Actor Mark Harmon Is Telling Stories of the Real Life NCIS
Along with co-writer Leon Carroll, Jr., he's penned his second nonfiction book and he is the narrator of 'NCIS Origins'
You probably know that Mark Harmon is an actor. You may even know that he's a director.
But did you know that he's a writer too?
While Harmon shies away from saying he's an author, that's exactly what he is. He and co-writer Leon Carroll, Jr., who is a retired Special Agent in the real NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) as well as the technical director for the TV series "NCIS" for 21 years, have released their second book, "Ghosts of Panama," available now.
If it's anything like the duo's first book "Ghosts of Honolulu," which landed them on the New York Times Best Sellers list, this one will be a hit.
"I like that people are enjoying the read, and they're buying the book. That's the gratification — that someone else finds this interesting," says Harmon, 73. "I like my partnership with Leon, and we're having a good time doing this."
"They've lived their whole lives doing this difficult job all over the world, and no one's ever asked about it because they couldn't talk about it."
Both of their books are non-fiction, telling actual stories from real cases. That's what the TV series did, at first, as well. But as more characters became part of the show, they needed to veer from actual cases so that each actor was included in the story.
Their first book required a lot of research, as it covered a case from World War II. With this new one, though, they interviewed people who had worked for the NIS/NCIS (Naval Investigative Service/Naval Criminal Investigative Services) and were directly involved in the investigation.
'Operation Just Cause'
"Ghosts of Panama" takes place just after a young U.S. Marine was killed in December 1989 at a checkpoint in Panama City while General Manuel Noriega's regime was in power. Under the code name "Operation Just Cause," NIS deployed agents to investigate.
"In this second book, Leon was there. All of these people we talked to are his contacts," says Harmon. "They've lived their whole lives doing this difficult job all over the world, and no one's ever asked about it because they couldn't talk about it. You might have lived next door to a special agent and not known it. But they're so pleased to be asked and have an opportunity to tell their version of a very personal part of their lives."
Harmon's Surprising Start
Just because Harmon is working on books doesn't mean that he's let acting go by the wayside. In fact, in the new show "NCIS Origins," he's served as the narrator.
After earning a degree in Communications from UCLA, Harmon was working as a shoe salesman. His late sister, Kristin, who had married Ricky Nelson, was the daughter-in-law of icon Ozzie Nelson. Mark knew him, but not through Kris.
"So I drove over to the studio, and Ozzie put me in a full gorilla suit."
Harmon had been a lifeguard at Laguna Beach and says that Ozzie was a long-distance swimmer.
"He would swim by my beach late in the afternoon way out there, and I learned that he wasn't in trouble. He would come back after his swim, and he'd sit under my tower and we would talk," recalls Harmon.
One day, Nelson called Harmon and said, "I have a walk-on part on the show. (It was "Ozzie's Girls," a spinoff of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" that lasted for just one season.) This person was supposed to do it and he just called in sick. I'm asking if you can come do it."
"He meant like right now!" says Harmon, while laughing.
He would be paid non-union scale, which was a little more than $300 in 1973. Harmon says, "I would have done just about anything for $300. So I drove over to the studio and Ozzie put me in a full gorilla suit."
Harmon adds, "At the very end of the show, I knocked on the door, and one of 'Ozzie's Girls' opened it. I said, 'Hi, my name is Harry King Kong. Which way is the Empire State Building?' You never saw my face or anything. That was the end of the show, and she slammed the door in my face, and that was it. That's all I did but that was my first acting role."
"It's about opportunity. It's about getting a break. It's about luck."
Being on the set and watching Nelson work all day with a team of writers, grips, producers, directors and actors intrigued Harmon.
From Sales to Acting
"It was brand new to me. I'd never seen anything like it, and I just liked it," he says. "I actually went home and told my mom and dad that I decided I wanted to try to be an actor. They both kind of shook their heads."
In his sales job, Harmon had a company car, an expense account and benefits.
"But my parents were supportive," says Harmon. "I drove up to the office the next day, I gave my notice and I got in an acting class. That's what I did."
Luckily for Harmon, it all worked out. He went on to star in many movies as well as on such TV series as "St. Elsewhere," "Chicago Hope," and, of course, for 20 seasons as Leroy Jethro Gibbs on "NCIS."
"I think about that first acting class — which was one of many — and I think about all the talented people in that class. I certainly never thought I was one of them," Harmon says. "It's about opportunity. It's about getting a break. It's about luck. But at some point, you've got to be able to do it."
