Why Mark Harmon and the Woman He Chose on ‘The Dating Game’ Stopped Dating: ‘She Was a Bird Trainer’
NCIS star Mark Harmon married his wife, Pam Dawber, nearly 40 years ago. But before he met her in 1986, he had trouble finding the great love of his life. While in college, Harmon tried his luck on The Dating Game twice, and he left the show with a woman he met. Unfortunately, their relationship didn’t last. Here’s what Harmon said about it.
Mark Harmon and the women he met on ‘The Dating Game’ didn’t last long
Before Mark Harmon was married, the NCIS star was a contestant on The Dating Game twice in college. The Dating Game aired from 1965 to 1986, and it first involved Harmon sitting next to two other bachelors hidden from the view of the bachelorette star. The bachelorette asked questions to the hidden men, and she chose the winner. She didn’t choose Harmon, but he later starred in the show as the bachelor choosing one of three women hidden from view.
While speaking to Joan Rivers in 1986, Harmon recalled his second time on The Dating Game when he got to choose one of the three women. Rivers asked Harmon if he “liked the girl” he met on the show. He noted that he didn’t continue dating her.
“Everything’s great until you meet each other, and then if one of you cancels, the other gets to take who they want to take,” Harmon said of the prize at the end of the game. The Dating Game winners were awarded a trip.
“You didn’t want her, she didn’t want you?” Rivers asked.
“It was kind of mutual,” Harmon answered. “She was a bird trainer.” He added that they just didn’t have enough in common to continue dating after the show.
He addressed his brief hookup with Heather Locklear, which didn’t end on good terms
While Mark Harmon didn’t find true love in The Dating Game, he had a few star-powered hookups that the press learned about. After his four-year relationship with Flamingo Road co-star Cristina Raines, he rebounded with Heather Locklear.
“It began around Christmas [1984] but was over by New Year’s,” he told People regarding Locklear. He then called the star “just an emotional cup of coffee to me.”
Joan Rivers mentioned this quote to Harmon and asked him what he meant by it. “They got right down to the last question, then he says, New York wants to know about Cristina Raines and Heather Locklear,” Harmon noted of the interview with People. “And I said, no, I find it funny that you put the two of them in the same category. One of them, I spent four years of my life with, and I spent a lot of time with … and the other one, I had a cup of coffee with. That’s what I said, and it ends up, you know.”
Rivers asked Harmon if Locklear later called him to thank him for speaking about her. “No, she wouldn’t call me and say thank you,” Harmon clarified, indicating that he and the actor didn’t leave on good terms.
Mark Harmon met his wife, Pam Dawber, in 1986
Despite NCIS star Mark Harmon’s early dating mishaps, he met the love of his life in 1986. A mutual friend of Harmon and actor Pam Dawber wanted to set them up on a group date. But Harmon took the initiative and cold-called Dawber. A year after their first date, they got married. They remain married in 2024.
Fox News Digital asked Harmon about the secrets to a happy marriage. He didn’t have much to say, but luck certainly came into play. “I just consider myself fortunate … what a great lady, and I’m lucky,” he answered. “I don’t know; I don’t have any answers. I don’t have any key. There’s no ready answer, you know.”
For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.
