stowell plays the younger Gibbs. Harmon explained why his son didn’t play the younger Gibbs in the prequel series. “He’s an actor, writer, producer, a surfer, he does a lot of things. You have to come to decisions about what you want to do in life, or what you think’s important. I just think he made a choice and had to make a decision in some ways,” he told Variety. “He likes executive producing.”