Pam Dawber

• Name — Pam Dawber • Birth Name — Pamela Dawber • Born — 18 October 1951 • Birthplace — Detroit, Michigan, U.S. • Occupation — Actress, singer • Years Active — 1978–present • Children — 2

Dawber was born in Detroit, the elder of two daughters of Thelma M. (née Fisher) and Eugene E. Dawber, a commercial artist. She went to Reid Elementary School in Goodrich and attended North Farmington High School and Oakland Community College (OCC), with the intention of transferring to a four-year college.

Dawber moved to New York City and was initially a fashion model with Wilhelmina Models before switching to acting. She appeared in several television commercials during the 1970s (Fotomat, Noxzema, Neet, Underalls, etc.). Dawber screen-tested for the title role in Tabitha, a 1977 to 1978 situation comedy spun off from Bewitched, but the role instead went to Lisa Hartman. However, ABC executives were impressed enough with her to enroll her in the company's "talent development" program, which paid its participants until they could find appropriate roles. Garry Marshall recruited her from this program.

Dawber's professional breakthrough came when Marshall chose her, despite her having relatively little acting experience and not having auditioned for the part, as one of the two title characters of the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982. She portrayed Mindy McConnell, the comedic foil and eventual love interest for the extraterrestrial Mork from the planet Ork, played by a then-unknown Robin Williams. The show was very popular in its debut season, when it averaged at number three in the Nielsen ratings for the year.

Dawber sang in a 1980s Los Angeles Civic Light Opera production of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, based on the Joseph Papp / New York Shakespeare Festival production. Her role, as Mabel, had been played by Linda Ronstadt in the New York run of the show. In mid-1982, Dawber performed the role of Mabel at the Minskoff Theatre in New York.

From 1986 to 1988, Dawber again had a title role in a television series, playing Samantha Russell in the CBS sitcom My Sister Sam, co-starring Rebecca Schaeffer. The series was a success in its first season, but it suffered a ratings drop in its second after moving to Saturday night. My Sister Sam was cancelled in April 1988, with half of the second season's episodes never shown on CBS. They were eventually broadcast (along with all previous episodes) on USA Network. In July 1989, over a year after the show's cancellation, Schaeffer was shot and killed in front of her apartment in Los Angeles by Robert John Bardo, an obsessed fan who had stalked her for three years. Dawber was reportedly "devastated" by her former co-star's death. Dawber and her other surviving My Sister Sam co-starsJoel Brooks, David Naughton and Jenny O'Haraall participated in a filmed public service announcement about gun violence prevention, and Dawber herself became a gun control advocate.

In 1997, Dawber starred in the short-lived sitcom Life... and Stuff on CBS. In 2014, she reunited with Robin Williams on his comedy series The Crazy Ones as a love interest of Williams's character. The reunion failed to improve ratings, and the series was canceled shortly afterwards. Williams, already suffering from Lewy body disease by this time, died by suicide later that year. Dawber is a national spokeswoman for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. In 2016 Dawber made a guest appearance on The Odd Couple in a tribute episode to Marshall, along with other Marshall alumni such as Ron Howard, Garry's sister Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams, Anson Williams, Don Most and Marion Ross. She appeared with her husband, fellow actor Mark Harmon, on CBS's NCIS in 2021 for seven episodes as "seasoned investigative journalist" Marcie Warren.

Dawber married actor Mark Harmon on March 21, 1987, in a private ceremony. They have two sons: one born in 1988 and another in 1992.

Television • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1978 — Sister Terri — Sister Terri — TV film • 1978–1982 — Mork & Mindy — Mindy McConnell / Mandy — Main cast • 1979 — data-sort-value="Chevy Chase National Humor Test, The" | The Chevy Chase National Humor Test — Various — TV special • 1980 — data-sort-value="Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything, The" | The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything — Bonny Lee Beaumont — TV film • 1982 — Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour — Mindy McConnell — Main cast, voice role • 1982 — Twilight Theatre — Missy — TV film (segment "Jilted Johnny") • 1982 — Remembrance of Love — Marcy Rabin — TV film • 1983 — Through Naked Eyes — Anne Walsh — TV film • 1984 — Last of the Great Survivors — Laura Matthews — TV film • 1985, 1987 — Faerie Tale Theatre — Self, Pearl — Episode: "Grimm Party" (interviews of cast), Episode: "The Little Mermaid" • 1985 — data-sort-value="Twilight Zone, The" | The Twilight Zone — Karen Billings — Episode: "But Can She Type?" segment • 1985 — This Wife for Hire — Marsha Harper — TV film • 1985 — Wild Horses — Daryl Reese — TV film • 1985 — American Geisha — Gillian Burke — TV film • 1986–1988 — My Sister Sam — Samantha 'Sam' Russell — Main cast • 1988 — Rosie — Shelby Woods — Episode: "Shelby by the Moon" • 1988 — Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story — Lucy Wedemeyer — TV film • 1989 — Do You Know the Muffin Man? — Kendra Dollison — TV film • 1990 — data-sort-value="Face of Fear, The" | The Face of Fear — Connie Weaver — TV film • 1991 — Rewrite for Murder —? — TV film • 1993 — data-sort-value="Man with Three Wives, The" | The Man with Three Wives — Robyn — TV film • 1994 — Dream On — Cheryl Castorini — Episode: "From Here to Paternity" • 1994 — Web of Deception — Ellen Benesch — TV film • 1994 — data-sort-value="Child's Cry for Help, A" | A Child's Cry for Help — Monica Shaw — TV film • 1994 — data-sort-value="Bears Who Saved Christmas, The" | The Bears Who Saved Christmas — Mom — TV film, voice role • 1995 — Aaahh!!! Real Monsters — Wife — Episode: "Chip Off the Old Beast / The War's Over", voice role • 1995 — Trail of Tears — Cheryl Harris — TV film • 1995 — Kevin's Kitchen —? — TV film • 1996 — Adventures from the Book of Virtues — Liese — Episode: "Self-Discipline", voice role • 1996 — data-sort-value="Stranger to Love, A" | A Stranger to Love — Andie — TV film • 1997 — Life... and Stuff — Ronnie Boswell — Main cast • 1997–1998 — 101 Dalmatians: The Series — Perdita — Recurring role, voice role • 1998 — Men in Black: The Series —? — Episode: "The Elle of My Dreams Syndrome", voice role • 1999 — Don't Look Behind You — Liz Corrigan — TV film • 2006 — Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars — Herself — TV documentary • 2014 — data-sort-value="Crazy Ones, The" | The Crazy Ones — Lily — Episode: "Love Sucks" • 2016 — data-sort-value="Odd Couple, The" | The Odd Couple — Arnette — Episode: "Taffy Days" • 2021 — NCIS — Marcie Warren — Recurring role (seasons 18–19) Film • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1978 — data-sort-value="Wedding, A" | A Wedding — Tracy Farrell • 1981 — Swan Lake — Princess Odette — Voice role • 1992 — Stay Tuned — Helen Knable • 1999 — I'll Remember April — Barbara Cooper

The authorities additionally record the heading Pamela Dawber. Her recorded language was English. She married Mark Harmon. One child is recorded: Sean Harmon.