NCIS star Mark Harmon grew up around entertainment and sports
Mark Harmon is best known for his role on NCIS as the no-nonsense Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a tough leader who expects his team to be sharp in every case. When DiNozzo says or does something foolish, Gibbs's favorite move is to slap him on the back of the head.
He's stern, and no one else could have brought Jethro to life like Harmon did. Although acting wasn't his first profession, he grew up in both entertainment and sports because of his parents, Elyse Knox and Tom Harmon. Those names might sound familiar because Knox was an actress and Harmon was a football player turned sports broadcaster.
His mother, Elyse, was signed to a movie contract with 20th Century-Fox in 1939 before being dropped and joining the Universal family, appearing in films such as The Mummy's Tomb alongside Lon Chaney Jr., Hit the Ice, Follow the Boys, and more.
While Knox was on the silver screen, Tom entertained on the football field. He played halfback and wore number 98, which became part of his nickname "Old 98." Harmon played for the Michigan Wolverines from 1938 to 1940, led the nation in scoring, and won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, and the AP Athlete of the Year award. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. His NFL career was short, but he eventually played for the Los Angeles Rams.
After, he became a sports broadcaster. Mark is the youngest of their three children and received college football offers from several schools, playing quarterback before starting a career in business. He eventually followed in his mom's footsteps.