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NCIS star Mark Harmon's mom was a Hollywood legend – details

Mark Harmon has become a household name thanks to his leading role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS – not to mention his endless credits in Hollywood hits from the 1970s onwards. In a sweet full circle moment, the TV star actually takes after his famous mother – the late Elyse Knox – when it comes to his decade-spanning career path. Keep reading to find out more about his famous mom, plus click the video below to see the NCIS star's first-ever acting role that would have made his mother, Elyse, very proud. WATCH: Mark Harmon shows off dancing skills in first ever TV roleLoading the player... var track = function (evt_name) { dataLayer.push({ 'event': evt_name, 'eventValue': { 'category': 'videos', 'action': evt_name, 'label': 'HELLO - bI9XSe20', 'videoUrl': 'https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/bI9XSe20.mp4', 'videoTitle': 'Mark Harmon shows off dancing skills in first ever TV role' } }); }; var playerInstance = playerInstance || []; playerInstance['bI9XSe20'] = jwplayer('MC41MDU2NzIwMCAxNjc5Mzk4MTI4NTQwOTI='); playerInstance['bI9XSe20'].setup({ sources: [ {file: 'https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/bI9XSe20-720.mp4', label: '480'}, {file: 'https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/bI9XSe20-1280.mp4', label: '720 HD', default: 'true'}, {file: 'https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/bI9XSe20-1920.mp4', label: '1080 HD'} ], primary: 'html5', image: 'https://content.jwplatform.com/thumbs/bI9XSe20-720.jpg', related: { file: 'https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/playlists/W7M0hKhu?related_media_id=bI9XSe20', oncomplete: 'show' }, autostart: false, file: 'bI9XSe20', title: 'Mark Harmon shows off dancing skills in first ever TV role', sharing: {} }); function getDataPermutive() { return new Promise((resolve, reject) => { let maxRetries = 2; let countRetry = 0; let checkingInterval = setInterval( function() { if (countRetry { return new Promise((resolve, reject) => { try { return getDataPermutive().then(_pdfps => { let playerConfig = playerInstance['bI9XSe20'].getConfig(); const sections = playerConfig.advertising.schedule; const updatedSections = new Array(); sections.forEach(function callback(section, index) { let offSet = section.offset; let tagUrl = section.tag; let playerSegsPerm = encodeURIComponent('&permutive=' + encodeURIComponent(JSON.parse(_pdfps || '[]').slice(0, 250).join(','))); tagUrl = tagUrl.replace(/(cust_params[^&]+)/, '$1' + playerSegsPerm); updatedSections[index] = {tag: tagUrl, offset: offSet}; }); const updatedPlaylistItem = Object.assign({}, item, {adschedule: updatedSections}); console.log('Permutive added to Pre-roll !!!'); resolve(updatedPlaylistItem); }).catch(() => { console.warn('Permutive no data!!!'); resolve(); }); } catch(error) { console.warn(error); resolve(); } }); }); jwplayer().onPlay(function () { track('play'); }); jwplayer().onPause(function () { track('pause'); }); jwplayer().onComplete(function () { track('complete'); }); jwplayer().onSeek(function () { track('seek'); }); MORE: NCIS star Mark Harmon's famous father revealedREAD: Former NCIS star Mark Harmon's famous family: everything we knowWho is Mark Harmon's mother Elyse Knox?An established actress, model, and fashion designer, with over 39 acting credits by the time Mark was born, Elyse Knox is regarded as a movie legend. Famed for her leading role in the 1942 horror flick, The Mummy's Tomb, Elyse later became a pin-up girl during World War Two and appeared in morale-boosting films for the troops. Elyse Knox was a Hollywood actress, model, and fashion designerShe also gained recognition for her portrayal of Anne Howe, the love interest of fictional boxer Joe Palooka in Joe Palooka, Champ, which would spawn an eleven-film franchise. Elyse had starred in five of them before retiring from acting in 1949 – just two years before she had Mark. She retired from acting two years before she had Mark What has Mark Harmon said about his mom, Elyse Knox?Mark Harmon actually grew up with two famous parents – although he didn't realise it until he was eight. "My parents kept things real," he told TV Insider. "I had no idea they were famous." At first, Mark didn't realise that both of his parents were famous Elyse was already known and loved for her acting career, while Mark's father, the late Tom Harmon, was an American football player, military pilot, actor, and sports broadcaster. Recalling the moment that he first realised that his parents were famous, Mark explained: "It didn't hit me until one day when I was riding in the car with my father in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I was maybe 8 and could barely see above the dashboard. And we stopped at a crosswalk. Suddenly we were surrounded by people who recognized my dad and were really thrilled to see him. I remember looking at this man I thought I knew so well and thinking, 'Who are you?'" Elyse Knox and Tom Harmon pictured in September 1956While Mark is typically tight-lipped about his early family life, in an emotional moment that had fans close to tears, he revealed the sweetest story about his parent's wedding day. While appearing on The Talk in 2017, the TV star explained that Elyse's wedding dress had actually saved his father's life during World War Two. The actor revealed how his mother's wedding dress had saved his father's lifeAfter explaining that his father's plane "went down twice during World War Two," Mark revealed that after Tom finally returned home following a traumatic crash in China, he brought the parachute that he'd kept with him home, and Elyse had it sewn into her wedding dress. "When [my father] got back after 30 days, the parachute came with him, and he married my mom. My grandmother, an Austrian immigrant and also a great seamstress, basically took the chute apart and made my mom's wedding dress out of it," he said. It doesn't get more romantic than that! LISTEN: Today's biggest celebrity news in just 2 minutesRead more HELLO! US stories hereLike this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.